Crack Propagation within Graded Interfaces. Functionally graded interfaces are a technologically new way of joining materials in a wide range of biomedical and industrial applications. The reduction in the interfacial stresses resulting from the graded interface increases the structural integrity of the component, however, existing models do not fully address issues of plasticity and cyclic fatigue to their fracture. The intention of this study is to investigate how modifications to the ductil ....Crack Propagation within Graded Interfaces. Functionally graded interfaces are a technologically new way of joining materials in a wide range of biomedical and industrial applications. The reduction in the interfacial stresses resulting from the graded interface increases the structural integrity of the component, however, existing models do not fully address issues of plasticity and cyclic fatigue to their fracture. The intention of this study is to investigate how modifications to the ductile reinforcement phase and how the cyclic loading influence crack extension within a graded interface. These results will assist in future design and prediction of the in-service lifetime of components containing gradient interfaces.Read moreRead less
A Segmented Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor for Wide Field Weakening Range and its Sensorless Control using Improved Flux Estimators. Australia has the world's second largest reserve (after China) of high energy-density permanent magnet (neodymium-iron-boron) material for the IPM motor. The present limitation of the machine to be driven sensorless over a wide speed range with field weakening is believed to be holding back its widespread use in applications other than servo-type which ....A Segmented Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor for Wide Field Weakening Range and its Sensorless Control using Improved Flux Estimators. Australia has the world's second largest reserve (after China) of high energy-density permanent magnet (neodymium-iron-boron) material for the IPM motor. The present limitation of the machine to be driven sensorless over a wide speed range with field weakening is believed to be holding back its widespread use in applications other than servo-type which requires high-resolution mechanical sensors. Extension of the motor speed range by a combination of magnetic system design (for large field weakening range), and sensorless position and flux estimation with sufficient accuracy for fast dynamic control should lead to large scale adoption of this motor, and hence to significant improvement in energy efficiency and market share for Australia.Read moreRead less
Towards a unified theory of constrained control and estimation. The project will investigate the implications of duality and other connections between constrained control and estimation. We believe that the research will result in a richer understanding of these problems. In particular, we envisage an impact in at least four areas: (i) Computational issues, i.e., development of more efficient algorithms for constrained problems. (ii) Geometry of constrained problems, by extending recent results ....Towards a unified theory of constrained control and estimation. The project will investigate the implications of duality and other connections between constrained control and estimation. We believe that the research will result in a richer understanding of these problems. In particular, we envisage an impact in at least four areas: (i) Computational issues, i.e., development of more efficient algorithms for constrained problems. (ii) Geometry of constrained problems, by extending recent results pertaining to constrained control to estimation problems. (iii) Problems with mixed constraints, for example, interval and finite set constraints. (iv) Fundamental limitations imposed by constraints to filtering and control problems.Read moreRead less
The study of wear debris using advanced technologies. A large portion of the operating cost of machinery is associated with wear due to the interaction between moving surfaces, which generates wear particles as by-products. The wear particles thus carry information regarding the wearing process, and can be used to assess the machine's condition and further facilitate failure prediction and minimise maintenance. This project will explore the mechanisms and possible influence of corrosion on the w ....The study of wear debris using advanced technologies. A large portion of the operating cost of machinery is associated with wear due to the interaction between moving surfaces, which generates wear particles as by-products. The wear particles thus carry information regarding the wearing process, and can be used to assess the machine's condition and further facilitate failure prediction and minimise maintenance. This project will explore the mechanisms and possible influence of corrosion on the wearing process. A new methodology will be developed to quantify the wearing process. This research will significantly advance our understanding with respect to wear and provide innovative means for identifying wear mechanisms/phases.Read moreRead less
New System Identification Techniques Utilising Misspecified Models. National benefits of the proposed research project will result from improvements in control due to a better, more complete understanding of the models obtained by the newly proposed system identification technique. The resulting effect on industrial practice will be an increase in efficiency, by reduced waste, lower pollution levels and increased throughput. Also, the techniques developed will be directly applicable to current r ....New System Identification Techniques Utilising Misspecified Models. National benefits of the proposed research project will result from improvements in control due to a better, more complete understanding of the models obtained by the newly proposed system identification technique. The resulting effect on industrial practice will be an increase in efficiency, by reduced waste, lower pollution levels and increased throughput. Also, the techniques developed will be directly applicable to current research in the areas of complex systems, such as smart structures and biological studies of the dynamic effects of drugs and hormones on genes.Read moreRead less
Smart CMOS Vision Sensors in Deep Sub-0.25um CMOS Technologies. This research project aims to develop a new generation of smart vision sensors featuring on-chip and pixel-level implementation of human vision based algorithms. Built in state-of-the-art deep sub-0.25um CMOS technologies, these imagers will feature extensive in-pixel processing power in contrast to the currently commercially available CMOS vision sensors. This will enable on-chip vision-based decision making but also increased on-c ....Smart CMOS Vision Sensors in Deep Sub-0.25um CMOS Technologies. This research project aims to develop a new generation of smart vision sensors featuring on-chip and pixel-level implementation of human vision based algorithms. Built in state-of-the-art deep sub-0.25um CMOS technologies, these imagers will feature extensive in-pixel processing power in contrast to the currently commercially available CMOS vision sensors. This will enable on-chip vision-based decision making but also increased on-chip image processing. These innovative system-on-chip features will contribute towards the positioning of CMOS imaging technology as the technology of choice for most digital imaging applications, in place of the existing, and so far unchallenged, CCD technology.
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Non-linear dynamics of magnetic bearing systems. The aim of this project is to gain a much deeper insight into the effects of non-linearities on the dynamic behavior and on the performance of active magnetic bearings(AMBs). This project will focus attention on stability analysis, bifurcation control, malfunction analysis, and nonlinear dynamic behavior. The expected outcomes are better understanding and prediction of nonlinear behavior and control of AMBs and improved guidelines for designing sa ....Non-linear dynamics of magnetic bearing systems. The aim of this project is to gain a much deeper insight into the effects of non-linearities on the dynamic behavior and on the performance of active magnetic bearings(AMBs). This project will focus attention on stability analysis, bifurcation control, malfunction analysis, and nonlinear dynamic behavior. The expected outcomes are better understanding and prediction of nonlinear behavior and control of AMBs and improved guidelines for designing safer and more effective AMBs.Read moreRead less
Investigation of the audio spotlight for active noise control. The focus of this project is to investigate a new technology - the audio spotlight - with the aim of developing an active noise control (ANC) system that incorporates the audio spotlight as a control source. The audio spotlight offers the potential to overcome or significantly modify the fundamental physical constraints that limit the performance of ANC systems that use conventional loudspeakers as control sources. Just as audio spot ....Investigation of the audio spotlight for active noise control. The focus of this project is to investigate a new technology - the audio spotlight - with the aim of developing an active noise control (ANC) system that incorporates the audio spotlight as a control source. The audio spotlight offers the potential to overcome or significantly modify the fundamental physical constraints that limit the performance of ANC systems that use conventional loudspeakers as control sources. Just as audio spotlights may be the most radical technological development in acoustics since the invention of the coil loudspeaker, successful incorporation of an audio spotlight into an active noise control system will revolutionise active noise control.Read moreRead less
Supersonic flow past micro-scale particles: Industrial applications. Droplet based materials processing has developed significantly over the last decade, with applications in a wide range of industries where high-strength, light-weight materials are critical. Our research will allow for continued progress of this method, by developing accurate models to predict the cooling rate throughout the process and hence the physical properties of the finished product. Development of this knowledge will al ....Supersonic flow past micro-scale particles: Industrial applications. Droplet based materials processing has developed significantly over the last decade, with applications in a wide range of industries where high-strength, light-weight materials are critical. Our research will allow for continued progress of this method, by developing accurate models to predict the cooling rate throughout the process and hence the physical properties of the finished product. Development of this knowledge will allow for higher precision products to be produced and allow for new techniques to be developed. This information will allow for material processing in Australia to be maintained at world class levels, and for Australian industry to continue to lead the way in the production of technologically advanced materials.Read moreRead less
A new paradigm for teaching machines to replicate the manipulation skills of humans using tactile sensing in a virtual environment. The broad aims of this proposal are to study machine learning in the psychomotor domain, and to show the feasibility of on line transfer of physically constrained manipulation skills from a human operator to a manipulator through demonstration utilising a virtual training environment with tactile sensing. The proposed work is unique in its approach and hypothesis, a ....A new paradigm for teaching machines to replicate the manipulation skills of humans using tactile sensing in a virtual environment. The broad aims of this proposal are to study machine learning in the psychomotor domain, and to show the feasibility of on line transfer of physically constrained manipulation skills from a human operator to a manipulator through demonstration utilising a virtual training environment with tactile sensing. The proposed work is unique in its approach and hypothesis, and will provide a new insight into the nature of transfer of manipulation skills from human to machine. It will produce new generic intelligent algorithms and methodologies to emulate different stages of human psychomotor learning in machine including perception, imitation, mechanism and complex/overt response.Read moreRead less