Risky Business: Using biological systems to mitigate risk in supply chains and transportation networks. In an uncertain world, resilient supply chains are crucial for getting products and services to consumers. However, the algorithms used to design and manage supply chains are inadequate to deal with the increasingly complex and self-organised nature of modern supply chains. This project will look to nature for new solutions to supply chain design and management problems. Natural systems are hi ....Risky Business: Using biological systems to mitigate risk in supply chains and transportation networks. In an uncertain world, resilient supply chains are crucial for getting products and services to consumers. However, the algorithms used to design and manage supply chains are inadequate to deal with the increasingly complex and self-organised nature of modern supply chains. This project will look to nature for new solutions to supply chain design and management problems. Natural systems are highly resilient against perturbations and damage. They have had millions of years to evolve efficient solutions to the same problems currently facing supply chains. Using experiments on ants and slime moulds. This project will uncover the secrets of biological resilience, and use this insight to develop new algorithms for supply chain design and management. Read moreRead less
Understanding multi-scale reinforcement of carbon fibre composites. Addition of nano scale entities, such as nanotubes, on the surface of a carbon fibre forms a bottle-brush like architecture and strengthens fibre-matrix interface. This project will pioneer development of a systematic approach for analysis and design of such multi-scale reinforced composite materials for use in aerospace and civil industries.
Novel quantitative sizing of inaccessible and hard-to-inspect defects to address the challenges posed by innovations in airframe design. Modern unitised aircraft structures cannot be reliably inspected using traditional techniques. This project will develop new techniques to quantify defects required for this innovation in aircraft component design. This research will improve the through-life support of future metallic and composite aircraft structures and improve air safety.
Theory and methods for evaluation of microstructural fatigue damage. The microstructural damage accumulation stage often consumes a significant portion of the total fatigue life of structures. However, its progressive evaluation is beyond the reach of safety inspection techniques which are currently employed to maintain structural integrity and prevent fatigue failures. This project aims to fill this gap by developing innovative methods for the measurement of material properties related to fatig ....Theory and methods for evaluation of microstructural fatigue damage. The microstructural damage accumulation stage often consumes a significant portion of the total fatigue life of structures. However, its progressive evaluation is beyond the reach of safety inspection techniques which are currently employed to maintain structural integrity and prevent fatigue failures. This project aims to fill this gap by developing innovative methods for the measurement of material properties related to fatigue damage and establishing a new theory which links these properties to the remaining life of the structure. The project outcomes will facilitate the global trend towards predictive maintenance strategies, thereby generating substantial cost benefits, specifically, for high-value assets and ageing infrastructure.Read moreRead less
Advanced hard metals: microstructure-property-processing relationships. Our aim is to understand the origins of the properties of tungsten-carbide cobalt based hard metals and how these may be tuned via alloying and processing. This is significant because hard metals are used in industrial-scale turning, milling and drilling processes to cut other materials into finished parts with precise tolerance and surface finish. The expected outcomes are increased competitiveness of Australia's aerospace, ....Advanced hard metals: microstructure-property-processing relationships. Our aim is to understand the origins of the properties of tungsten-carbide cobalt based hard metals and how these may be tuned via alloying and processing. This is significant because hard metals are used in industrial-scale turning, milling and drilling processes to cut other materials into finished parts with precise tolerance and surface finish. The expected outcomes are increased competitiveness of Australia's aerospace, agriculture, biomedical, construction, defence, mechatronics, mining, and oil and gas industries, which depend on this materials technology. The benefits will be the creation of leading expertise in advanced manufacturing, support of end-user industries and the establishment of a regional R&D focal point in hard metals.Read moreRead less
Optimised flush repairs for dissimilar composite material systems. The outcome of this research project will overcome a major technological challenge when designing repairs for dissimilar composite material systems, which are being utilised at an increasing pace in a multitude of industries. This new technological capability will help to improve the competitiveness of the Australian aerospace industry.
Liquefaction of silty soils: Micromechanics, modelling and prediction. The project aims to develop a numerical approach to understand liquefaction in silty soils. Liquefaction of silty soils in submarine landslides, mine tailings dam failures and cargo liquefaction in vessels carrying iron/nickel ores can cause property loss and be fatal. This project will bridge the behaviours across the scales and deliver constitutive models that possess grain scale mechanisms for better prediction of liquefac ....Liquefaction of silty soils: Micromechanics, modelling and prediction. The project aims to develop a numerical approach to understand liquefaction in silty soils. Liquefaction of silty soils in submarine landslides, mine tailings dam failures and cargo liquefaction in vessels carrying iron/nickel ores can cause property loss and be fatal. This project will bridge the behaviours across the scales and deliver constitutive models that possess grain scale mechanisms for better prediction of liquefaction induced failure at the large scales. The expected outcomes are liquefaction criteria for silty soils with different silt contents and numerical tools to predict the onset of liquefaction and flow of liquefied soils.Read moreRead less
Towards autonomous structural safety prognostics: integrating in-situ imaging and predictive modelling. This project aims to advance a scientific basis for autonomous safety prognostics by developing predictive models and in-situ damage imaging principles. Development of this new health prognostic approach will overcome the significant challenge of safety assurance of composite structures in the presence of in-service damage, which is largely hidden.
Nonlinear frequency mixing methods for materials and damage evaluation. This project aims to investigate new approaches for frequency mixing in nonlinear ultrasonics, and to demonstrate their potential for the non-destructive evaluation of material degradation and early damage detection. The anticipated outcomes will be increased detection sensitivity relative to current inspection techniques and an enhanced capability for quantifying the damage. This will provide the basis for more cost efficie ....Nonlinear frequency mixing methods for materials and damage evaluation. This project aims to investigate new approaches for frequency mixing in nonlinear ultrasonics, and to demonstrate their potential for the non-destructive evaluation of material degradation and early damage detection. The anticipated outcomes will be increased detection sensitivity relative to current inspection techniques and an enhanced capability for quantifying the damage. This will provide the basis for more cost efficient safety management of high-value assets and infrastructure, and for enhancing Australia’s competitiveness in advanced manufacturing.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100261
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
In-situ structural safety diagnosis of composite materials: lamb wave diffraction tomography using multi-frequency data. Light weight composite materials are used extensively in different industry fields and monitoring their structural integrity is critical to their safety. This project will provide a cost-effective and technically advanced method of assessing the integrity of composite materials, preventing unforeseen and potentially catastrophic failure.