Physics of Base Flows of Planetary Entry Configurations. Continued investment by Australia in the AHI will help to maintain Australia's leading role in the exciting fields of space research and hypersonics and to encourage future international collaboration. The research will use the unique existing experimental infrastructure (largely ARC funded) for space related research, which will enable Australia to make a valuable contribution to the design of future planetary missions. The project will p ....Physics of Base Flows of Planetary Entry Configurations. Continued investment by Australia in the AHI will help to maintain Australia's leading role in the exciting fields of space research and hypersonics and to encourage future international collaboration. The research will use the unique existing experimental infrastructure (largely ARC funded) for space related research, which will enable Australia to make a valuable contribution to the design of future planetary missions. The project will provide a stimulating, exciting and supportive environment for the training of postgraduate and postdoctoral personnel as well as students at the undergraduate level. It will help to motivate young Australians to pursue their interest in science and engineering.Read moreRead less
Fluid-structural interactions in high-speed flows. This project aims to perform experiments to measure fluid-structure interaction in hypersonic flows. The work will improve the accuracy of simulation tools that are urgently required to aid industry in the design of more structurally efficient and robust high-speed vehicles. These tools will in turn be used to reveal the underlying physics of the fluid-structure interactions and establish the relative significance of the driving parameters. Accu ....Fluid-structural interactions in high-speed flows. This project aims to perform experiments to measure fluid-structure interaction in hypersonic flows. The work will improve the accuracy of simulation tools that are urgently required to aid industry in the design of more structurally efficient and robust high-speed vehicles. These tools will in turn be used to reveal the underlying physics of the fluid-structure interactions and establish the relative significance of the driving parameters. Accurate prediction of the behaviour and lifetime of structural components subject to these fluid-structural interactions, in which the deformation of the structure induced by the local flow field, can in turn influence this flow field. This coupling can result in damage or even catastrophic structural failure and thus robust design tools must be developed to avoid this.Read moreRead less
Intriguing aerodynamics of bees, hoverflies and beyond. Nature observers have long been fascinated by the elegance, agility and endurance of flying insects, but still human-engineered vehicles fail to match their performance. This project aims to reveal the key physical aspects that allow two different insects to fly so well and thus unlock greater performance for flapping flight vehicles beyond insects.
Rarefied hypervelocity separated flow in the transitional to continuum regimes. The transition regime for low-density flows is a no-man's-land between free-molecular and continuum flow, where the flow behaves differently to the assumptions typically used for modelling either flow type. Bird's direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is typically thought to be the best way of modelling these flows, but has not produced excellent agreement with previous experiments on low-density separated flow ....Rarefied hypervelocity separated flow in the transitional to continuum regimes. The transition regime for low-density flows is a no-man's-land between free-molecular and continuum flow, where the flow behaves differently to the assumptions typically used for modelling either flow type. Bird's direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is typically thought to be the best way of modelling these flows, but has not produced excellent agreement with previous experiments on low-density separated flows, due to computational limitations and lack of knowledge of the flow's internal energy. This proposal is a blind test of the best current DSMC codes against our experiments and a hypersonic continuum code, with the full internal energy state of the flow experimentally quantified for the first time.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100194
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$250,000.00
Summary
Optical diagnostics for the investigation of high-speed energetic processes. Optical diagnostics for the investigation of high-speed energetic processes:
The project seeks to establish equipment to enable the investigation of high-speed energetic processes. Such processes, where large amounts of energy are released over a short time frame, occur in nature and almost every field of science and engineering, and their investigation is a formidable challenge. This challenge is designed to be met th ....Optical diagnostics for the investigation of high-speed energetic processes. Optical diagnostics for the investigation of high-speed energetic processes:
The project seeks to establish equipment to enable the investigation of high-speed energetic processes. Such processes, where large amounts of energy are released over a short time frame, occur in nature and almost every field of science and engineering, and their investigation is a formidable challenge. This challenge is designed to be met through the combined use of state-of-the-art flow visualisation, thermography and spectrometry equipment. These diagnostics would open avenues into so far impossible or difficult to conduct research on highly transient phenomena in various research fields, which include various aspects of fluid mechanics, combustion, and fracture mechanics. The equipment would be instrumental in the design of better and innovative machines, materials, instruments and processes.Read moreRead less
Deterioration of structural integrity of ageing ships and marine platforms. Deterioration of structural integrity of ageing ships and marine platforms. This project will research the deterioration of structural integrity and remaining life of marine assets such as ships and offshore energy facilities, by integrating structural response analysis methods with aged-structure assessment techniques. Maritime assets exposed to ocean conditions suffer from time dependent phenomena, which reduce structu ....Deterioration of structural integrity of ageing ships and marine platforms. Deterioration of structural integrity of ageing ships and marine platforms. This project will research the deterioration of structural integrity and remaining life of marine assets such as ships and offshore energy facilities, by integrating structural response analysis methods with aged-structure assessment techniques. Maritime assets exposed to ocean conditions suffer from time dependent phenomena, which reduce structural capability, affect safety and could have catastrophic environmental and economic consequences. Making assets available and affordably safe is a problem for operators. The key to prolonging asset life is in understanding the interrelationships over time between the asset’s structural condition and its use. Anticipated outcomes are superior safety, expected lifetime and economic benefits of maritime assets.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100082
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$500,000.00
Summary
An Australasian facility for the automated fabrication of high performance bespoke components. A facility for the automated fabrication of high performance bespoke components: The project will create a new coordinated facility for composites research including modern automated infrastructure. The facility will bring Australia in line with leading international research centres and promote fundamental and applied research into a range of fields including underwater renewable energy systems, space ....An Australasian facility for the automated fabrication of high performance bespoke components. A facility for the automated fabrication of high performance bespoke components: The project will create a new coordinated facility for composites research including modern automated infrastructure. The facility will bring Australia in line with leading international research centres and promote fundamental and applied research into a range of fields including underwater renewable energy systems, space vehicle structures, multifunctional and smart materials and infrastructure capacity extension. The facility will position Australian research for significant international collaboration through endorsement of next-generation manufacturing technology and enable leading outcomes for Australasian science and engineering in aerospace, marine, civil, automotive, renewable energy and primary resources.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0566892
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$220,000.00
Summary
The EarthByte software and database system. Earth processes over geological timescales cannot be understood outside of a plate tectonic context. However, no standard tool exists to explore the causes and effects of lithosphere-mantle interaction in accordance with past plate configurations. Our aim is to develop a Palaeo-Geographic Information System called EarthByte that will connect the open source and architecture-independent GPlates and GMT software, and implement XML-based service interfac ....The EarthByte software and database system. Earth processes over geological timescales cannot be understood outside of a plate tectonic context. However, no standard tool exists to explore the causes and effects of lithosphere-mantle interaction in accordance with past plate configurations. Our aim is to develop a Palaeo-Geographic Information System called EarthByte that will connect the open source and architecture-independent GPlates and GMT software, and implement XML-based service interfaces and databases. EarthByte will create the foundation for an e-geoscience framework for grid-based data access and Earth process modelling by linking geological and geophysical observations to palaeogeographic models for constraining mantle convection and lithospheric deformation.Read moreRead less
Towards a high density silicon phase change memory device. This project builds upon our exciting recent findings that amorphous silicon can be transformed to a conducting crystalline phase following small-scale indentation. Furthermore the process is reversible as re-indentation can induce a transformation back to insulating amorphous silicon. This process appears to occur in extremely small (nanoscale) volumes of silicon. We plan to explore the viability of exploiting this behaviour to develo ....Towards a high density silicon phase change memory device. This project builds upon our exciting recent findings that amorphous silicon can be transformed to a conducting crystalline phase following small-scale indentation. Furthermore the process is reversible as re-indentation can induce a transformation back to insulating amorphous silicon. This process appears to occur in extremely small (nanoscale) volumes of silicon. We plan to explore the viability of exploiting this behaviour to develop an entirely new information storage system: a high-density silicon phase change memory. This project aims to study small-scale transformation behaviour in silicon and to design demonstrator memory devices based on both micro-electromechanical systems and solid state technologies.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668481
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$140,385.00
Summary
Time-resolved observation of highly transient events by a novel digital high-speed camera. Highly transient, that is, rapidly changing, events occur in nature and in almost every field of science and engineering. Knowledge and understanding of these processes is vital for the design of better and innovative machines, materials and instruments. Valuable insight into these processes can be gained if one can visualise them by means of high-speed photography. This application seeks the acquisition o ....Time-resolved observation of highly transient events by a novel digital high-speed camera. Highly transient, that is, rapidly changing, events occur in nature and in almost every field of science and engineering. Knowledge and understanding of these processes is vital for the design of better and innovative machines, materials and instruments. Valuable insight into these processes can be gained if one can visualise them by means of high-speed photography. This application seeks the acquisition of a novel and unique digital camera system that would allow one to observe rapidly occurring processes with unprecedented clarity. The availability of such a system would significantly strengthen cutting-edge research activities in various disciplines that would ultimately lead to the development of original and innovative products.Read moreRead less