Variable Geometry Cooling Intakes for Passenger Vehicles. Cars reject engine heat via air forced through the grille, radiator and engine bay. The associated "cooling drag" increases total aerodynamic drag by 10-15% hence increasing fuel consumption. The highest heat load that needs to be rejected by the engine determines the quantity of cooling air, resulting in systems that are over designed for typical driving. This research provides a strategy of adjusting the cooling airflow to match the ....Variable Geometry Cooling Intakes for Passenger Vehicles. Cars reject engine heat via air forced through the grille, radiator and engine bay. The associated "cooling drag" increases total aerodynamic drag by 10-15% hence increasing fuel consumption. The highest heat load that needs to be rejected by the engine determines the quantity of cooling air, resulting in systems that are over designed for typical driving. This research provides a strategy of adjusting the cooling airflow to match the engine requirements (via variable geometry intakes that can be under the control of the engine management computer) offering substantial reductions in fuel consumption and emissions.Read moreRead less
Reactivity of Carbon-Carbon Composites. This project investigates the reactivity of pitch-coke carbon composites with the aim of minimising oxidative carbon loss from anodes during aluminium smelting. Such carbon loss accounts for about 15 percent of the total carbon consumption in smelting, and its reduction will provide considerable economic benefit besides contributing to mitigation of greenhouse gas emission. In the present project the effect of coke calcination and composite baking temper ....Reactivity of Carbon-Carbon Composites. This project investigates the reactivity of pitch-coke carbon composites with the aim of minimising oxidative carbon loss from anodes during aluminium smelting. Such carbon loss accounts for about 15 percent of the total carbon consumption in smelting, and its reduction will provide considerable economic benefit besides contributing to mitigation of greenhouse gas emission. In the present project the effect of coke calcination and composite baking temperatures on the relationship between anode microstructure and reactivity in oxygen as well as carbon dioxide will be investigated, and optimum process conditions determined for minimum reactive carbon loss during smelting.Read moreRead less
Optimisation of Dual Fuel Compression Ignition (Diesel) Engines With Respect to Engine Performance and Pollutant Emissions. A successful dual-fuel compression ignition (diesel) engine technology utilizing renewable alcohol fuels will provide a commercially attractive, immediate solution to the global fuel challenges of security and cost of oil supply, greenhouse gas emissions, and air quality . This project provides both the rigorous laboratory and field testing required to develop, test, optim ....Optimisation of Dual Fuel Compression Ignition (Diesel) Engines With Respect to Engine Performance and Pollutant Emissions. A successful dual-fuel compression ignition (diesel) engine technology utilizing renewable alcohol fuels will provide a commercially attractive, immediate solution to the global fuel challenges of security and cost of oil supply, greenhouse gas emissions, and air quality . This project provides both the rigorous laboratory and field testing required to develop, test, optimize and validate both engine performance and pollution emissions. This ethanol dual fuel approach has the potential to reduce Australia's dependence on imported fuels, support the development of regional agriculture and employment through the expansion of the biofuels industry and enhance the environmental performance of transport and stationary engines.Read moreRead less
Optimisation of indoor air quality, thermal comfort and energy usage within buildings located in busy transit oriented urban developments. The socio-economic benefits to Australia from the project include (i) a novel holistic modelling tool to building design that maximises indoor comfort and provides acceptable air quality for the inhabitants whilst minimising energy usage in transit oriented urban developments; and (ii) estimation of energy consumption for different building designs and operat ....Optimisation of indoor air quality, thermal comfort and energy usage within buildings located in busy transit oriented urban developments. The socio-economic benefits to Australia from the project include (i) a novel holistic modelling tool to building design that maximises indoor comfort and provides acceptable air quality for the inhabitants whilst minimising energy usage in transit oriented urban developments; and (ii) estimation of energy consumption for different building designs and operation with respect to air quality and thermal comfort. The ultimate economic benefit of this research will be a reduction in health care costs and lost productivity as well as reduction of energy used and associated emissions. The research will also place Australia in the forefront of international progress and the race towards better methods for achieving environmental sustainability.Read moreRead less
Variable speed diesel power conversion system using a doubly fed induction generator. The proposed Variable Speed Diesel Generator to be developed as part of this project will use less fuel and run cleaner with reduced wear than conventional generators. The widespread use of this technology in remote area diesel and hybrid power systems with renewable energy sources will result in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The project will result in enhanced national and international market oppor ....Variable speed diesel power conversion system using a doubly fed induction generator. The proposed Variable Speed Diesel Generator to be developed as part of this project will use less fuel and run cleaner with reduced wear than conventional generators. The widespread use of this technology in remote area diesel and hybrid power systems with renewable energy sources will result in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The project will result in enhanced national and international market opportunities for Australian made power generation equipment for rural electrification. This project will enable Australian companies to be on the leading edge of mini to medium size stand-alone mini grid diesel power stations. This will have a significant impact on the economic development and on job creation in AustraliaRead moreRead less
Enhanced Waste Heat Recovery from Low-grade Heat Sources Using a Novel Supercritical Power Cycle. Compared with conventional technologies for waste heat recovery, GRANEX cycle offers higher thermal efficiencies, better economics and a greater degree of robustness. If deployed ascross the country to recover even 10% of the nation's waste heat, it would reduce greenhouse emissions by 9 mega tonne which is roughly 1.6% of the annual national emissions. That is equivalent to the yearly CO2 emissions ....Enhanced Waste Heat Recovery from Low-grade Heat Sources Using a Novel Supercritical Power Cycle. Compared with conventional technologies for waste heat recovery, GRANEX cycle offers higher thermal efficiencies, better economics and a greater degree of robustness. If deployed ascross the country to recover even 10% of the nation's waste heat, it would reduce greenhouse emissions by 9 mega tonne which is roughly 1.6% of the annual national emissions. That is equivalent to the yearly CO2 emissions from 648,000 houses or 2 million cars. The proposed research will place Australia within the forefront of the research and development activities in the field of waste heat recovery and will clearly contribute to the Federal Government’s effort in the National Research Priority 1, An Environmentally Sustainable Australia.Read moreRead less
Homogeneous Combustion Catalysts for Efficiency Improvements and Emission Reduction in Diesel Engines. Australia currently consumes about 25 billion litres of diesel annually through the mining industry, road transportation and electricity generation for remote communities which presentins a significant cost and carbon footprint. A small reduction of say 2.5% in diesel consumption nationwide by improving engine performance and energy efficiency can result in more than $0.5 billion in savings and ....Homogeneous Combustion Catalysts for Efficiency Improvements and Emission Reduction in Diesel Engines. Australia currently consumes about 25 billion litres of diesel annually through the mining industry, road transportation and electricity generation for remote communities which presentins a significant cost and carbon footprint. A small reduction of say 2.5% in diesel consumption nationwide by improving engine performance and energy efficiency can result in more than $0.5 billion in savings and a reduction of 1.75 million tonnes in greenhouse gas emission annually. The homogeneous combustion catalysts, to be developed in this research for direct doping into diesel supply system, will help realise these objectives and contribute to the development of an environmentally sustainable Australia.Read moreRead less
Fundamental Data and Thermodynamic Modelling for Cryogenic LNG Fluids to Improve Process Design, Simulation and Operation. This research will contribute to a more environmentally sustainable Australia because it will promote the use of natural gas as a fuel supply which produces significantly fewer greenhouse gases than oil or coal. This project will improve the ability of engineers to reliably simulate LNG production plants as well as test new processes and technologies with the potential to in ....Fundamental Data and Thermodynamic Modelling for Cryogenic LNG Fluids to Improve Process Design, Simulation and Operation. This research will contribute to a more environmentally sustainable Australia because it will promote the use of natural gas as a fuel supply which produces significantly fewer greenhouse gases than oil or coal. This project will improve the ability of engineers to reliably simulate LNG production plants as well as test new processes and technologies with the potential to increase efficiency or revenue. Consequently, the level of over-engineering and, thus, the capital and operational costs of such plants will decrease. This in turn will promote the development of Australian gas reserves, particularly for those fields currently on the margins of economic viability.Read moreRead less
MULTI-FUNCTION POWER ELECTRONIC INTERFACE FOR HYBRID MINI-GRID SYSTEMS. Village electrification represents a high potential market for hybrid power systems. Many stand-alone diesel units are powering mini-grids all around the world and could be retrofitted with renewable power generators and battery storage units. Power electronics, the technology of efficiently processing electric power, plays an essential part in the integration of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and micro-hydro a ....MULTI-FUNCTION POWER ELECTRONIC INTERFACE FOR HYBRID MINI-GRID SYSTEMS. Village electrification represents a high potential market for hybrid power systems. Many stand-alone diesel units are powering mini-grids all around the world and could be retrofitted with renewable power generators and battery storage units. Power electronics, the technology of efficiently processing electric power, plays an essential part in the integration of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and micro-hydro at the electricity distribution level. The objective of this project will be to develop a new generation of core power electronics technology(patent pending)for single phase and medium scale three phase grid-interactive and standalone/hybrid renewable energy applications.Read moreRead less
A methodology for the control of harmonics due to large distorting loads. The ideal electricity supply has a voltage of prescribed frequencey and value with a sinusoidal waveshape. Modern electronic equipment such as digital commuication equipment and automatic manufacturing lines draw non-sinusoidal currents which distort the voltage waveform. Electricity suppliers are responsible for limiting voltage distoration to levels set by national standards. Techniques have been developed to allow them ....A methodology for the control of harmonics due to large distorting loads. The ideal electricity supply has a voltage of prescribed frequencey and value with a sinusoidal waveshape. Modern electronic equipment such as digital commuication equipment and automatic manufacturing lines draw non-sinusoidal currents which distort the voltage waveform. Electricity suppliers are responsible for limiting voltage distoration to levels set by national standards. Techniques have been developed to allow them to determine the maximum level of current distortion to which a particular customer is entitled. This project will developand verify a method for determining if a particular customer exceeds that entitlement.Read moreRead less