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The Faculty of Engineering conducts research that has relevance to Materials Engineering. For example, some research is concerned with the development of lightweight structural elements (e.g. slab) by introducing voids (based on waste/recycled plastic oval balls) that will produce slabs with similar performance to solid slab. Another research deals with the utilisation of extracted the dust coming from quarries and using it in the production of Pozzolanic materials. This will produce new materials with enhanced or similar performance to traditional materials. Other research areas are concerned with biomaterials and the life-time prediction of composite materials.

Several research topics currently being tackled by researchers in the faculty of engineering fall under this theme. Some specific topics are listed here below.

  • Innovative ways to use waste paper with an innovative binder
  • Usage of waste clay derived from sand excavation and using it in the production of innovative construction materials with less energy requirement
  • Biomaterials utilization in construction applications (e.g. Palm fibre, Hemp fibre)
  • Life-time prediction and inspection of composite materials

Researchers in the Faculty of Engineering show their interest in these topics by conducting research and reporting the outcomes in prestigious international and national journals, magazines, symposia, conferences and meetings. More than 5 publications were reported during the last two years.

One main research direction is the work on innovative construction materials that would enhance the properties of construction project. This covers the utilisation of innovative materials such as “Metakaolin” to partially replace the cement. This allows enhancing the performance of construction materials. Furthermore, this research aim at finding innovative ways to repair and strengthen structures using innovative materials.