About

Dr To has research expertise in numerical simulation, geotechnical and dam engineering. His focused topics are soil (surface and internal) erosion, slope stability, consolidation, ground improvement, and soil contamination. He is the author of a new suffusion assessment method, which is also applicable for contact erosion. This research received the first prize of a global research competition, the Golder Foundation Awards.

Dr To also has professional experience as a dam designer and design inspector in Vietnam. He is an author of a book for site engineers employing the Vacuum Consolidation Method.

 Dr To received his BSc and MSc at St. Petersburg State Polytechnical University, Russia, and his PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Queensland.  He was a postdoctoral researcher in Mathematical Sciences at Queensland University of Technology before joining JCU in 2016.

Teaching
  • CS3002: Soil Mechanics and Geology (Level 3; TSV)
  • CS4001: Foundation Engineering and Rock Mechanics (Level 4; TSV)
  • CS4010: Finite Element Analysis and Structural Dynamics (Level 4; TSV)
  • EG1000: Engineering 1 (Level 1; TSV)
Interests
Professional
  • Any topics related to geotechnical engineering and hydraulic engineering.
Research
  • Numerical methods in Geotechnical Engineering
  • Ground Improvement methods
  • Slope Stability. Slope scanning device. Geospatial engineering.
  • Geotechnical sensors. Wireless interface for sensors. GPR, TDR technologies.
  • Soil erosion and contamination.
Experience
  • 2017 - Calibration Academic, Innovative Research Universities
Research Disciplines
Honours
Awards
  • 2015 - Winner - Golder Foundation Award.
  • 2014 - UQ Future Leader
  • 2013 - 3 Minute Thesis - Winner and People Choice Award, School of Civil Engineering
  • 2014 to 2015 - Best Journal Paper, School of Civil Engineering
Publications

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles
Conference Papers
More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 25+ research outputs authored by Dr Peter To from 2012 onwards.

Current Funding

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

Queensland Pacific Metals - Contract Research

Sustainable assessment of nickel production residue as engineered landfill.

Indicative Funding
$39,415 over 1 year
Summary
The residue left after leaching is a silica-rich sand material, which will be a washed, filtered and neutralised with magnesia, before being stockpiled on site for over 36 months. Numerous options for the end use of this leach residue have been investigated and were previously reported by JCU. These included re-use as a building product in bricks and as an engineered fill. The results favoured the material as a potential fill material and since these results were published numerous potential sites requiring fill in and around the Townville region have been identified. For this to be viable the mechanical and chemical properties of the material must be further investigated. If successful, the results of this test program should indicate eligibility for an End of Waste Code (EOWC).
Investigators
Peter To, Rabin Tuladhar and Siva Sivakugan (College of Science & Engineering)
Keywords
Mining residue; Nickel; sustainable use

Queensland Pacific Metals - Contract Research

Sustainable use of tailings as land-fill and non-structural construction material - Phase 1

Indicative Funding
$30,000 over 1 year
Summary
The central aim of the project is the assessment of blended residue from Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub (TECH) for sustainable use. Tailings can be processed to remove the acidic content or mixed with binder to become safe backfill or non-structural materials. TECH proposed to process annually 600,000 tons of high grenade Nickel and Cobalt ore. Phase 1 of the project will undertake physical, chemical, geotechnical and engineering strength tests on tailings from TECH to estimate the limits and to assess characteristics, including the acid-insoluble content of the tailings. The understanding will help to develop research in phase 2 and 3.
Investigators
Peter To, Siva Sivakugan, Yinghe He, Mohan Jacob and Rabin Tuladhar (College of Science & Engineering)
Keywords
Tailings; Environmental Impact; Recycled Material; Backfill; Electro-Kinetic; Pyrolysis
Supervision

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current
  • Stresses within backfilled underground mine stopes and lateral loadings on the drive barricade (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
  • Stresses within hydraulic fills consolidating in underground mine stopes (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
Completed
Collaboration

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.

  • 5+ collaborations
  • 4 collaborations
  • 3 collaborations
  • 2 collaborations
  • 1 collaboration
  • Indicates the Tropics (Torrid Zone)

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