Innovative Grid-Connected, Small-Scale Wind Turbine Generators Offering Low Cost and Wide Operating Speed Range. Growing concerns about sustainability issues with fossil fuels have resulted in strong interest in wind power worldwide. Grid-connected inverters are an efficient way of utilising small wind turbines on domestic, farming or small commercial properties which have access to the power grid. Existing small-scale, grid-connected wind turbines are expensive and have a limited operating wind ....Innovative Grid-Connected, Small-Scale Wind Turbine Generators Offering Low Cost and Wide Operating Speed Range. Growing concerns about sustainability issues with fossil fuels have resulted in strong interest in wind power worldwide. Grid-connected inverters are an efficient way of utilising small wind turbines on domestic, farming or small commercial properties which have access to the power grid. Existing small-scale, grid-connected wind turbines are expensive and have a limited operating wind speed range. We are investigating new designs for low-cost wind turbine generators which can produce power over a wide range of wind speeds. The project should result in a greater application of small-scale wind generators in Australia and will lead to reductions in fossil fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions.Read moreRead less
Reducing Blackout Risk through Live Modelling and Monitoring. This project aims to reduce the risk of blackouts through the development of on-line systems for modelling and monitoring of loads and power system controllers. This project is a collaboration with Transgrid, Powerlink, Vencorp and ElectraNetSA, four Transmission companies renowned for innovation in the area of system stability. The project proposes to develop innovative algorithms and to implement these algorithms using advanced hard ....Reducing Blackout Risk through Live Modelling and Monitoring. This project aims to reduce the risk of blackouts through the development of on-line systems for modelling and monitoring of loads and power system controllers. This project is a collaboration with Transgrid, Powerlink, Vencorp and ElectraNetSA, four Transmission companies renowned for innovation in the area of system stability. The project proposes to develop innovative algorithms and to implement these algorithms using advanced hardware, software and communication systems to dynamically generate decision tools for safe and efficient power system operating conditions. These systems will also generate alarms if any risky operational situations arise.Read moreRead less
Advanced Future Automotive Electrical Machines based on Amorphous Iron. Electric machines consume about 70% of all electrical energy generated. Electric machines constructed from a promising magnetic material called amorphous iron can be much more efficient than conventional designs, hence saving energy. Amorphous iron is normally difficult to cut accurately into the shapes required in electric machines. We propose to design and construct high-efficiency permanent magnet machines based on amorp ....Advanced Future Automotive Electrical Machines based on Amorphous Iron. Electric machines consume about 70% of all electrical energy generated. Electric machines constructed from a promising magnetic material called amorphous iron can be much more efficient than conventional designs, hence saving energy. Amorphous iron is normally difficult to cut accurately into the shapes required in electric machines. We propose to design and construct high-efficiency permanent magnet machines based on amorphous iron for automotive applications, which will be cut using an innovative Australian waterjet cutting technique. The key challenges are to optimise the machine design for commercial production given the capabilities and limitations of the material and the new cutting process.Read moreRead less
Fibre sensors with subwavelength features in the Terahertz radiation (T-ray) regime. With this program, Australia will benefit from expertise in photonics that will develop new chemical biosensors based on optical fibre technology. The novelty is that the fibres will be used to guide Terahertz radiation (T-ray) frequencies that will be able to detect very small samples of material or fluid. This is a fundamental step towards a system that will impact on applications in the medical, pharmaceutica ....Fibre sensors with subwavelength features in the Terahertz radiation (T-ray) regime. With this program, Australia will benefit from expertise in photonics that will develop new chemical biosensors based on optical fibre technology. The novelty is that the fibres will be used to guide Terahertz radiation (T-ray) frequencies that will be able to detect very small samples of material or fluid. This is a fundamental step towards a system that will impact on applications in the medical, pharmaceutical, forensic, and security industries. Ultimately, Australia will benefit from a new cutting-edge technology and a new diagnostic biosensing technique.Read moreRead less
Millimetre Wave Communication Systems for Consumer Applications. The key outcome of this cross-disciplinary project will be a prototype single-chip (RF section), short-range, 1Gigabit/second, wireless network operating at 60 GHz. This will employ new Silicon Germanium technology in a 'system on chip' methodology that will pave the way for low-cost consumer applications of such technology. A new design flow will be developed to support this project, which will enable first silicon pass correct d ....Millimetre Wave Communication Systems for Consumer Applications. The key outcome of this cross-disciplinary project will be a prototype single-chip (RF section), short-range, 1Gigabit/second, wireless network operating at 60 GHz. This will employ new Silicon Germanium technology in a 'system on chip' methodology that will pave the way for low-cost consumer applications of such technology. A new design flow will be developed to support this project, which will enable first silicon pass correct design of complete mm-wave millimetre wave radios on a single chip, a feat that has yet to be demonstrated. A new communication system will be developed to support the high data rates proposed. The significance will be application in very high speed high-bandwith wireless local networks.Read moreRead less
Towards Distributed Phased Array Radar for High Resolution Weather Monitoring. Several recent reports on climate change by leading international and national bodies forecast that the rate of weather hazards such as storms and wind-shear, and of weather-associated phenomena such as bush fires will increase over the next 40 years. The current technology for monitoring weather events, and effects like wind-shift, which has a serious impact on dangers associated with bush fires, has significant wea ....Towards Distributed Phased Array Radar for High Resolution Weather Monitoring. Several recent reports on climate change by leading international and national bodies forecast that the rate of weather hazards such as storms and wind-shear, and of weather-associated phenomena such as bush fires will increase over the next 40 years. The current technology for monitoring weather events, and effects like wind-shift, which has a serious impact on dangers associated with bush fires, has significant weaknesses. We will deliver considerable improvements in monitoring capability by developing the technology for using a network of small phased array radars. We aim to place monitoring resources where end-user needs are greatest.Read moreRead less
Development of an endofunctional capsule for targeted delivery of biomarkers in the alimentary tract. The proposed capsule will provide a solution to the problem of accessing the small intestine for targeted delivery of biomarkers and drugs, and contribute to translational medical research to enhance our understanding of the function of the gut. Successful completion of this project will build on defined priority areas of research strength in Australia (frontier technologies, smart information u ....Development of an endofunctional capsule for targeted delivery of biomarkers in the alimentary tract. The proposed capsule will provide a solution to the problem of accessing the small intestine for targeted delivery of biomarkers and drugs, and contribute to translational medical research to enhance our understanding of the function of the gut. Successful completion of this project will build on defined priority areas of research strength in Australia (frontier technologies, smart information use) and assist in the provision of information critical to the design of novel in vivo endofunctional devices. The technologies to be developed in this project will be translatable to the development of other in vivo functional investigation and treatment devices. Read moreRead less
Novel RF Controlled Electromechanical Microvalve. The significance of the proposed microvalve is its potential use in exciting biomedical applications such as in drug delivery and fertility control. For human body implantation, it must be batteryless, wireless and be made of a biofriendly-polymer. We propose to meet all three criteria, based on novel use of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) as the actuation mechanism in a polymer material. Energy for actuation will be supplied by a radio frequency ( ....Novel RF Controlled Electromechanical Microvalve. The significance of the proposed microvalve is its potential use in exciting biomedical applications such as in drug delivery and fertility control. For human body implantation, it must be batteryless, wireless and be made of a biofriendly-polymer. We propose to meet all three criteria, based on novel use of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) as the actuation mechanism in a polymer material. Energy for actuation will be supplied by a radio frequency (RF) signal. We propose to model, design and demonstrate the device in laboratory conditions. This will enable development of application specific designs in future programs, such as ARC linkage.Read moreRead less
Innovative Design of Soft Magnetic Composite Brushless Permanent Magnet Motors with Enhanced Characteristics and Manufacturing Advantages for Commercial Applications. Using variable-speed drives can save significant amounts of energy. These drives utilise motors and power electronics to operate the system at the highest efficiency. However, the high cost of such drives is the most important issue restricting their wider application. Although the cost of power electronics has dropped substantiall ....Innovative Design of Soft Magnetic Composite Brushless Permanent Magnet Motors with Enhanced Characteristics and Manufacturing Advantages for Commercial Applications. Using variable-speed drives can save significant amounts of energy. These drives utilise motors and power electronics to operate the system at the highest efficiency. However, the high cost of such drives is the most important issue restricting their wider application. Although the cost of power electronics has dropped substantially in recent years, the motor cost has been relatively unchanged. To address this issue, we propose an innovative motor construction method using soft magnetic composites materials, which is simpler and provides higher assembly tolerances. The method will reduce the motor manufacturing cost and improve its efficiency and so make the use of variable speed drives more attractive in many other drive applications.Read moreRead less
Foundations for Physically Unclonable nano-Security on Silicon. This project aims to develop an on-chip physical unclonable function (PUF) based on recent progress in nanotechnology to generate unprecedented number of unique signatures. This is significant because these signatures can be used for preventing fraud and counterfeiting, protecting sensitive data and securing communications. PUFs will play an extremely vital role in future security systems. The PUF in the proposed project will be sim ....Foundations for Physically Unclonable nano-Security on Silicon. This project aims to develop an on-chip physical unclonable function (PUF) based on recent progress in nanotechnology to generate unprecedented number of unique signatures. This is significant because these signatures can be used for preventing fraud and counterfeiting, protecting sensitive data and securing communications. PUFs will play an extremely vital role in future security systems. The PUF in the proposed project will be simple, fast, tiny, energy efficient and highly secure as a result of the abundant nano-fabrication variations. The outcome of this project will be a prototype of a super high secure nanoelectronic-based PUF that will be tested to evaluate the technology and its security against malicious attacks.Read moreRead less