WAKE FLOWS WITH UPSTREAM TURBULENCE IN MARINE, ATMOSPHERIC AND BUILT ENVIRONMENTS. Through improved understanding of turbulent wakes the project will have applications across aeronautics and hydrodynamics, leading to more efficient engineering designs to reduce flow drag. In marine environments our findings will improve coastal ocean models and the prediction of pollutant dispersal, nutrient fluxes and sediment transport, and contribute to the management of biological productivity (NRP 1.5). In ....WAKE FLOWS WITH UPSTREAM TURBULENCE IN MARINE, ATMOSPHERIC AND BUILT ENVIRONMENTS. Through improved understanding of turbulent wakes the project will have applications across aeronautics and hydrodynamics, leading to more efficient engineering designs to reduce flow drag. In marine environments our findings will improve coastal ocean models and the prediction of pollutant dispersal, nutrient fluxes and sediment transport, and contribute to the management of biological productivity (NRP 1.5). In the atmospheric boundary layer, the results will assist planners to improve wind environments near large buildings or clusters of buildings, benefiting the safety of aircraft at takeoff and landing. The project will develop collaboration and help maintain the strength of Australian research in environmental flows.Read moreRead less
Airports of the Future. This project will enhance the capabilities of Australian airport operators to design and manage complex airport systems. Research outcomes will enable the identification of patterns of behaviour and will provide tools to manage airport effectiveness and balance conflicting security, economic and passenger-driven pressures. Outcomes will improve productivity, enhance capabilities for critical infrastructure protection, and lessen the cost of mandated security, estimated t ....Airports of the Future. This project will enhance the capabilities of Australian airport operators to design and manage complex airport systems. Research outcomes will enable the identification of patterns of behaviour and will provide tools to manage airport effectiveness and balance conflicting security, economic and passenger-driven pressures. Outcomes will improve productivity, enhance capabilities for critical infrastructure protection, and lessen the cost of mandated security, estimated to grow to $152M by 2010 for the five major Australian airports. The deliverables of this project will be transferable to other complex socio-technical systems providing the potential to transform a range of Australian critical infrastructure and transportation hubs.Read moreRead less
Development of engine management systems for turbocharged gasoline direct-injection engines with optional natural gas port-injection. This project aims to develop universal and programmable engine management systems for gasoline direct-injection engines with lean-burn technology and optional natural gas port-injection. The new engine management system will enable higher fuel efficiency than its predecessors and the increased use of nationally-produced natural gas. The project aims to overcome th ....Development of engine management systems for turbocharged gasoline direct-injection engines with optional natural gas port-injection. This project aims to develop universal and programmable engine management systems for gasoline direct-injection engines with lean-burn technology and optional natural gas port-injection. The new engine management system will enable higher fuel efficiency than its predecessors and the increased use of nationally-produced natural gas. The project aims to overcome three main problems that limit efficiency improvement of direct-injection engines, namely: misfiring, unstable combustion, and soot emission. How these issues are impacted by additional natural gas port-injection will also be explored. This project aims to accomplish this by combining fundamental in-cylinder optical measurements and detailed modelling.Read moreRead less
Microwave-generated plasma combustion for in-cylinder soot reduction. Microwave-generated plasma combustion for in-cylinder soot reduction. This project aims to develop a microwave-generated plasma combustion system for the in-cylinder formation of hydroxyl radicals, achieving cost-effective reduction of engine-out emissions in diesel engines. This new system should overcome high-load particulate emissions and high-cost fuel injection systems, which limit further improvement of diesel engines. T ....Microwave-generated plasma combustion for in-cylinder soot reduction. Microwave-generated plasma combustion for in-cylinder soot reduction. This project aims to develop a microwave-generated plasma combustion system for the in-cylinder formation of hydroxyl radicals, achieving cost-effective reduction of engine-out emissions in diesel engines. This new system should overcome high-load particulate emissions and high-cost fuel injection systems, which limit further improvement of diesel engines. This project expects to accomplish this by combining laser diagnostics in optical combustion facilities and computational modelling, which should lead to the scientific knowledge accelerating the development cycle of the new system.Read moreRead less
Two-stage ignition and flame stabilisation in engine-relevant conditions. This project aims to reveal the mechanisms of ignition and flame stabilisation in the temperature and pressure conditions that exist in diesel engines, understanding of which is currently very limited despite their significant bearing on pollutants and fuel efficiency. Using massively parallel supercomputing resources, the most detailed, direct numerical simulations of ignition and flame stabilisation to date will be perfo ....Two-stage ignition and flame stabilisation in engine-relevant conditions. This project aims to reveal the mechanisms of ignition and flame stabilisation in the temperature and pressure conditions that exist in diesel engines, understanding of which is currently very limited despite their significant bearing on pollutants and fuel efficiency. Using massively parallel supercomputing resources, the most detailed, direct numerical simulations of ignition and flame stabilisation to date will be performed - they will be three-dimensional and use a detailed chemistry model able to account for low-temperature kinetics and two-stage ignition. Analysis of these data aims to reveal how ignition and flame stabilisation depends on key turbulence and chemical kinetic parameters, thus contributing to developing low-emissions diesel engines.Read moreRead less
Development of low emissions compression-ignition engines via ethanol port-injection dual-fuelling. The project aims to develop a more efficient and more cost-effective way of utilising clean-burning ethanol fuel. Port-injection fuelling of ethanol as a separate fuel stream in compression-ignition engines will be studied fundamentally and combined with novel combustion strategies to overcome problems that occur at high ethanol substitution.
Gravity Current Driven Smoke Dispersion In a Stratified Ambient. Smoke from bushfires transported by gravity currents, and known to occur nationwide, caused the shutdown of businesses, education and events in Canberra in 2019. Recent scientific investigations have shown that the speed of propagation and concentration of smoke in these three-dimensional gravity currents have a long term ‘memory’ of their initial configuration. In this project, high-fidelity computational and experimental techniq ....Gravity Current Driven Smoke Dispersion In a Stratified Ambient. Smoke from bushfires transported by gravity currents, and known to occur nationwide, caused the shutdown of businesses, education and events in Canberra in 2019. Recent scientific investigations have shown that the speed of propagation and concentration of smoke in these three-dimensional gravity currents have a long term ‘memory’ of their initial configuration. In this project, high-fidelity computational and experimental techniques will be used to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms of gravity current entrainment and propagation. This knowledge will set a strong foundation to improve operational forecasts of smoke transport that will allow government agencies to better respond to the negative impact of these complicated flows.Read moreRead less
Understanding combustion in gasoline compression ignition conditions. This project aims to provide the first fundamental-level understanding of the processes of ignition, combustion, and pollutant formation relevant to a new, highly efficient combustion mode known as gasoline compression ignition (GCI). This project aims to provide information using a unique combination of direct numerical simulations, advanced transported probability density function modelling and a suite of laser measurements ....Understanding combustion in gasoline compression ignition conditions. This project aims to provide the first fundamental-level understanding of the processes of ignition, combustion, and pollutant formation relevant to a new, highly efficient combustion mode known as gasoline compression ignition (GCI). This project aims to provide information using a unique combination of direct numerical simulations, advanced transported probability density function modelling and a suite of laser measurements in a high-pressure combustion chamber. GCI engines have significant potential to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions harmful to health and the environment. The outcomes from this project will lead to accelerated development of the GCI engine, and more optimal GCI solutions to be found.Read moreRead less
Flame-wall interactions in diesel engine environments. This project aims to advance the fundamental understanding of flame-wall interactions in diesel engines, which is currently very limited despite the wall's significant impact on combustion and pollutants. The aim is to perform the most comprehensive set of measurements to date in a high-pressure chamber and optically accessible engine, including planar imaging of key species and soot, and space-/time-resolved measurements of wall temperature ....Flame-wall interactions in diesel engine environments. This project aims to advance the fundamental understanding of flame-wall interactions in diesel engines, which is currently very limited despite the wall's significant impact on combustion and pollutants. The aim is to perform the most comprehensive set of measurements to date in a high-pressure chamber and optically accessible engine, including planar imaging of key species and soot, and space-/time-resolved measurements of wall temperature. These are intended to be complemented by the first transported probability density function modelling of a diesel spray flame that includes soot, radiation and wall heat transfer. The expected outcomes will greatly advance understanding of flame-wall interactions, thus contributing to the development of cleaner and more efficient engines.Read moreRead less
Maximum entropy modelling and Bayesian inference in turbulent fluid mechanics. Fluid turbulence, characterised by fluctuating properties such as velocity and density, remains one of the great unsolved problems of science, due to the difficulty of calculating the Reynolds stresses created by the turbulence. This project will bring a new technique, the maximum entropy method of Jaynes, to this challenge, for the formulation and closure of theoretical and reduced-order numerical models of turbulent ....Maximum entropy modelling and Bayesian inference in turbulent fluid mechanics. Fluid turbulence, characterised by fluctuating properties such as velocity and density, remains one of the great unsolved problems of science, due to the difficulty of calculating the Reynolds stresses created by the turbulence. This project will bring a new technique, the maximum entropy method of Jaynes, to this challenge, for the formulation and closure of theoretical and reduced-order numerical models of turbulent flows. Several well-characterised case study flows, of importance to human society, will be examined. Turbulent flow models will also be constructed by maximum-entropy and Bayesian methods directly from experimental data. The project will substantially enhance our ability to predict the behaviour of turbulent flows.Read moreRead less