Skip to menu Skip to content Skip to footer
Dr Adnan Sufian
Dr

Adnan Sufian

Email: 

Overview

Background

Dr Adnan Sufian completed his PhD at UNSW Sydney, spending one year as a visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to joining the University of Queensland, he was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Imperial College London and has also worked as a geotechnical engineer with SMEC Australia. Dr Sufian's field of research is in the area of multi-scale and multi-phase mechanics of granular materials. His research aims to develop tools and guidelines so that geotechnical engineers can better handle, manipulate and construct with granular materials, and this can lead to innovative solutions to geotechnical issues surrounding the development of urban infrastructure. He is also interested in understanding natural phenomena associated with granular geomaterials such as landscapes affected by erosion, mass movement of materials in landslides, and mitigating the spread of contaminants in subsurface flows. Dr Sufian has strong expertise in the development of novel, efficient and rigorous multi-scale computational modelling techniques, including the Discrete Element Method, Computational Fluid Dynamics and Network Models, with a core focus on the interaction of water with soil particles. His research is naturally multidisciplinary and he currently collaborates with physicists, mathematicians and engineers to uncover emergent phenomena from the collective behaviour of granular particles.

Availability

Dr Adnan Sufian is:
Available for supervision

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of New South Wales

Research interests

  • Computational Modelling of Fluid-Particle Systems

    Development of computational tools including CFD-DEM (Computational Fluid Dynamics and Discrete Element Method) and PNM-DEM (Pore Network Model and Discrete Element Method).

  • Dual-Network Characterisation of Granular Materials

    Characterising the interplay between the network of contacts and the network of voids/pores in granular materials under complex stress states.

  • Internal Erosion in Embankment Dams and Flood Levees

    Application of computational and experimental techniques to uncover the fundamental mechanisms leading to the initiation and progression of internal erosion.

Works

Search Professor Adnan Sufian’s works on UQ eSpace

30 works between 2012 and 2024

21 - 30 of 30 works

2020

Journal Article

CPL library — a minimal framework for coupled particle and continuum simulation

Smith, E. R., Trevelyan, D. J., Ramos-Fernandez, E., Sufian, A., O’Sullivan, C. and Dini, D. (2020). CPL library — a minimal framework for coupled particle and continuum simulation. Computer Physics Communications, 250 107068, 107068. doi: 10.1016/j.cpc.2019.107068

CPL library — a minimal framework for coupled particle and continuum simulation

2019

Conference Publication

Influence of stress anisotropy on stress distributions in gap-graded soils

Artigaut, Marion, Sufian, Adnan, Ding, Xiaoxiao, Shire, Tom and O’Sullivan, Catherine (2019). Influence of stress anisotropy on stress distributions in gap-graded soils. 7th International Symposium on Deformation Characteristics of Geomaterials, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 26-28 June 2019. Les Ulis, France: EDP Sciences. doi: 10.1051/e3sconf/20199214007

Influence of stress anisotropy on stress distributions in gap-graded soils

2019

Journal Article

Ability of a pore network model to predict fluid flow and drag in saturated granular materials

Sufian, Adnan, Knight, Christopher, O'Sullivan, Catherine, van Wachem, Berend and Dini, Daniele (2019). Ability of a pore network model to predict fluid flow and drag in saturated granular materials. Computers and Geotechnics, 110, 344-366. doi: 10.1016/j.compgeo.2019.02.007

Ability of a pore network model to predict fluid flow and drag in saturated granular materials

2019

Journal Article

Evolving pore orientation, shape and size in sheared granular assemblies

Sufian, Adnan, Russell, Adrian R. and Whittle, Andrew J. (2019). Evolving pore orientation, shape and size in sheared granular assemblies. Granular Matter, 21 (1) 4. doi: 10.1007/s10035-018-0856-4

Evolving pore orientation, shape and size in sheared granular assemblies

2018

Journal Article

A computational geometry approach to pore network construction for granular packings

van der Linden, Joost H., Sufian, Adnan, Narsilio, Guillermo A., Russell, Adrian R. and Tordesillas, Antoinette (2018). A computational geometry approach to pore network construction for granular packings. Computers and Geosciences, 112, 133-143. doi: 10.1016/j.cageo.2017.12.004

A computational geometry approach to pore network construction for granular packings

2017

Journal Article

Analytical derivation of water retention for random monodisperse granular media

Ferraro, Anthony, Sufian, Adnan and Russell, Adrian R. (2017). Analytical derivation of water retention for random monodisperse granular media. Acta Geotechnica, 12 (6), 1319-1328. doi: 10.1007/s11440-017-0546-0

Analytical derivation of water retention for random monodisperse granular media

2017

Conference Publication

Micro-scale anisotropy of contacts and pores in granular media

Sufian, Adnan, Russell, Adrian R. and Whittle, Andrew J. (2017). Micro-scale anisotropy of contacts and pores in granular media. Powders and Grains 2017 – 8th International Conference on Micromechanics on Granular Media, Montpellier, France, 3-7 July 2017. Les Ulis, France: EDP Sciences. doi: 10.1051/epjconf/201714015003

Micro-scale anisotropy of contacts and pores in granular media

2016

Journal Article

Pore characterisation in monodisperse granular assemblies

Sufian, Adnan, Russell, Adrian R., Whittle, Andrew J. and Saadatfar, Mohammad (2016). Pore characterisation in monodisperse granular assemblies. Applied Mechanics and Materials, 846, 583-588. doi: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.846.583

Pore characterisation in monodisperse granular assemblies

2015

Conference Publication

Microstructural pore changes in Gosford sandstone during compressive loading

Sufian, A. and Russell, A. R. (2015). Microstructural pore changes in Gosford sandstone during compressive loading. Geomechanics from Micro to Macro - ProceedingsISSMGE International Symposium on Geomechanics from Micro to Macro, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 1-3 September 2014. Leiden, The Netherlands: Taylor and Francis - Balkema. doi: 10.1201/b17395-220

Microstructural pore changes in Gosford sandstone during compressive loading

2012

Conference Publication

Fibre reinforcement of prior stream sand

Sufian, Adnan and Russell, Adrian (2012). Fibre reinforcement of prior stream sand. 11th Australia New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 14-18 July 2012.

Fibre reinforcement of prior stream sand

Funding

Current funding

  • 2024 - 2027
    Predicting internal erosion in dams using real-time coupled experiments
    ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2023
    Safeguarding dams and levees from internal erosion failure
    ARC Early Career Industry Fellowships
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2023
    Large-scale physical modelling of an internal erosion dam failure
    Research Donation Generic
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2022
    Integrating Geotechnical Data with Computational Simulations to Develop Resilient Infrastructure
    UQ Knowledge Exchange & Translation Fund
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2022
    Principles of particle-scale assessment to evaluate internal erosion in civil infrastructure.
    UQ Early Career Researcher
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Dr Adnan Sufian is:
Available for supervision

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Resilient Infrastructure in a Changing Climate: A Focus on Scouring in Extreme Flood Events

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Alexander Scheuermann

Completed supervision

Media

Enquiries

For media enquiries about Dr Adnan Sufian's areas of expertise, story ideas and help finding experts, contact our Media team:

communications@uq.edu.au