Chaoshui Xu

Senior Lecturer

Phone: +61 8 830 35421
Email: cxu@civeng.adelaide.edu.au
Room: N141, Engineering North Building

Personal | Publications | Research | Teaching | Consulting

Personal

Academic Qualifications

PhD, Rock Mechanics, University of Leeds, UK, 1993
MSc, Mining Engineering, Northeast University, China, 1985
BSc, Mining Engineering, Northeast University, China, 1983

Membership and Affiliations

Member, International Society for Rock Mechanics
Member, International Association for Mathematical Geology

Areas of Specialisation

Geostatistics, Resource Evaluation, Rock Mechanics

Experience

Prior to taking up the senior lecturer post in mining engineering in March 2007, Dr. Xu worked for 14 years in the Department of Mining and Mineral Engineering, University of Leeds, UK. He also worked part-time as the technical manager from 2004 to 2007 for Structure Vision Ltd. UK.

Dr. Xu's major research experience covers the areas of geostatistics, mineral resource evaluation, risk assessment of mining project, optimal mine design, rock fracture mechanics, stochastic rock fracture modelling, particle flow simulation using distinct element method, statistics of porous or fractured media.

A commercial software product, MINVEST - for financial evaluation and risk assessment of mining projects, developed by Dr. Xu and Prof. P. A. Dowd won the top prize of 1995 UK Business Software Challenge Competition. MINVEST has now user licenses worldwide.

Dr Xu, together with Dr. R.J. Fowell, has developed the CCNBD (Cracked Chevron-Notched Brazilian Disc) specimen for rock fracture toughness testing. The research was recognised by the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM). The method was accepted by the Testing Commission of ISRM and it is now an international suggested method for rock fracture toughness testing.

Publications

Major Publications

1. Xu, C., Dowd, P., Mardia, K.V., Fowell, R. J. & Taylor, C. C. (2007), Simulating correlated marked point processes, J. Applied Statistics (in press).

2. Xu, C., Dowd, P., Mardia, K.V. & Fowell, R. J. (2007), A computer program for connectivity evaluation of discrete fracture network, Computer and Geosciences (in press).

3. Xu, C., Dowd, P., Mardia, K.V. & Fowell, R. J. (2006), PGSIM: a flexible true plurigaussian code for spatial facies simulations, Computers and Geosciences 32, (10), 1629-1645.

4. Xu, C., Dowd, P., Mardia, K.V. & Fowell, R. J. (2006), A connectivity index for discrete fracture networks, Mathematical Geology, 38, 5, 611 - 634.

5. Fowell, R. J., Xu, C. & Dowd, P. (2005), An update in the fracture toughness testing methods related to the cracked chevron-notched Brazilian disk (CCNBD) specimen, Pure and Applied Geophysics, 163, 5-6, pp1047 - 1057.

6. Xu, C. and Dowd, P.A. (2003), Optimal construction and visualisation of geological structures, Computers and Geosciences, 29, 761 - 773.

7. Dowd, P.A., Pardo-Igúzquiza, E and Xu, C. (2003), Plurigau: a computer program for simulating spatial facies using the truncated plurigaussian method, Computers and Geosciences, 29, 123-141.

8. Xu, C., Dowd, P., Mardia, K.V. and Fowell, R. J. (2003), Parametric intensity estimation for stochastic fracture modelling, LUMA (Leeds University Mining Associations) Journal, 16, 85-92.

9. Xu, C. and Dowd, P.A. (2001), Orbody modelling by optimal surface reconstruction, Transactions of the Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Section B, 110, B110 - B120.

10. International Society for Rock Mechanics, Commission on Testing Methods (Fowell, R.J., Xu, C., et al.), 1995, Suggested method for determining Mode I fracture toughness using cracked chevron notched Brazilian disc (CCNBD) specimens, Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. & Geo. Abs., 32, No. 1, 57-64.

11. Fowell, R.J. and Xu, C. (1994), The use of cracked Brazilian disc for rock fracture investigations, Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. & Geo. Abs., 31, No. 6, 571-579.

12. Xu, C. and Fowell, R.J. (1994), The SIF evaluation for CCNBD specimens, Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. & Geo. Abs., 31, No. 2, 157-162.

13. Xu, C. and Fowell, R.J. (1994), Experimental validations of CCNBD specimens for rock fracture toughness measurement, LUMA Journal, 12, 57-68.

14. Zhao, X.L., Fowell, R.J., Roegiers, J.-C. and Xu, C. (1994), Discussion: rock fracture toughness determination by the Brazilian test, Engineering Geology, 38, 181 - 184.

15. Fowell, R.J. and Xu, C. (1993), The chevron cracked Brazilian disc test - geometrical considerations for practical rock fracture toughness measurement, Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. & Geo. Abs., 30, No. 7, 821-824.

16. Fowell, R.J. and Xu, C. (1993), An initial probabilistic fracture mechanics approach for rock cutting mechanics, LUMA Journal, 11, 57-69.

Research

Current Research Interests

• Application of stochastic rock fracture modelling for mining operations.
• Dynamic risk assessment of mining projects
• Mineral resource evaluations
• Geostatistical modelling
• Optimal mine production scheduling
• Ore/waste movement simulation in underground mining operations
• Application of rock fracture mechanics in rock excavation engineering

Teaching

Courses Taught in 2007

Introduction to Mining Engineering

Linear Geostatistics

Computing for Geostatistics

Consulting Activities

Three software packages developed in-house:

MINVEST - financial evaluation and risk assessment for mining projects
Geostatistics for Windows - comprehensive mineral resource evaluation tools
Stochastic Rock Fractures - stochastic fracture modelling for rock masses

are used for consulting works. MINVEST package is also a commercial product and has user licenses worldwide.