Optimisation of Mass Flow Bin Design Using 3D Parametric Modelling. The storage, feeding and transfer of bulk solids are of vital importance to the resource and process industries. The current techniques used for the design of storage vessels are reliable but time consuming and limit the degree of optimisation that can be achieved. This project will develop a design methodology for bulk solids storage vessels such that it can be integrated with the parametric design system developed by Gulf Con ....Optimisation of Mass Flow Bin Design Using 3D Parametric Modelling. The storage, feeding and transfer of bulk solids are of vital importance to the resource and process industries. The current techniques used for the design of storage vessels are reliable but time consuming and limit the degree of optimisation that can be achieved. This project will develop a design methodology for bulk solids storage vessels such that it can be integrated with the parametric design system developed by Gulf Conveyor Holdings to provide a reliable, accelerated design process that provides a high degree of optimisation. This will lead to greater use of the technique in industry and a consequent increase in reliability and cost effectiveness.Read moreRead less
Developing a new technology: advanced surface hardening and grinding in a single operation. Our advances will give Australian manufacturing industry first access to a significant technological advance in precision grinding, a critical machining process. This will improve our international competitiveness, through major cost reductions by simplifying the manufacturing procedure and by eliminating the use of toxic coolants. The technology will provide significant opportunities for further Australi ....Developing a new technology: advanced surface hardening and grinding in a single operation. Our advances will give Australian manufacturing industry first access to a significant technological advance in precision grinding, a critical machining process. This will improve our international competitiveness, through major cost reductions by simplifying the manufacturing procedure and by eliminating the use of toxic coolants. The technology will provide significant opportunities for further Australian research in precision machining by creating a foundation for extending the technology to more complex manufacturing processes.Read moreRead less
Nonlinear modelling, analysis and prediction of optimal conditions for cold roll forming. This project investigates fundamental analytical and experimental aspects of the highly nonlinear process of cold roll forming of flat steel strip to shaped product in order to gain predictive understanding and determine optimal process conditions. The project aims to develop an innovative software system that will permit operators to balance and optimize mill productivity, energy consumption, mill downtim ....Nonlinear modelling, analysis and prediction of optimal conditions for cold roll forming. This project investigates fundamental analytical and experimental aspects of the highly nonlinear process of cold roll forming of flat steel strip to shaped product in order to gain predictive understanding and determine optimal process conditions. The project aims to develop an innovative software system that will permit operators to balance and optimize mill productivity, energy consumption, mill downtime, and product change over times and facilitate the development of new productsRead moreRead less
Optimal transitional surface for a new continuous press forming process. This project addresses the National Research Priority - Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries through smart information use. This project aims to gain fundamental scientific understanding of a manufacturing process with the aim of developing a tool that will enhance existing manufacturing processes and controls from an 'art of expertise' to a scientific understanding and improvement. Th ....Optimal transitional surface for a new continuous press forming process. This project addresses the National Research Priority - Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries through smart information use. This project aims to gain fundamental scientific understanding of a manufacturing process with the aim of developing a tool that will enhance existing manufacturing processes and controls from an 'art of expertise' to a scientific understanding and improvement. This manufacturing area represents a niche market for Australian manufacturing and the development of a product that enhances productivity and reduces costs has the potential to elevate Australian manufacturers in the export market and create economic benefit for Australia.Read moreRead less
A hybrid multi-agent technique for shop floor control. The new knowledge and techniques, as a result of this research project, will have direct relevance to many Australian industries. In particular, they provide opportunities to improve Australia's competitiveness through innovations for the manufacturing sector. The project will enable the development of the state-of-the-art simulation software readily accessible to a larger section of industry, including small to medium sized manufacturers. T ....A hybrid multi-agent technique for shop floor control. The new knowledge and techniques, as a result of this research project, will have direct relevance to many Australian industries. In particular, they provide opportunities to improve Australia's competitiveness through innovations for the manufacturing sector. The project will enable the development of the state-of-the-art simulation software readily accessible to a larger section of industry, including small to medium sized manufacturers. The use of meta-modelling will improve control of processes on the shop floor. Combining process meta-models with hybrid discrete event-based agent optimisation will result in increased shop floor efficiency, assisting Australian industry to be competitive in the world market.Read moreRead less
Microfluidics with core-shell beads: handling liquids like solids. Reducing waste of consumables in chemical reactions promises to solve environmental problems as well as enable novel applications in space. This project aims to establish a revolutionary fluid handling technology that lowers waste in the labs and in satellites. The project deciphers the fundamental physics behind our recent discovery of encapsulating a tiny liquid content in a solid shell, allowing for handling liquid samples lik ....Microfluidics with core-shell beads: handling liquids like solids. Reducing waste of consumables in chemical reactions promises to solve environmental problems as well as enable novel applications in space. This project aims to establish a revolutionary fluid handling technology that lowers waste in the labs and in satellites. The project deciphers the fundamental physics behind our recent discovery of encapsulating a tiny liquid content in a solid shell, allowing for handling liquid samples like solid particles. Examples of the benefit of this project are more precise detection of bacteria on earth and compact reactors in space. The research outcomes are instrumental for promoting a clean environment, good health, and creating new business opportunities, particularly in space industry, for Australians.Read moreRead less
A new abrasive waterjet milling technology and process models for fabricating energy-efficient electrical machines from amorphous magnetic metal laminations. As the most energy-efficient core material for electrical machines, amorphous magnetic metal (AMM) can save more than 36% of the energy wasted by ordinary electrical motors. Since electrical motors consume about 70% of all the electricity generated, if all electrical motors in Australia use AMM as the core material, an annual energy saving ....A new abrasive waterjet milling technology and process models for fabricating energy-efficient electrical machines from amorphous magnetic metal laminations. As the most energy-efficient core material for electrical machines, amorphous magnetic metal (AMM) can save more than 36% of the energy wasted by ordinary electrical motors. Since electrical motors consume about 70% of all the electricity generated, if all electrical motors in Australia use AMM as the core material, an annual energy saving worth approximately $4 billion and an annual reduction of 16 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emission in Australia are expected based on the predicted electricity consumption in 2010. This project will develop a new technology for fabricating larger electrical machines from AMM laminations. It targets the national research priorities in Frontier Technologies and An Environmentally Sustainable Australia.Read moreRead less
Life-time Modelling of Industrial Products for Reuse. Product disposal responsibility has shifted from consumers to manufacturers. Re-use of components is the most efficient strategy for product recovery, which requires reliable methods for assessing the quality and remaining life of used components. The aim of this project is to develop a lifetime model to estimate the remaining life and quality of a used component. This will enable manufacturers to estimate the potential reusability of a compo ....Life-time Modelling of Industrial Products for Reuse. Product disposal responsibility has shifted from consumers to manufacturers. Re-use of components is the most efficient strategy for product recovery, which requires reliable methods for assessing the quality and remaining life of used components. The aim of this project is to develop a lifetime model to estimate the remaining life and quality of a used component. This will enable manufacturers to estimate the potential reusability of a component without going through costly and time consuming disassembly processes. In addition, the data from the lifetime monitoring process will provide information for improving the design and manufacture of environmentally friendly products.Read moreRead less
Haptic exploration and manipulation of micro/nano scale environment. The proposed research is novel and innovative in character and it has potential benefits in many frontier areas utilising micro/nano manipulation systems. These include micromanufacturing and instrumentation, microbiology, microsurgery and nanotechnology. The outcomes of this project will add to the growth of world-class Australian engineering science, and consolidate Australia's position in innovative technologies and internat ....Haptic exploration and manipulation of micro/nano scale environment. The proposed research is novel and innovative in character and it has potential benefits in many frontier areas utilising micro/nano manipulation systems. These include micromanufacturing and instrumentation, microbiology, microsurgery and nanotechnology. The outcomes of this project will add to the growth of world-class Australian engineering science, and consolidate Australia's position in innovative technologies and international R&D. This highly challenging project will provide training for postdoctorate researchers, postgraduate and honours students. These researchers will gain expertise in many areas including micro/nano manipulation, sensing and control, system design and analysis, virtual reality and experimental techniques.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453398
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$161,075.00
Summary
A Non Contact Facility For Measuring Irreversible Energy, Residual Stress, and Full Field Stresses for Critical Rail Infra-Structure Assessment. To meet the national rail objectives as enunciated in the 2002 Green Paper there is an urgent requirement for a capability for: i) advanced (rail) prototype assessment, ii) rapid assessment of rail infra-structure, iii) for increasing the capacity of existing (rail) infra-structure. To address this we propose a facility with both a dissipative energy m ....A Non Contact Facility For Measuring Irreversible Energy, Residual Stress, and Full Field Stresses for Critical Rail Infra-Structure Assessment. To meet the national rail objectives as enunciated in the 2002 Green Paper there is an urgent requirement for a capability for: i) advanced (rail) prototype assessment, ii) rapid assessment of rail infra-structure, iii) for increasing the capacity of existing (rail) infra-structure. To address this we propose a facility with both a dissipative energy measurement and a 'lock in' thermograpghy capability. Recent Australian developments in thermo-elasticity enables the researchers to extend this facility to measure residual stress in complex components. The ability to measure dissipated energy, residual stress, ultrasonic waves, and full field stress will create a unique research capability.Read moreRead less