Understanding and modifying vortex structures in wind turbine wakes. At a fundamental research level, Australia's active participation in this area of national priority and research strength will be advanced through our published research, which will increase our understanding of wind turbine wakes and their effects in wind farms. This understanding will then be used to produce improved methods of predicting wind turbine performance. Such methods are needed by wind energy designers to produce b ....Understanding and modifying vortex structures in wind turbine wakes. At a fundamental research level, Australia's active participation in this area of national priority and research strength will be advanced through our published research, which will increase our understanding of wind turbine wakes and their effects in wind farms. This understanding will then be used to produce improved methods of predicting wind turbine performance. Such methods are needed by wind energy designers to produce better wind farms. It will also be used to recommend how to improve the aerodynamic design of turbine components, such as the blades and hub. Numerical tools will be developed for industry use, and training will be provided to personnel, thereby increasing the capabilities of Australia's growing wind energy industry.Read moreRead less
Electrohydrodynamically-Driven Microcentrifugation for Microfluidic Applications. Microfluidics has the potential to revolutionise the way we live. Imagine portable pocket sized devices for cheap and rapid medical diagnostics and drug delivery. Or miniaturised chemical/biological sensors as early warning detection systems against terrorist threats. The research is thus intended to not only commercially benefit various industries, but also to improve the quality of life as a whole by making medic ....Electrohydrodynamically-Driven Microcentrifugation for Microfluidic Applications. Microfluidics has the potential to revolutionise the way we live. Imagine portable pocket sized devices for cheap and rapid medical diagnostics and drug delivery. Or miniaturised chemical/biological sensors as early warning detection systems against terrorist threats. The research is thus intended to not only commercially benefit various industries, but also to improve the quality of life as a whole by making medical diagnosis or chemical/biological detection more readily accessible, portable and more efficient. Moreover, the fundamental studies, aimed at generating an understanding of the complex physics involved, has generic benefits to researchers in applied physics as well as providing practical protocols for microdevice development.Read moreRead less
Unravelling the scale interactions of wall turbulence: experiment, physical modelling, next-generation numerical simulation. Turbulent fluid flows near solid surfaces are present in many areas of everyday life: from the drag experienced on air, sea and road vehicles, to governing the mixing processes in combustion chambers, and in the transport of pollutants and particulates in our cities and towns. Unfortunately our understanding of these complex flows is limited, and hence so to is our ability ....Unravelling the scale interactions of wall turbulence: experiment, physical modelling, next-generation numerical simulation. Turbulent fluid flows near solid surfaces are present in many areas of everyday life: from the drag experienced on air, sea and road vehicles, to governing the mixing processes in combustion chambers, and in the transport of pollutants and particulates in our cities and towns. Unfortunately our understanding of these complex flows is limited, and hence so to is our ability to model or control them. This project addresses this problem with the goal of providing new physical insights and models that can be used for efficient and accurate numerical simulations. The simulations will not only compute the average statistics but also the time-varying properties, which are crucial in many engineering and environmental processes.Read moreRead less
Advanced fluid mechanics modelling of complex leukocyte-endothelial interactions. This project adopts an interdisciplinary approach toward understanding the mechanical interactions between blood cells and vessel walls, under different hydrodynamic conditions. Outcomes will have downstream benefits to vascular biology in relation to diagnosis of problems such as atherosclerotic plaques. These vascular problems are associated with several major health problems including coronary heart disease, h ....Advanced fluid mechanics modelling of complex leukocyte-endothelial interactions. This project adopts an interdisciplinary approach toward understanding the mechanical interactions between blood cells and vessel walls, under different hydrodynamic conditions. Outcomes will have downstream benefits to vascular biology in relation to diagnosis of problems such as atherosclerotic plaques. These vascular problems are associated with several major health problems including coronary heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes and kidney dysfunction.Read moreRead less
Practical wall-turbulence drag reduction through adaptive control. Long term increases in the price of aviation fuel disproportionately impacts on Australian carriers, given our geographic isolation and the resulting greater percentage of long-haul flights. The resulting higher fares will also have a direct impact on international tourism to Australia. One way to reduce the impact of rising fuel cost, and to reduce CO2 and other emissions at the same time, is to decrease drag on aircraft. This ....Practical wall-turbulence drag reduction through adaptive control. Long term increases in the price of aviation fuel disproportionately impacts on Australian carriers, given our geographic isolation and the resulting greater percentage of long-haul flights. The resulting higher fares will also have a direct impact on international tourism to Australia. One way to reduce the impact of rising fuel cost, and to reduce CO2 and other emissions at the same time, is to decrease drag on aircraft. This project will develop understanding in wall turbulence and adaptive control, and use this to experimentally demonstrate active reductions in skin friction drag. The results are equally applicable to a range of other applications including sea transport, pipe flows and combustor designs.Read moreRead less
Optimisation of Building Structures Considering Wind Loading. Wind loading is a dominant factor that should be carefully considered and resourcefully exploited in the design of building structures. The ever-taller buildings proposed around the world have presented a major challenge and opportunity in the pursuit of new techniques and materials. The proposed research will improve the competitiveness and productivity of the Australian building design industry by establishing a cutting-edge compute ....Optimisation of Building Structures Considering Wind Loading. Wind loading is a dominant factor that should be carefully considered and resourcefully exploited in the design of building structures. The ever-taller buildings proposed around the world have presented a major challenge and opportunity in the pursuit of new techniques and materials. The proposed research will improve the competitiveness and productivity of the Australian building design industry by establishing a cutting-edge computer-automated design tool for creating innovative building systems that can resist wind loading effectively and efficiently. The developed technology will result in significant enhancement of the performance and safety of buildings, and substantial reduction of construction materials and costs.Read moreRead less
Opto-Microfluidics: A Rapid and Sensitive Platform for Biological Diagnostics. One in four people above 25 years suffer from diabetes-related diseases in Australia, with an associated economic cost exceeding $3 billion a year. A microdevice for continuous glucose monitoring would help patients to manage the disease, leading to huge individual, clinical and societal benefits. Life expectancy is expected to increase along with quality of life. Integration of the microdevice with insulin delivery w ....Opto-Microfluidics: A Rapid and Sensitive Platform for Biological Diagnostics. One in four people above 25 years suffer from diabetes-related diseases in Australia, with an associated economic cost exceeding $3 billion a year. A microdevice for continuous glucose monitoring would help patients to manage the disease, leading to huge individual, clinical and societal benefits. Life expectancy is expected to increase along with quality of life. Integration of the microdevice with insulin delivery would realise an 'artificial pancreas', revolutionising the management and treatment of the disease. The technology will also provide a platform for other point-of-care medical diagnostic devices, which will allow early participation in this emerging market and cement Australia's position in bionanotechnology.Read moreRead less
Fluid mechanical and biological studies of a stem cell bioreactor. The project has generic benefits toward the improvement of cell and tissue based approaches to diseases which involve replacement of dysfunctional, injured or missing tissues. This is currently a global effort with the overall aim of improving medicine by improving methods in biological sciences. The development of improved bioreactors and other biotechnologies will also have commercial benefits toward the development of effici ....Fluid mechanical and biological studies of a stem cell bioreactor. The project has generic benefits toward the improvement of cell and tissue based approaches to diseases which involve replacement of dysfunctional, injured or missing tissues. This is currently a global effort with the overall aim of improving medicine by improving methods in biological sciences. The development of improved bioreactors and other biotechnologies will also have commercial benefits toward the development of efficient production systems to replace existing systems which are labour intensive and time consuming. Read moreRead less
Fluid physics of cold gas-dynamic spray process. Cold gas-dynamic spray has the potential to revitalize and revolutionize the Australian manufacturing sector and economy. It is a technologically advanced flexible free-forming process with potential applications in the aviation, automotive, naval and bio-medical sectors. It allows for the design of functional surfaces from the nano-scale to the macro-scale that can be manufactured by spraying material coatings of arbitrary thickness and density o ....Fluid physics of cold gas-dynamic spray process. Cold gas-dynamic spray has the potential to revitalize and revolutionize the Australian manufacturing sector and economy. It is a technologically advanced flexible free-forming process with potential applications in the aviation, automotive, naval and bio-medical sectors. It allows for the design of functional surfaces from the nano-scale to the macro-scale that can be manufactured by spraying material coatings of arbitrary thickness and density on a substrate. The process of the spray particle delivery is crucial and not understood. This research will investigate the fluid physics and spray particle physics to gain the essential understanding necessary to make this process energy efficient and extend its range of application.Read moreRead less
Measuring estuarine turbulence: opening blocked estuaries correctly to avoid ecological catastrophes. The unique estuaries of southern Australia have limited tidal effects and minimal summer river flows, allowing a sandbar to dam their mouths during this period. The high water levels that can result affect landowners so catchment managers artificially break these sandbars. Such practices have had catastrophic effects on the vulnerable estuarine ecosystems. Our project will provide critical eleme ....Measuring estuarine turbulence: opening blocked estuaries correctly to avoid ecological catastrophes. The unique estuaries of southern Australia have limited tidal effects and minimal summer river flows, allowing a sandbar to dam their mouths during this period. The high water levels that can result affect landowners so catchment managers artificially break these sandbars. Such practices have had catastrophic effects on the vulnerable estuarine ecosystems. Our project will provide critical elements of models of the dynamics of the artificial opening, allowing managers to predict the vulnerable periods. It combines new applications of state-of-the-art turbulence sensors and water-current profilers with other standard instrumentation in this situation.Read moreRead less