http://hdl.handle.net/10453/35431 2026-06-17T08:12:46Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/195401 Title: Emerging Trends of Gender Bias Within Students' Evaluation of Teaching (SET) in Higher Education: a Mini-Review and Bibliometric Analysis Authors: Velázquez, EAL; Abbas, A; Azar, BB; Abdellatif, S 2026-03-08T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/195400 Title: A NOVEL MULTILAYERED SOIL CONSOLIDATION SOLUTION BASED ON THE SPECTRAL METHOD TO PREDICT LONG-TERM SETTLEMENT Authors: Xu, B; Indraratna, B; Rujikiatkamjorn, C; walker, R Abstract: ABSTRACT: The consolidation of soft soils is a critical consideration for infrastructure stability, particularly in coastal regions where soft ground typically comprises multiple layers with varying properties. Creep plays a significant role in consolidation and is essential for accurately predicting long-term settlement in viscous soils. Accurate settlement prediction is influenced by loading patterns, soil stratification, and drainage boundary conditions. Despite advancements in theoretical approaches, comprehensive analytical solutions that integrate the effects of multilayered soil profiles and general drainage boundaries remain limited. This study presents a general spectral-based method for analysing the consolidation behaviour of multilayered soils under various loading patterns and drainage boundary conditions, including scenarios with or without prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs), impeded drainage, and time-dependent drainage conditions. The spectral-based solutions employ matrix operations to express the excess pore water pressure (EPWP) as unified solutions across multiple soil layers, effectively capturing the effects of complex boundary conditions. Based on this framework, a simplified Hypothesis B method is proposed to calculate long-term consolidation settlement. The proposed methods are validated against previous analytical solutions for special cases and field data, demonstrating their accuracy and flexibility in predicting EPWP dissipation and settlement. The study provides a more realistic representation of consolidation behaviour by incorporating general drainage conditions expressed as Robin Boundary Conditions (RBCs). The findings offer practical insights for optimizing engineering designs and improving settlement prediction in layered viscous soil foundations, offering a versatile and robust tool for geotechnical engineers to address the complexities of multilayered soil systems under diverse loading and drainage conditions. 2026-06-14T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/195399 Title: Subgrade Soil Fluidization under Cyclic Loading of Heavy-haul Trains and Preventive Measures Authors: Indraratna, B; Atapattu, S; Rujikiatkamjorn, C; Arivalagan, J; Singh, M; Kelly, R Abstract: ABSTRACT: Soft soil deposits along Australia’s low-lying coastal regions pose significant challenges for the safety and stability of rail infrastructure. The undrained instability of these often saturated formations exacerbated by excess pore water pressure (EPWP) in tandem with upward hydraulic gradients under dynamic wheel loading is the primary cause of soil fluidization (mud pumping). This paper identifies critical ground (subgrade) conditions prone to fluidization and proposes novel solutions to ensure an efficient and safe operation of rail tracks. Using an iconic custom-built Dynamic Consolidation Apparatus (DCA) capable of assesiing the fluidization potential, laboratory testing under cyclic loading was conducted to investigate: (i) the occurrence of subgrade instability under various drainage conditions and intermittent cyclic loading with rest periods, (ii) the role of drainage geotextiles in stabilising the subgradeballast interface, and (iii) the effectiveness of a combined system of a prefabricated vertical drain (PVD) and a geocomposite (i.e. an impervious membrane sandwiched between two drainage geotextiles). Experimental results indicated that prior to fluidization, the water content in the upper soil layer approached its liquid limit due to internal moisture redistribution, effected by very fine particles from the bottom half of the test specimen migrating towards the top surface. This unique failure mechanism, characterized by fluidised soil (slurry) being pumped to the surface under high EPWP gradients, differs from traditional cyclic undrained yielding. The inclusion of the geocomposite at the ballast-subgrade interface could effectively impede particle migration by reducing the EPWP gradients. The findings also revealed that longer rest periods between loading cycles could reduce the likelihood of mud pumping. Additionally, PVDs on their own significantly reduce EPWP build-up in thicker soil layers. A case study at the town of Sandgate, NSW, demonstrated the effectiveness of relatively short PVDs (approx. 6m) in enhancing the stability of a track built on deep estuarine clay deposits (> 15m). 2026-06-14T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/195398 Title: Security by design or display? Community and professional views on intervention visibility Authors: Ludbey, C; Christensen, P; Quintana Vigiola, G 2026-01-14T00:00:00Z