Dominic Dowling
Faculty of Engineering
University of Technology, Sydney
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Dominic Dowling Faculty of Engineering University of Technology, Sydney |
| Profile: |
Dominic Dowling PhD research candidate Faculty of Engineering University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
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| Research focus: |
Development of methods to improve the earthquake resistance of adobe-mudbrick houses, with a specific interest in simple, affordable and effective solutions for application in developing countries.
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| Research activities: |
Experimental testing
and analysis:
hands-on, hands-muddy application, including the fabrication and shake table testing of mudbricks
and mudbrick structures to evaluate the seismic improvement, costs and
complexity of simple reinforcing systems (e.g. bamboo, chicken wire mesh,
wire, timber, string). Analysis of test results and mechanisms of
failure. Field research: mainly focussed in Latin America, including post-earthquake reconnaissance, analysis of damage statistics, review of reconstruction activities, etc. Application and implementation: design and construction of a child-care centre in a small community in El Salvador. Also actively involved in review and development of implementation guidelines and strategy. International collaboration including participation in international conferences and workshops, plus the co-ordination of the World Adobe Forum, a website (under development) dedicated to the sharing of information about safer adobe-mudbrick housing.
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| Rationale: |
Devastating earthquakes in Asia, The Middle East, Africa and Latin America have served as recent reminders of the vulnerability of traditional, low-cost dwellings to seismic forces. The loss of life and livelihood is often drastic, with millions of people in the poorest communities most severely affected. Adobe (mudbrick) housing is particularly vulnerable because of its inherently brittle nature, wide-spread use, generally poor construction quality and the limited awareness of concepts of aseismic design and construction. Despite these limitations, there is little doubt that adobe-mudbrick will continue to be the choice construction material for the majority of the rural poor who simply cannot afford any alternative.
In response to these needs, Dominic is working to develop low-cost and low-tech strengthening systems which have the potential to significantly reduce injuries and loss of life during major earthquakes.
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| Future activities: | Dominic anticipates submitting his thesis in late 2005, and is looking forward to the opportunity to combine further experimental research with implementation projects, probably in Latin America. | ||
| Key Publications: |
Books: Dowling, D.M. (2004) Adobe Housing Reconstruction after the 2001 El Salvador Earthquakes, Lessons Learned Over Time - Learning From Earthquakes Series, Volume 5, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), Oakland, California, 69pp. Available from EERI Book Chapters: Dowling, D.M. (2004) Adobe housing in El Salvador: Earthquake performance and seismic improvement In Rose, W.I. et al. (eds), GSA Special Paper 375: Natural Hazards in El Salvador, Geological Society of America, pp 281-301. Conference Papers: Samali, B., Dowling, D.M. and Li, J., (2005) Dynamic Response of U-Shaped Adobe-Mudbrick Wall Units Proceedings of the Australian Structural Engineering Conference 2005, 11-14 September 2005, Newcastle, Australia. Dowling, D.M., Price, H, and Samali, B. (2005) Shear Strength of Adobe-Mudbrick Mortar Joints Proceedings of the Australian Structural Engineering Conference 2005, 11-14 September 2005, Newcastle, Australia. Dowling, D.M., Samali, B. and Li, J., (2005) An improved means of reinforcing adobe wall units – external vertical reinforcement, Proceedings of SismoAdobe 2005, Lima, Peru, 16-19 May 2005. Dowling, D.M. (2005) World Adobe Forum – Project Launch Proceedings of SismoAdobe2005, Lima, Peru, 16-19 May 2005. Samali, B., Dowling, D.M. and Li, J., (2004) Dynamic testing of unreinforced u-shaped adobe-mudbrick wall unit, Proceedings of the 18th Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials, 1-3 December 2004, Perth, Australia, pp. 505-510. Dowling, D.M. (2004) Improved Adobe Mudbrick in Application – Child-Care Centre Construction in El Salvador, Proceedings of 13th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 1 – 6 August 2004, Vancouver, Canada, Paper # 705. Dowling, D.M., Samali, B. and Li, J., (2004) Shake table testing of unreinforced and lightly reinforced U-shaped adobe-mudbrick wall units, Proceedings of the 2004 Australian Earthquake Engineering Society Conference, 5-7 November 2004, Mt Gambier, South Australia, Paper # 23. Dowling, D.M. and Samali, B. (2002) Improved Seismic Resistance of Mudbrick Buildings, Proceedings of the 17th Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials, 12-14 June 2002, Gold Coast, Australia, pp. 657-662.
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