Since opening its doors in 1975, Griffith University has come to be regarded as one of Australia's most innovative tertiary institutions and one of the most influential universities in the Asia-Pacific region.

We were the very first university in Australia to offer degrees in Asian studies and Environmental studies to our students and we remain a pioneer in these fields. We have grown to be a large multi-campus institution with internationally recognised strengths in teaching and research. Griffith now offers more than 300 degrees across five campuses and is home to more than 43,000 students from 131 countries. Griffith is Australia’s ninth largest higher education provider.

Overview

In this project, the student will learn about the design of cold-formed steel structures and optimisation principles. The student will develop his/her analytical skills.

Subject

For economical and environmental benefits, the optimisation of mass-produced structural products is widely researched. The objective of such exercises is to minimise the quantity of material used without sacrificing the strength and practicability of the members.

Current researches focus on optimising conventional cross-section shapes but rarely consider optimising the shapes themselves. Using steel storage racks as astudy, this project aims to optimise cold-formed steel profiles by letting the cross-section self-shape to its optimum. The evolution and adaptation benefits of Genetic Algorithm will be used to achieve this aim.

This project builds on previous works carried out at Griffith University and aims at introducing bending and manufacturing constraints to the algorithm.

Profile

Final year engineering student in civil, structural or mechanical engineering (Grandes Ecoles only). 

• The successful candidate must have been trained in structural and mechanical engineering principles, and be able to write an algorithm.

This placement is research orientated and to successfully carry out the work the candidate must be able to think outside the box and be creative.

Good written communication in English will be highly regarded.