Dr Asal Bidarmaghz

Dr Asal Bidarmaghz

Senior Lecturer
Engineering
Civil and Environmental Engineering

 

Senior Lecturer in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Asal Bidarmaghz is a Senior Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UNSW Sydney.

Asal's expertise is in Energy Geotechnics and Underground Climate Change including design and optimisation of energy geostructures, hydro-thermo-mechanical characteristics of urban subsurface and underground structures synergistically with above/underground built environment. 

Her research concerns large-scale simulation of urban underground heat island and the quantification of its consequent geotechnical, environmental, and hydrological impacts with specific emphasis on sustainable and resilient utilisation of underground structures and geo-energy resources. 

Asal's research has led to new urban-scale methods and tools for predicting the ground temperature and groundwater distributions at high resolutions in the presence of underground heat sources and sinks. 

read more here: https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/only-way-down-why-underground-urban-development-rise

Education and Employment

  • Senior Lecturer, UNSW, Australia (2022)
  • Lecturer, UNSW, Australia (2019)
  • Research Associate, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom (2017)
  • Research Fellow, University of Melbourne, Australia (2015)
  • PhD, University of Melbourne, Australia (2015)
  • MSc, University of Tehran, Iran (2008)
  • BSc, University of Tehran, Iran (2005)

Teaching

CVEN4202 Advanced Topics in Geotechnical Engineering 

CVEN4204 Ground Improvement Techniques 

Research Interests and Supervision

Asal currently leads UNSW's Energy Geotechnics research group comprising of 4 PhD and 2 MSc students.

Asal's research team conducts experimental, numerical, and fundamental studies in underground climate change, energy geostructures, energy geotechnics, thermally induced phenomena in saturated and unsaturated soils and their impact on sustainability of underground spaces and energy resources.

Asal's team has the capacity for 1-2 more passionate, enthusiastic PhD students to work on fundamental and applied studies in the field of energy geotechnics and underground climate change. Please email your CV if interested.

Service Roles and Professional Organisations/Affiliations

  • Chair of the UNSW Engineering Faculty Staff Gender Equity and Diversity Working Group
  • ISSMGE, TC 308 lead for Underground Climate Task Force
  • Australasia Renewable Earth Energy Association (AREAA), Secretary 
  • Australian Geomechanics Society (AGS) Sydney, Immediate Past Deputy Chair
  • Exec Committee Member of UNSW Women in Research Network (WiRN)
  • UNSW Australian Human Rights Institute Associate

Editorial Boards

Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology – Guest Editor

Awards

  • The Outstanding Paper Award, Elsevier's Journal of Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment (2022)
  • The Most Cited Paper Award, Elsevier's Journal of Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment (2019)
  • The Best Research and Practice Paper Award, the ICE Environmental Geotechnics Journal (2016)
  • The Best Paper Award, International Australia New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics (ANZ) (2012)

Expertise

Dr Bidarmaghz has expertise in the areas of shallow/deep geothermal systems design and optimisation, underground thermal mapping, hydro-thermo-mechanical modelling of shallow subsurface, energy geostructures, e.g., energy tunnels design, modelling and optimisation, understanding and quantification of subsurface heat island effect, large-scale modelling of geothermal potential in cities with emphasis on the interplay between underground structures and the surrounding saturated/unsaturated ground.

 

Phone
(+61 2) 9385 5942
Location
Civil Engineering Building (H20) Level 5, Room CE502 Kensington Campus
  • Book Chapters | 2025
    Kumar A; Bidarmaghz A; Khoshghalb A, 2025, 'Coupled Hydro-Thermal Response of Unsaturated Soils Under Non-isothermal Conditions', in , pp. 171 - 178, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-8221-5_17
    Book Chapters | 2023
    Bidarmaghz A; Makasis N; Fei W; Narsilio GA, 2023, 'Investigating the Effectiveness of Energy Tunnels in Cooling Underground Substations', in , pp. 593 - 600, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12851-6_70
  • Journal articles | 2025
    Kumar A; Bidarmaghz A; Khoshghalb A; Soga K, 2025, 'Coupled heat and moisture migration in unsaturated soils subjected to thermal gradients', Computers and Geotechnics, 177, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2024.106893
    Journal articles | 2024
    Pirjalili A; Bidarmaghz A; Khoshghalb A; Russell AR, 2024, 'A thermal testing device to determine thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity of saturated and dry soils', Geotechnique, http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.24.01232
    Journal articles | 2023
    Dai X; Bidarmaghz A; Narsilio GA, 2023, 'Energy tunnels: A review of the state of the art and knowledge gaps to harness renewable energy from underground infrastructure', Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 142, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2023.105431
    Journal articles | 2023
    Dai X; Bidarmaghz A; Narsilio GA, 2023, 'Numerical investigation on the thermal performance of energy tunnels under groundwater flow and tunnel airflow', Symposium on Energy Geotechnics 2023, pp. 1 - 2, http://dx.doi.org/10.59490/seg.2023.525
    Journal articles | 2023
    Ghasemiardekani M; Dadpour R; Irannezhad E; Bidarmaghz A, 2023, 'Endangering trust in health services: using ambulances to arrest protesters in Iran', Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 39, pp. 345 - 351, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13623699.2023.2264122
    Journal articles | 2023
    Kreitmair MJ; Makasis N; Bidarmaghz A; Menberg K; Choudhary R; Soga K, 2023, 'Finding common ground: A methodology for city-scale subsurface thermal modelling', Urban Climate, 49, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2023.101513
    Journal articles | 2023
    Makasis N; Bidarmaghz A; Fei W; Narsilio GA, 2023, 'Cooling underground substations worldwide using heat pumps', Symposium on Energy Geotechnics 2023, http://dx.doi.org/10.59490/seg.2023.528
    Journal articles | 2023
    Pirjalili A; Bidarmaghz A; Khoshghalb A; Russell A, 2023, 'novel experimental technique to evaluate soil thermal conductivity in a transient state', Symposium on Energy Geotechnics 2023, http://dx.doi.org/10.59490/seg.2023.519
    Journal articles | 2023
    Rottemberg MJ; Bidarmaghz A; Khoshghalb A; Sfriso AO, 2023, 'Thermo-mechanical analysis of energy tunnels accounting for thermo-plasticity', Symposium on Energy Geotechnics 2023, http://dx.doi.org/10.59490/seg.2023.526
    Journal articles | 2023
    Zhong Y; Bidarmaghz A; Narsilio GA; Makasis N, 2023, 'Thermo-hydraulic analysis in geothermal energy walls', Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 132, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2022.104862
    Journal articles | 2022
    Bidarmaghz A; Narsilio GA, 2022, 'Is natural convection within an aquifer a critical phenomenon in deep borehole heat exchangers' efficiency?', Applied Thermal Engineering, 212, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2022.118450
    Journal articles | 2022
    Kreitmair MJ; Makasis N; Menberg K; Bidarmaghz A; Farr GJ; Boon DP; Choudhary R, 2022, 'Bayesian parameter inference for shallow subsurface modeling using field data and impacts on geothermal planning', Data-Centric Engineering, 3, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/dce.2022.32
    Journal articles | 2021
    Bidarmaghz A; Choudhary R; Narsilio G; Soga K, 2021, 'Impacts of underground climate change on urban geothermal potential: Lessons learnt from a case study in London', Science of the Total Environment, 778, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146196
    Journal articles | 2021
    Bidarmaghz A; Makasis N; Fei W; Narsilio GA, 2021, 'An efficient and sustainable approach for cooling underground substations', Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 113, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2021.103986
    Journal articles | 2021
    Makasis N; Kreitmair MJ; Bidarmaghz A; Farr GJ; Scheidegger JM; Choudhary R, 2021, 'Impact of simplifications on numerical modelling of the shallow subsurface at city-scale and implications for shallow geothermal potential', Science of the Total Environment, 791, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148236
    Journal articles | 2021
    Menberg K; Bidarmaghz A; Gregory A; Choudhary R; Girolami M, 2021, 'Multi-fidelity approach to Bayesian parameter estimation in subsurface heat and fluid transport models ', , http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-10001
    Journal articles | 2021
    Zhou Y; Bidarmaghz A; Makasis N; Narsilio G, 2021, 'Ground-source heat pump systems: The effects of variable trench separations and pipe configurations in horizontal ground heat exchangers', Energies, 14, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/en14133919
    Journal articles | 2020
    Bidarmaghz A; Choudhary R; Soga K; Terrington RL; Kessler H; Thorpe S, 2020, 'Large-scale urban underground hydro-thermal modelling – A case study of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London', Science of the Total Environment, 700, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134955
    Journal articles | 2020
    Kreitmair M; Bidarmaghz A; Terrington R; Farr G; Choudhary R, 2020, 'A calibrated 3D thermal model of urban heat fluxes into the shallow subsurface', , http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-22207
    Journal articles | 2020
    Makasis N; Narsilio GA; Bidarmaghz A; Johnston IW; Zhong Y, 2020, 'The importance of boundary conditions on the modelling of energy retaining walls', Computers and Geotechnics, 120, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2019.103399
    Journal articles | 2020
    Menberg K; Bidarmaghz A; Gregory A; Choudhary R; Girolami M, 2020, 'Multi-fidelity approach to Bayesian parameter estimation in subsurface heat and fluid transport models', Science of the Total Environment, 745, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140846
    Journal articles | 2019
    Bidarmaghz A; Choudhary R; Soga K; Kessler H; Terrington RL; Thorpe S, 2019, 'Influence of geology and hydrogeology on heat rejection from residential basements in urban areas', Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 92, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2019.103068
    Journal articles | 2018
    Bidarmaghz A; Narsilio GA, 2018, 'Heat exchange mechanisms in energy tunnel systems', Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment, 16, pp. 83 - 95, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gete.2018.07.004
    Journal articles | 2018
    Jensen-Page L; Narsilio GA; Bidarmaghz A; Johnston IW, 2018, 'Investigation of the effect of seasonal variation in ground temperature on thermal response tests', Renewable Energy, 125, pp. 609 - 619, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2017.12.095
    Journal articles | 2018
    Makasis N; Narsilio GA; Bidarmaghz A; Johnston IW, 2018, 'Carrier fluid temperature data in vertical ground heat exchangers with a varying pipe separation', Data in Brief, 18, pp. 1466 - 1470, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2018.04.005
    Journal articles | 2018
    Makasis N; Narsilio GA; Bidarmaghz A; Johnston IW, 2018, 'Ground-source heat pump systems: The effect of variable pipe separation in ground heat exchangers', Computers and Geotechnics, 100, pp. 97 - 109, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2018.02.010
    Journal articles | 2018
    Makasis N; Narsilio GA; Bidarmaghz A, 2018, 'A machine learning approach to energy pile design', Computers and Geotechnics, 97, pp. 189 - 203, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2018.01.011
    Journal articles | 2018
    Makasis N; Narsilio GA; Bidarmaghz A, 2018, 'A robust prediction model approach to energy geo-structure design', Computers and Geotechnics, 104, pp. 140 - 151, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2018.08.012
    Journal articles | 2017
    Bidarmaghz A; Narsilio GA; Buhmann P; Moormann C; Westrich B, 2017, 'Thermal interaction between tunnel ground heat exchangers and borehole heat exchangers', Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment, 10, pp. 29 - 41, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gete.2017.05.001
    Journal articles | 2016
    Bidarmaghz A; Makasis N; Narsilio GA; Francisca FM; Magalí ECP, 2016, 'Geothermal energy in loess', Environmental Geotechnics, 3, pp. 225 - 236, http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/jenge.15.00025
    Journal articles | 2016
    Bidarmaghz A; Narsilio GA; Johnston IW; Colls S, 2016, 'The importance of surface air temperature fluctuations on long-term performance of vertical ground heat exchangers', Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment, 6, pp. 35 - 44, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gete.2016.02.003
    Journal articles | 2016
    Bidarmaghz A; Narsilio GA, 2016, 'Shallow geothermal energy: Emerging convective phenomena in permeable saturated soils', Geotechnique Letters, 6, pp. 119 - 123, http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/jgele.15.00167
    Journal articles | 2012
    Bidarmaghz A; Narsilio G; Johnston IW, 2012, 'Numerical modelling of ground loop configurations for Direct geothermal applications', Australian Geomechanics Journal, 47, pp. 15 - 20
  • Preprints | 2023
    Kreitmair M; Makasis N; Bidarmaghz A; Menberg K; Choudhary R; Soga K, 2023, Finding Common Ground: A Methodology for City-Scale Subsurface Thermal Modelling, , http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4326649
    Conference Abstracts | 2020
    Bidarmaghz A; Narsilio GA, (ed.), 2020, 'Influence of aquifer natural convection on deep borehole heat exchanger efficiency', in E3S Web of Conferences, EDP Sciences, Vol. 205, pp. 13001 - 13001, http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202020513001
    Conference Papers | 2020
    Kreitmair MJ; Makasis N; Bidarmaghz A; Terrington RL; Farr GJ; Scheidegger JM; Choudhary R, 2020, 'Effect of anthropogenic heat sources in the shallow subsurface at city-scale', in E3S Web of Conferences, http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202020507002
    Conference Papers | 2019
    Makasis N; Narsilio GA; Bidarmaghz A; Johnston IW, 2019, 'The application of retaining walls and slabs as energy structures in underground train stations', in Springer Series in Geomechanics and Geoengineering, pp. 43 - 50, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99670-7_6
    Conference Papers | 2019
    Terrington RL; Thorpe S; Kessler H; Bidarmaghz A; Choudhary R; Yuan M; Bricker S, 2019, 'Making geology relevant for infrastructure and planning', in International Conference on Smart Infrastructure and Construction 2019, ICSIC 2019: Driving Data-Informed Decision-Making, pp. 403 - 409, http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/icsic.64669.403
    Conference Papers | 2018
    Zhou Y; Mikhaylova O; Bidarmaghz A; Donovan B; Narsilio G; Aye L, 2018, 'HYBRID GEOTHERMAL-GAS AND GEOTHERMAL-SOLAR-GAS HEATING SYSTEMS FOR POULTRY SHEDS', in ZEMCH International Conference, pp. 545 - 556
    Conference Papers | 2017
    Bidarmaghz A; Narsilio GA; Buhmann P; Moormann C; Westrich B, 2017, 'Numerical and experimental investigation of geothermal integration into tunnels', in ICSMGE 2017 - 19th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, pp. 3427 - 3430
    Conference Papers | 2017
    Makasis N; Narsilio GA; Bidarmaghz A, 2017, 'Optimising the design of energy piles using machine learning', in ICSMGE 2017 - 19th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, pp. 3455 - 3458
    Conference Papers | 2016
    Bidarmaghz A; Narsilio GA, 2016, 'The influence of natural convection on thermal performance of ground heat exchangers', in Energy Geotechnics - Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Energy Geotechnics, ICEGT 2016, pp. 145 - 148, http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/b21938-25
    Conference Papers | 2016
    Buhmann P; Westrich B; Moormann C; Bidarmaghz A; Narsilio G, 2016, 'An investigation of the potential thermal energy of geothermal tunnels with focus on a case study in Stuttgart, Germany', in Energy Geotechnics - Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Energy Geotechnics, ICEGT 2016, pp. 601 - 605, http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/b21938-94
    Conference Papers | 2016
    Jensen-Page L; Narsilio GA; Bidarmaghz A; Johnston IW, 2016, 'Impact of the Seasonal Variations in Ground Temperature on Thermal Response Test Results', in Geotechnical Special Publication, pp. 52 - 61, http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/9780784480137.006
    Conference Papers | 2016
    Makasis N; Narsilio GA; Bidarmaghz A; Johnston IW, 2016, 'Effects of ground heat exchanger variable pipe separation in ground-source heat pump systems', in Energy Geotechnics - Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Energy Geotechnics, ICEGT 2016, pp. 155 - 162, http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/b21938-27
    Theses / Dissertations | 2015
    Bidarmaghz A, 2015, 3D numerical modelling of vertical ground heat exchangers
    Conference Papers | 2015
    Narsilio GA; Francisca F; Ferrero H; Bidarmaghz A; Serrano C; Carro Perez ME; Makasis N; Delacoste E, 2015, 'Geothermal Energy in Loess: A Detailed Numerical Case Study for Cordoba', in Manzanal D; Sfriso AO (ed.), FROM FUNDAMENTALS TO APPLICATIONS IN GEOTECHNICS, IOS PRESS, ARGENTINA, Buenos Aires, pp. 704 - 711, presented at 15th Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (PCSMGE) / 8th South American Congress on Rock Mechanics (SCRM), ARGENTINA, Buenos Aires, 15 November 2015 - 18 November 2015, http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/978-1-61499-603-3-704
    Conference Papers | 2013
    Bidarmaghz A; Narsilio G; Johnston I, 2013, 'Numerical modelling of ground heat exchangers with different ground loop configurations for direct geothermal applications', in 18th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering: Challenges and Innovations in Geotechnics, ICSMGE 2013, pp. 3343 - 3346
    Conference Papers | 2012
    Asal Bidarmaghz ; Narsilio G; Johnston I, 2012, 'Numerical modelling of ground loop configurations for Direct geothermalapplications', in Australian Geomechanics Journal, pp. 21 - 26
    Preprints |
    Zhou Y; Bidarmaghz A; Makasis N; Narsilio G, Ground-Source Heat Pump Systems: The Effects of Variable Trench Separations and Pipe Configurations in Horizontal Ground Heat Exchangers, http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4927324