Condition monitoring of lattice towers

About the research project

Towers are common in many applications, including electricity distribution and telecommunications. They can take many forms, including concrete monopole (some strengthened with steel jackets), triangular and rectangular steel lattice and guy-wire stayed. Extreme winds are the biggest cause of structural damage and failure, and there is clear evidence that loads will change significantly during these structure's life due to climate change.

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) offers anticipation or early detection of damage, and provides knowledge of local changes to extreme winds, both key elements to making such infrastructure resilient in a changing environment. However, conventional SHM, relying on controlled experiments, is very costly, due to high skilled labour costs and the abundance and often remote location of these towers, motivating the search for inexpensive, continuous and automated approaches. Of particular interest are methods based on the structure's response to environmental loads (such as wind), but a major research challenge is that the loads are unknown. Furthermore, an emerging field, population-based SHM, uses data from multiple structures to separate changes in structural response caused by damage from those caused by changes to weather or climate.

This project explores SHM techniques that use simple instrumentation and environmental loads, exploiting modern computer-based decision-making tools such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. The ideal candidate would have a keen interest in dynamic structural analysis, programming, data analysis, machine learning and/or field experimentation. For the right candidate there will be opportunity for industry co-supervision, internships, and experimentation and/or access to data from real towers.

Primary supervisor

Meet Doctor Brian Salmon

Funding

Applicants will be considered for a Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship or Tasmania Graduate Research Scholarship (TGRS) which, if successful, provides:

• a living allowance stipend funded by University of Tasmania of $34,315 per annum for 3.5 years
• a relocation allowance of up to $2,000
• a tuition fees offset covering the cost of tuition fees for up to four years (domestic applicants only)

A tuition fee offset may be offered to eligible international applicants following competitive assessment 

As part of the application process you may indicate if you do not wish to be considered for scholarship funding.

Other funding opportunities and fees

For further information regarding other scholarships on offer, and the various fees for undertaking a research degree, please visit our Scholarships and fees on research degrees page.

Eligibility

Applicants should review the Higher Degree by Research minimum entry requirements.

Ensure your eligibility for the scholarship round by referring to our Key Dates.

Additional eligibility criteria specific to this project/scholarship:

• Applicants must be able to undertake the project on-campus

Selection criteria

The project is competitively assessed and awarded. Selection is based on academic merit and suitability to the project as determined by the College.

Additional essential selection criteria specific to this project:

• Structural dynamics or structural health monitoring knowledge.
• Strong mathematical skills.

Additional desirable selection criteria specific to this project:

• Instrumentation and fieldwork aptitude: Familiarity with low-cost sensors (accelerometers, strain gauges, anemometers), data-acquisition hardware, and the logistics of remote deployments.
• Machine learning competence: Practical experience applying supervised and unsupervised algorithms (e.g. Bayesian inference, neural nets) to engineering or time-series data.

Application process

1. Select your project, and check that you meet the eligibility and selection criteria, including citizenship;
2. Contact Doctor Brian Salmon to discuss your suitability and the project's requirements; and
3. In your application:
   • Copy and paste the title of the project from this advertisement into your application. If you don’t correctly do this your application may be rejected.
   • Submit a signed supervisory support form, a CV including contact details of 2 referees and your project research proposal.
4. Apply prior to 1 October 2026.

Full details of the application process can be found under the ' How to apply ' section of the Research Degrees website.

Following the closing date applications will be assessed within the College. Applicants should expect to receive notification of the outcome by email by the advertised outcome date.

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