ROBUST SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGY FOR SMALL-SCALE APPLICATIONS. The project aims to develop nano-materials for the next generation planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) that will operate at temperatures between 600 and 800°C. The goal is to identify and demonstrate materials that meet the robust requirements for small scale power generators at the 3-5kW scale. It is expected that these will be used in stationary power generation applications, in remote area power supplies, and for providing ....ROBUST SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGY FOR SMALL-SCALE APPLICATIONS. The project aims to develop nano-materials for the next generation planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) that will operate at temperatures between 600 and 800°C. The goal is to identify and demonstrate materials that meet the robust requirements for small scale power generators at the 3-5kW scale. It is expected that these will be used in stationary power generation applications, in remote area power supplies, and for providing auxiliary power in vehicles. The work builds on the world-leading position that Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd. has in planar SOFC technology, utilising micro-analysis and fuel cell expertise at the University of Queensland.Read moreRead less
Benign strategies to engineer nematode resistance in plant crops. Applications to other plant pests. Control of plant pests relies on the heavy use of chemical insecticides that cause an extraordinary impact on the environment. Some insect pests have been controlled by the production of toxins (like BT) by the plant. We will combine newly discovered RNA interference and genomics methods to develop innovative solutions to nematode resistance and insect control. Our methods can be tailored to any ....Benign strategies to engineer nematode resistance in plant crops. Applications to other plant pests. Control of plant pests relies on the heavy use of chemical insecticides that cause an extraordinary impact on the environment. Some insect pests have been controlled by the production of toxins (like BT) by the plant. We will combine newly discovered RNA interference and genomics methods to develop innovative solutions to nematode resistance and insect control. Our methods can be tailored to any pest with wide or narrow spectrum of action and does not require the production of toxins by the plant. The novelty of our approach will generate a large amount of intellectual property.Read moreRead less
Conservation tillage and its potential to affect catchment salt and water balances. Replacement of deep-rooted vegetation with shallow rooted crops has resulted in greater movement of water into groundwater systems, raising in groundwater level and mobilizing salt to the land's surface. The practice of conservation tillage, provides a range of advantages to landholders, but also has the potential to accentuate the risk of salinisation because it increases water infiltration into the soil surfac ....Conservation tillage and its potential to affect catchment salt and water balances. Replacement of deep-rooted vegetation with shallow rooted crops has resulted in greater movement of water into groundwater systems, raising in groundwater level and mobilizing salt to the land's surface. The practice of conservation tillage, provides a range of advantages to landholders, but also has the potential to accentuate the risk of salinisation because it increases water infiltration into the soil surface. This project aims to evaluate the impact of conservation tillage on soil salt profiles in the Condamine-Balonne and Border Rivers Catchments, and to model will the effect of changed landscape salt and water balances on river water quality.Read moreRead less
Robotics for zero-tillage agriculture. This project will develop small agricultural robots to increase broad-acre crop production and reduce environmental impact. These robots will have advanced navigation capability, will cooperate to cover large areas and resupply themselves, while causing less soil damage and applying herbicide more intelligently.
A New Parallel Robot with breakthrough performance for Manufacturing of Aerospace Components - kinematic and dynamic synthesis, design optimisation and prototyping. The Gantry-Tau is a new parallel type robot manipulator that will have the large workspace benefit of traditional Gantry robots in addition to stiffness and accuracy benefits well beyond the capabilities of existing robots. Preliminary results have shown that the Gantry-Tau can become the most accurate Gantry manipulator to date, wit ....A New Parallel Robot with breakthrough performance for Manufacturing of Aerospace Components - kinematic and dynamic synthesis, design optimisation and prototyping. The Gantry-Tau is a new parallel type robot manipulator that will have the large workspace benefit of traditional Gantry robots in addition to stiffness and accuracy benefits well beyond the capabilities of existing robots. Preliminary results have shown that the Gantry-Tau can become the most accurate Gantry manipulator to date, with the potential of competing with dedicated machines in the manufacturing industry. The expected project outcome is a working prototype of the Gantry-Tau demonstrating machining performance on aerospace components, publications in high-ranked conferences and journals and several patent applications.Read moreRead less
Automated vision-based aircraft collision warning technologies. Australia is a sparsely populated country with a number of unique airspace features. This project will investigate novel vision-based collision warning systems that can improve safety for piloted aircraft and also help achieve integration of UASs (Uninhabited Aerial Systems) into national airspace. The benefits of UAS technologies are particularly relevant to Australia, as governments and industry struggle to cope with providing equ ....Automated vision-based aircraft collision warning technologies. Australia is a sparsely populated country with a number of unique airspace features. This project will investigate novel vision-based collision warning systems that can improve safety for piloted aircraft and also help achieve integration of UASs (Uninhabited Aerial Systems) into national airspace. The benefits of UAS technologies are particularly relevant to Australia, as governments and industry struggle to cope with providing equivalent levels of service to remote communities over vast distances (or border protection of vast regions). The population base of Australia requires that cost-effective solutions are sought to meet this end. Read moreRead less
Life hanging on a thread; disrupting the structure and function of lepidopteran silking behaviour. The production and use of silk by many invertebrates is vital for their survival. We develop a means of visualising and understanding the role of silking behaviour as a survival mechanism for Helicoverpa larvae (a key world-wide pest) with a view to disrupting silking. This novel project allows us to understand not just where larvae go but what they do along the way. The project outcomes will have ....Life hanging on a thread; disrupting the structure and function of lepidopteran silking behaviour. The production and use of silk by many invertebrates is vital for their survival. We develop a means of visualising and understanding the role of silking behaviour as a survival mechanism for Helicoverpa larvae (a key world-wide pest) with a view to disrupting silking. This novel project allows us to understand not just where larvae go but what they do along the way. The project outcomes will have wide application to the study and control of lepidopteran pests in natural and agricultural ecosystems and is of interest to applied and fundamental projects associated with insect pest control, behaviour and ecology.Read moreRead less
Australian native plant species as models for understanding the regulation and roles of betalain pigment synthesis. This project will have triple bottom line benefits. Economic: new cultivars developed from understanding betalains will sell worldwide, generating returns, incomes and employment in urban, peri-urban and rural Australia. Social: Novel Ptilotus and Calandrinia cultivars will adorn parks and gardens around Australia, thereby enhancing quality of life. Environmental: Ptilotus and Cala ....Australian native plant species as models for understanding the regulation and roles of betalain pigment synthesis. This project will have triple bottom line benefits. Economic: new cultivars developed from understanding betalains will sell worldwide, generating returns, incomes and employment in urban, peri-urban and rural Australia. Social: Novel Ptilotus and Calandrinia cultivars will adorn parks and gardens around Australia, thereby enhancing quality of life. Environmental: Ptilotus and Calandrinia are inherently drought resistant. Novel ornamental cultivars will have high water use efficiency and contribute to water conservation in urban Australia in the face of drought and global warming. Moreover, understanding their synthesis and roles could yield new strategies for enhancing stress tolerance in other species, including crop plants.Read moreRead less
Co-design and dynamic mission optimisation of hypersonic flight vehicles. This project aims to deliver fundamental knowledge by integrating the modelling and control with the design of next generation hypersonic platforms. In an era where Australia's national security reliance on geographic isolation and support from allied forces are being challenged, the research outcomes of this project will play an important role in understanding the capabilities of hypersonic systems. The project will also ....Co-design and dynamic mission optimisation of hypersonic flight vehicles. This project aims to deliver fundamental knowledge by integrating the modelling and control with the design of next generation hypersonic platforms. In an era where Australia's national security reliance on geographic isolation and support from allied forces are being challenged, the research outcomes of this project will play an important role in understanding the capabilities of hypersonic systems. The project will also have significant spillover benefits into other complex system domains, where computational tools can be used to aid in design leading to high embedded-IP products for Australian industry. Furthermore, the proposal encompasses a strong research training aspect, with graduates exposed to leading edge industry and academia.Read moreRead less
Controlled nutrient release for more efficient agricultural water use and reduced environmental insult. We will create a completely new type of coating for fertilizer granules. Clays that adsorb and slowly release phosphates and/or other nutrients will be exfoliated with cationic organic reagents to produce organoclay nanoparticles of greatly increased surface area. These will be polymerized with current and novel monomers to form nanocomposites, encasing the clay in a water-swellable matrix by ....Controlled nutrient release for more efficient agricultural water use and reduced environmental insult. We will create a completely new type of coating for fertilizer granules. Clays that adsorb and slowly release phosphates and/or other nutrients will be exfoliated with cationic organic reagents to produce organoclay nanoparticles of greatly increased surface area. These will be polymerized with current and novel monomers to form nanocomposites, encasing the clay in a water-swellable matrix by polymerization; this will enable both slow water perfusion and strong binding to the granules. The polymer and nanoclay properties will be tuneable to release targeted nutrients at an optimal rate for uptake by crops, reducing nutrient seepage into the environment.Read moreRead less