Structural Engineering · Monash University
Colin Caprani
PhD ·CEng FIStructE ·CPEng FIEAust NER ·CEng FIEI ·FIABSE ·RPEV ·MASCE
Making bridge and infrastructure decisions more rational through probability, field data, dynamics, monitoring and software.
Impact
Research that reaches the field
In the field
600-tonne superloads, cleared safely
We monitor ageing bridges on-site, often overnight, so critical transports can cross.
In service
Powering Victoria’s heavy-vehicle permits
Our structural assessment engine runs HVSAPS on the NHVR portal. 4,000+ assessments, approvals cut from months to days, fees removed.
Bridge loading
Keeping heavy freight moving
Reliability and traffic modelling let industry use the bridges we already have.
Monitoring
Instrumenting real structures
Sensors turn a bridge into a measured object, revealing how it truly behaves.
Invited talks
Bridge assessment on the DBBS stage
Speaking in Dresden on probabilistic bridge loading and assessment strategies for the German bridge community.
In the public eye
A trusted voice on bridge safety
From Baltimore to Genoa, explainers read over 200,000 times.
Public reports
Work that shapes the codes
Monash · LXRP · 2024
Probabilistic design of standardised U-Trough bridge girders
Read the report →
Monash · LXRP · 2026
Probabilistic design of standardised U-Trough bridge substructures
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Monash · LXRP · 2026
Suitability of 40–65 MPa concrete for U-Trough girders and substructures
Read the report →AJSE · 2020
On the use of MCFT per AS 5100.5 for the assessment of shear capacities of existing structures
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AustRoads · 2020
Bridge assessment beyond the AS 5100 deterministic methodology
Read the report →From the notebook
- 28 June 2026New paper: Bayesian model selection for off-axis strength
- 28 June 2026PyCBA reaches 1.0
- 26 June 2026A workshop, not a museum
- 29 May 2023Monash Uni Woodside Building Earthquake Response (May 2023)
Recent publications
- 2026Output‑only road roughness identification from vehicle axle accelerations through a universal smoothing method
- 2026PyBTLS: A Python-C++ open-source package for traffic load simulation on short-to-medium span bridges
- 2026Dynamic response of a combined beam and spring-mass system under moving load: A closed-form solution using higher-order ordinary differential equations
- 2026A separation-of-variable dynamic stiffness method for the free vibration of thin orthotropic rectangular plates with general homogeneous boundary conditions
Current focus
Research themes
Bridging rigorous probabilistic methods with real-world bridge engineering practice.
Bridge Traffic Loading
Characteristic load effects for short- to long-span bridges from weigh-in-motion data and traffic microsimulation.
Structural Reliability
Probabilistic assessment and statistics of extremes for safer, more efficient management of existing bridges.
Structural Health Monitoring
Monitoring-informed assessment and the safe movement of 600-tonne superload transports across ageing bridges.
Vibration Serviceability
Human–structure interaction and the dynamic response of lightweight footbridges.
Structural safety · the pinnacle of the field
Joint Committee on Structural Safety (JCSS)
A member of the JCSS — the international authority on structural reliability — contributing to the Probabilistic Model Code, leading work on the probabilistic modelling of bridge traffic loading, and co-chairing the joint CROSS × JCSS structural-safety workshop.
Tools
Open-source software
Most-used packages from the group — see the full suite on the Software page.
Monash Smart Structures
The group
A research group at the intersection of bridge engineering, probability and sensing — in the lab and in the field, often through the night, keeping critical infrastructure safe and open. Meet the current team and celebrate our alumni.
Meet the group →Since 2008
A continuous record
Everything written here since 2008, including the original posts and their 540+ reader discussions, now sits in one timeline. The older course, software and project pages remain in the archive.
Read the notes →