CVEN4051

Thesis B

Assessment Task 1: Topic Nomination

Term 2, 2024

Due time and date: 17:00, Sunday, 16 June 2024

Method of submission

Softcopy only, submit a PDF version of your Assessment Task 1 under the Moodle’s ‘Assignments’ section. After submitting in Moodle, always check what you have submitted. Do not email your assignment to the course coordinator or your demonstrator.

Weight of Assessment Task 1 : 5 Marks

Late submission penalty

Submit before due date since late submissions will receive a 5% deduction penalty per day. Late submissions up to 5 days late will be marked and will receive the appropriate penalty deductions. Any submissions made that are more than 5 days late will not be accepted for marking.

Scope of Work

This is the first Assessment Task for Thesis B and has a value of 5%. Your  work requirement is an individual submission that you need to fill out the provided template. To complete this Assessment Task, you need to do the following two activities.

1.   A succinct detailed thesis topic (8 to 12 words)

2.   A brief introduction to the topic and its significance, and explanation of the activities you are planning to do across the term in investigation and reporting upon your thesis topic (around 150 words)

In making this submission, you are recommended to shortlist 2-3 topics based on your interest, your expertise, the availability of the information, and the ideas that you have in terms of research proposal. You need to have a comprehensive search to find as much as information that you can about your shortlisted topics. You should then select a topic that you have enough information and idea about for the next three assessment tasks of this course. You need to have a consultation with your demonstrators before finalising your thesis topic. All of you have been assigned to a demonstrator and a workshop. The details about your demonstrator and your workshop location can be found in Course Introduction Lecture (Week 1 Lecture).

After finalising your topic, you are then required to fill out the provided Assessment Task 1 template provided in the Moodle, convert it to a PDF file, name your file based on instruction provided, and submit it onto the Moodle before the due date. After submission of the Assessment Task 1 file, you cannot change your topic otherwise you lose 5 marks of this Assessment Task.

In preparation for your Assessment Task 1, you need to have a thesis topic in 8 to 12 words. The topic you nominate must be detailed to cover the topic, objective, method, application, etc. It your topic is broad and does not cover enough details, the topic may be rejected, or demonstrators ask for further details. The topic you nominate in this term must be totally different with no similarity to the sustainability topic/method/outcome/application that you worked on last term. You then provide a brief and rough introduction on what you want to investigate and report about your selected topic during the term. The introduction section does not need to be too accurate at this stage as your search is not complete yet, and just a brief description based on your current knowledge and understanding is enough.

You need to nominate a topic that is related to Western Sydney Airport and within the field of Civil and Environmental Engineering. It means that your selected topic has a  specific application in any phase of the initiation, design, planning, construction, or operation of Western Sydney Airport.

As specified in the course outline, all of the assessments of this course are individual assignments, and each of you need to select a different topic and work individually on your topic to prepare your individual assessments. The topic that you nominate should  be different from your peers. After submission of Assessment Task  1, nominated topics are checked, and you will be asked to change your topic if you have nominated a similar topic to your peers.

Topic Selection Guidance

The topics that are deemed suitable for your thesis can be in any field of Civil and Environmental Engineering (including Structural, Geotechnical, Construction, Transportation, surveying, environmental, etc.) that can be applied in the Western Sydney Airport. Some fields of research that will help you to brainstorm your suitable topic have been listed in the following. You should not limit your topic nomination to the topics below, and any other Civil, Surveying, and Environmental related topic that can be linked or has an application in the Western Sydney Airport project can be selected. Please do not forget to consult with your demonstrator before finalising your topic.

Structural Design related matters:

•    Identification of design matters to infrastructure that is needed in connecting airport with other infrastructure.

•    Issues associated with design matters for the expansion of existing infrastructure in accommodating the increase of people movement.

•    Specialist design issues identified.

•    Different design options and their impact on cost and time of project

•    Designs for prefabrication or in-situ construction

•    Consideration on local available material and methods in design

Construction related matters:

•    Determining the work sequence priority for a particular activity/process

•   Contract selection

•    Project timing and investigation of parameters affecting project completion date

•    Project planning and prioritising tasks to avoid delay

•   The cost associated with delay

•   The impact of local labour market on construction

•    Equipment selection influenced by existing infrastructure

•    Local available construction technologies

•    Construction innovations and their impact on cost and time of project

•   Contractor/subcontractor selection

•    Project delivery systems and the relationship between involved parties

•    Supply and procurement

•    Project management and controlling

•    Project communication and documentation

•    Project claim management

•    Project financing

•    Cost and time minimisation

•    Site security matters

•    Site testing programs

•    Quality control issues

•    Risk assessment matters

•    Site induction training requirements

•    WHS

•   Construction automation and digitalisation innovations

•   Training and development of employees

Transport related matters:

•   Validating a change in the Western Sydney Airport

•    Impact upon existing transport routes

•    Selection of additional or other transport routes during construction

•    Identification of transportation shortfalls not yet identified with this project

•   Transport integration on joining the airport with the other road systems

•    Issues associated with ‘Hours of work’

•    Construction traffic issues on public roads

•    Construction cycle times/ working hours issues with existing Sydney traffic flows

•    Determining fill sites across the metropolitan area where spoil can be placed

•   Accounting for incoming deliveries and staging points for the Western Sydney Airport

•    Integration of other transport modes with the Western Sydney Airport

•   The time savings for trip cycles

•   The future road extensions due to the operation of Western Sydney Airport

•   Tolls on vehicles

•    Impact of Western Sydney Airport on local traffic

•   The number of lanes needed for each direction during the day/week

•   The impact of Western Sydney Airport on easier access of Western Sydney residents

Geotechnical related matters:

•    Site geology issues

•    Impact of groundwater table movement

•    Site geotechnical investigation

•    Removal of topsoil

•    Planning a drilling investigative program

•    Rock removal on the route in cut-fill locations

•    Dealing with natural watercourses and springs across the locality

•    Geotechnical site testing

•    Design for the optimal tunnel excavation and required equipment/technology

Environmental related matters:

•   Sediment control

•    Measuring water quality

•    Flood routing issues

•   Storm water design

•    Impact of water discharge upon local residents

•    Flora and fauna matters

•    Noise control

•    Hazardous material controls

•    Dust control

•    Chemical spillage control

•    Clean water strategies for creeks and lakes

•    Clean vehicle status for vehicles exiting the site

Surveying related matters:

•   Advanced surveying technologies in accurate surveying

•    Underground navigation of TBM, and other tunneling equipment

•    Mapping the plans in the practice

•   Topographical modelling and RL pointing in the tunnel

•    Initial and detailed surveying plans preparation

Submission Requirements

Prepare your Assessment Task 1 in Microsoft Word and on completion convert it to a PDF file which will be the file you will submit. Your PDF file is to be named accordingly:

[Student Full Name_Student zID_Topic Selection_CVEN4051],

e.g. [John Smith_z1234567_Topic Selection_CVEN4051]