Civil engineering infrastructures and structural components are subjected to various extreme loadings in their service life such as cyclic loading, impact, blast and fire. We have been working on the structural performance of various structures including concrete structures, steel structures, composite structures and structures made of novel high performance construction and building materials subjected to extreme loadings. We conduct intensive experimental studies using the state-of-the art lab facilities and we also develop advanced numerical modelling methods and techniques so as to simulate the structural responses of various engineering structures under the extreme loadings efficiently.  We conducted impact tests in both the laboratory environments including in the Impact Dynamics Labs at UNSW Canberra and the labs in DSTG and in the military bases using the real ammunitions. Our research was supported by various fellowships, awards such as the Spitfire Defence Memorial Fellowship awarded to Dr Yixia Zhang and research grants awarded to Prof Chi King Lee from DSTA, Singapore.

Ballistic impact tests conducted in military bases (panels under 0.5 cal round impact fired from SR-25 rifle by Dr Yixia Zhang and her associates : a) Steel rebar concrete panels; b) 2% steel fibre reinforced concrete panel; c) High stength (90 MPa) concrete panel d) newly developed impact resistant ECC panel

Full scale field explosion test for the steel panels conducted by Prof Chiking Lee and his co-researchers and collaborators from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore

Numerical modelling of the damage of concrete panels under blast loading : a) Experiment; b) numerical modelling by Dr Yixia Zhang and her co-researchers

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