Minimizing hypersonic skin-friction by boundary-layer combustion. The high drag associated with hypersonic flight has been a major obstacle to development of hypersonic aircraft. It is generally accepted that half the drag of hypersonic vehicles will be caused by air friction on the aircraft's skin, due mainly to the turbulent boundary layer which forms on the skin. However, a new method of reducing skin friction, by injecting and burning fuel in the boundary layer, has been discovered. This ....Minimizing hypersonic skin-friction by boundary-layer combustion. The high drag associated with hypersonic flight has been a major obstacle to development of hypersonic aircraft. It is generally accepted that half the drag of hypersonic vehicles will be caused by air friction on the aircraft's skin, due mainly to the turbulent boundary layer which forms on the skin. However, a new method of reducing skin friction, by injecting and burning fuel in the boundary layer, has been discovered. This project is aimed at investigating the range of conditions under which this method will be effective. By this boundary-layer "lubrication" much more efficient hypersonic flight will be possible.Read moreRead less
Enhancing scramjet performance by boundary layer combustion. Australia has developed a strong international reputation over the past 20 years for excellence in research into hypersonic flight technologies. This helps to reinforce the fact that this is a country in which advanced technologies can be conceived and developed. Australian companies and agencies are already collaborating with and are being supported by international organizations to develop further hypersonic flight technologies. Achi ....Enhancing scramjet performance by boundary layer combustion. Australia has developed a strong international reputation over the past 20 years for excellence in research into hypersonic flight technologies. This helps to reinforce the fact that this is a country in which advanced technologies can be conceived and developed. Australian companies and agencies are already collaborating with and are being supported by international organizations to develop further hypersonic flight technologies. Achieving another significant advance in this area by demonstrating significant reductions in frictional drag on hypersonic vehicles will keep us at the forefront of this field and lead to continued international support and collaboration.Read moreRead less
Fluid-thermal-structural interactions on high-speed aerospace vehicles. Sixteen years after the retirement of Concorde, high-speed commercial flight is once again on the rise with the development of new supersonic business jets and small airliners as well as hypersonic transport and reusable space launch systems. Robust and efficient designs for these light-weight vehicles must address the problem of aerodynamic heating and its effect on structural performance and lifing. This project will desig ....Fluid-thermal-structural interactions on high-speed aerospace vehicles. Sixteen years after the retirement of Concorde, high-speed commercial flight is once again on the rise with the development of new supersonic business jets and small airliners as well as hypersonic transport and reusable space launch systems. Robust and efficient designs for these light-weight vehicles must address the problem of aerodynamic heating and its effect on structural performance and lifing. This project will design and perform first-of-kind experiments that reproduce the complex fluid-thermal-structural interactions representative of those experienced by these aircraft and rockets. We will then use these measurements to assess, validate and improve the current state-of-the-art of simulation and modelling approaches for design.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
Developing and testing a dynamic model of the proximal and distal motivational processes responsible for the regulation of task-directed effort. The project will provide benefits for society, both in terms of its contribution to scientific knowledge and understanding, and potential applications for end users. The question of how people prioritise tasks, set goals, and apply effort is of fundamental importance for understanding human behaviour. Society benefits from basic research into this quest ....Developing and testing a dynamic model of the proximal and distal motivational processes responsible for the regulation of task-directed effort. The project will provide benefits for society, both in terms of its contribution to scientific knowledge and understanding, and potential applications for end users. The question of how people prioritise tasks, set goals, and apply effort is of fundamental importance for understanding human behaviour. Society benefits from basic research into this question, because it allows us to understand the sources of (and limits to) human resilience. The results have wide application in military, industrial and commercial settings. Examples include the development of tools for training people more effectively, managing their workload, and improving their performance.Read moreRead less
How attention and memory for past events interact in determining performance in an air traffic control conflict detection task. This project addresses the priority of safeguarding Australian transportation systems because it concerns failures of attention or memory as sources of human error in aviation. Outcomes will inform the development of training exercises aimed at improving attention management skills critical to safe performance. The research will strengthen Australia's reputation for cut ....How attention and memory for past events interact in determining performance in an air traffic control conflict detection task. This project addresses the priority of safeguarding Australian transportation systems because it concerns failures of attention or memory as sources of human error in aviation. Outcomes will inform the development of training exercises aimed at improving attention management skills critical to safe performance. The research will strengthen Australia's reputation for cutting edge research that extends basic science to applied domains, as this project is one of few world-wide investigating attention and memory processes in multi-item display tasks. More broadly, the project will provide insight into why individuals can make errors when basing decisions on past experience. Read moreRead less
Mach 10 Hydrogen fuelled scramjet development. Safe and economic access to space is a major technological challenge of the 21st century. Airbreathing engines, in particular, scramjets offer the potential to meet this challenge. The project aims to develop an understanding of the engineering and physical principals that determines the performance of a class of scramjet operating at hypervelocity speeds (>3km/s). Novel and innovative ideas will be explored which for the first time will provide ....Mach 10 Hydrogen fuelled scramjet development. Safe and economic access to space is a major technological challenge of the 21st century. Airbreathing engines, in particular, scramjets offer the potential to meet this challenge. The project aims to develop an understanding of the engineering and physical principals that determines the performance of a class of scramjet operating at hypervelocity speeds (>3km/s). Novel and innovative ideas will be explored which for the first time will provide the understandings necessary to make well founded predictions of the cost effectiveness of this approach, as well as provide the blue print to develop an engine which can operate at Mach 10.Read moreRead less
The Effect of Fuel Type on Health and Environmental Risks Caused by Motor Vehicle Emissions. Motor vehicles constitute one of the most significant sources of air pollutants but the state of knowledge on the quantity of some of these does not permit for projection of the risk they create. This project aims at quantification of emissions of pollutants contributing to deterioration of health, ozone formation, global warming and acid rain as a function of fuel type, using a novel on-road sampling m ....The Effect of Fuel Type on Health and Environmental Risks Caused by Motor Vehicle Emissions. Motor vehicles constitute one of the most significant sources of air pollutants but the state of knowledge on the quantity of some of these does not permit for projection of the risk they create. This project aims at quantification of emissions of pollutants contributing to deterioration of health, ozone formation, global warming and acid rain as a function of fuel type, using a novel on-road sampling method. Resultantly, a holistic picture of integrated health and environmental risk will be developed that will build a scientific foundation for future fuel,transport and land use to protect the community and the environment.Read moreRead less
A Scalable Theory of Behavior Composition for Practical Engineering Models of Human Performance. Minimizing human error and maximizing human performance is a major design goal in safety critical systems. The development of methods for affordable human performance modeling has widespread applicability for evaluating user-system interfaces. The compositional method explored here has been shown to make accurate predictions reduce model development time by an order of magnitude. Large safety critica ....A Scalable Theory of Behavior Composition for Practical Engineering Models of Human Performance. Minimizing human error and maximizing human performance is a major design goal in safety critical systems. The development of methods for affordable human performance modeling has widespread applicability for evaluating user-system interfaces. The compositional method explored here has been shown to make accurate predictions reduce model development time by an order of magnitude. Large safety critical applications, such as military or air traffic control systems, would benefit greatly. The proposed work tests whether the compositional methods will scale to more complex domains. The work will be coordinated with Australian industry, academia, and government research efforts.Read moreRead less
Nanoparticle from urban transport: Quantification of formation and dynamics for application for health and environmental risk reduction. Socio-economic benefits of the project outcomes to Australia: (i) advancing the fundamental understanding of the processes contributing to the adverse environmental impacts of nanoparticles; (ii) provision of vital information on the reduction of the environmental and health risks of nanoparticles, thus contributing to the goal of 'cleaner, safer combustion'; ( ....Nanoparticle from urban transport: Quantification of formation and dynamics for application for health and environmental risk reduction. Socio-economic benefits of the project outcomes to Australia: (i) advancing the fundamental understanding of the processes contributing to the adverse environmental impacts of nanoparticles; (ii) provision of vital information on the reduction of the environmental and health risks of nanoparticles, thus contributing to the goal of 'cleaner, safer combustion'; (iii) placing Australian researchers in the frontline of nanoparticle science and technology and international progress towards sustainable development; and (iv) lowering of human exposure to nanoparticles in the cities of tomorrow, thus reducing health care costs and lost productivity. Read moreRead less