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
Dispersion of spacecraft components during re-entry. Destructive re-entry trajectories for used satellites are designed so debris remaining after re-entry falls harmlessly to the Earth. However, the dramatic increase in the mass of orbiting objects has outpaced improvements in predicting hazardous impact zones. This project aims to develop the experimental and theoretical methods needed to study separation of objects in hypersonic flow in order to better predict the dispersion of debris from re- ....Dispersion of spacecraft components during re-entry. Destructive re-entry trajectories for used satellites are designed so debris remaining after re-entry falls harmlessly to the Earth. However, the dramatic increase in the mass of orbiting objects has outpaced improvements in predicting hazardous impact zones. This project aims to develop the experimental and theoretical methods needed to study separation of objects in hypersonic flow in order to better predict the dispersion of debris from re-entering space objects. New hypersonic wind tunnel experiments, modelling, and computational simulations will be performed to enhance our understanding and improve predictions of how spacecraft components are dispersed during re-entry.Read moreRead less
Quantifying Ethics-related Metrics for Transport Network Systems. This project aims to identify ethics-related metrics for improving the design of transport network services, and augment the social benefits of transport systems to relevant user groups. This project is anticipated to conceive, implement and validate new methodologies to solve challenging optimisation problems aiming at promoting ethics in transport systems via the provision of incentives to transport services providers. The outco ....Quantifying Ethics-related Metrics for Transport Network Systems. This project aims to identify ethics-related metrics for improving the design of transport network services, and augment the social benefits of transport systems to relevant user groups. This project is anticipated to conceive, implement and validate new methodologies to solve challenging optimisation problems aiming at promoting ethics in transport systems via the provision of incentives to transport services providers. The outcomes of this project are expected to support the emergence of ethical transport systems and to address fundamental societal and economical challenges induced by utility-driven transport services. This project will help in positioning Australia as a global leader in the field of ethical transport network systems.Read moreRead less
How do apicomplexan parasites steal amino acids from their hosts? The single-celled parasites that cause malaria and toxoplasmosis are adept at stealing nutrients from the host animals that they infect. How they do this is, however, poorly understood. This project seeks to identify the processes by which these parasites scavenge amino acids, an essential class of nutrient, from their hosts. Using innovative experimental approaches, the project aims to identify and characterise the parasite prote ....How do apicomplexan parasites steal amino acids from their hosts? The single-celled parasites that cause malaria and toxoplasmosis are adept at stealing nutrients from the host animals that they infect. How they do this is, however, poorly understood. This project seeks to identify the processes by which these parasites scavenge amino acids, an essential class of nutrient, from their hosts. Using innovative experimental approaches, the project aims to identify and characterise the parasite proteins that mediate the uptake of different amino acids into the parasite. The intended outcomes of the project are to provide comprehensive insights into a fundamental aspect of parasite biology, and inform strategies to treat the diseases caused by these parasites by cutting off their nutrient supply.Read moreRead less
Transport and productivity, a study on Australia's largest trading partner. This project aims to study how transport infrastructure supports innovations, productivity gains, and industrial development. This project will study the effects of this development on productivity and resource allocation in the manufacturing sector, output and efficiency growth, and the spatial allocation of capital and labour inputs. The project expects to build a geospatial database covering China's full transportatio ....Transport and productivity, a study on Australia's largest trading partner. This project aims to study how transport infrastructure supports innovations, productivity gains, and industrial development. This project will study the effects of this development on productivity and resource allocation in the manufacturing sector, output and efficiency growth, and the spatial allocation of capital and labour inputs. The project expects to build a geospatial database covering China's full transportation network from 1993-2014, merge this database with manufacturing plants’ longitudinal data, and apply (quasi)-natural experiments for analyses. Knowledge derived from this project will be significant for Australia because China’s productivity, resource allocation, and competitive advantage directly impact Australia’s industrial development, employment and sustainable economic growth.Read moreRead less
Incentivised strategic traffic assignment: bi-level transport optimisation. This project aims to advance the fundamental knowledge base and methodological modelling capacity related to traffic network assignment representing complex incentive structures such as network pricing, behavioural shift inducement, dynamic speed control and information-provision. Expected outcomes include new equilibrium formulations characterising traveller responses to, and interactions with, incentive structures whil ....Incentivised strategic traffic assignment: bi-level transport optimisation. This project aims to advance the fundamental knowledge base and methodological modelling capacity related to traffic network assignment representing complex incentive structures such as network pricing, behavioural shift inducement, dynamic speed control and information-provision. Expected outcomes include new equilibrium formulations characterising traveller responses to, and interactions with, incentive structures while maintaining complex stochastic adaptive behaviours from previous research, new network routing algorithms, and a novel bi-level optimisation approach for seeking optimal incentive policies. The project will provide a scientific basis for the quantified network evaluation of incentivisation strategies that will support enhanced transport planning thereby improving mobility across society.Read moreRead less
Force-from-lipids biophysical principle underlying mechanotransduction. The major aim of this project is to determine evolutionary conserved physical principles of mechanotransduction in living cells through structure and function studies of PIEZO mechanoreceptor channels playing a crucial role in senses such as touch and pain in animals and humans. Mutations in these channels can cause numerous genetic disorders, including hereditary anaemias and joint contractures. Since they have been shown t ....Force-from-lipids biophysical principle underlying mechanotransduction. The major aim of this project is to determine evolutionary conserved physical principles of mechanotransduction in living cells through structure and function studies of PIEZO mechanoreceptor channels playing a crucial role in senses such as touch and pain in animals and humans. Mutations in these channels can cause numerous genetic disorders, including hereditary anaemias and joint contractures. Since they have been shown to respond to mechanical stimuli in the same manner as mechanoreceptor channels of organisms from bacteria to humans the intended outcome of this project is to uncover the unifying principles of mechanotransduction anchored in the laws of physics and chemistry that have guided the force-dependent design of all life forms.Read moreRead less
Molecular mechanisms of mechanosensation and shape regulation in cells. This project aims to explore how cells physically sense and respond to the surrounding environment on a molecular level. Physical distortion of erythrocytes doubles their glucose consumption and increases cation membrane flux five-fold. This mechanism involves opening of the mechanosenstive ion channel Piezo1. This project will include a kinetic description of these phenomena, with a goal to establish a predictive mathematic ....Molecular mechanisms of mechanosensation and shape regulation in cells. This project aims to explore how cells physically sense and respond to the surrounding environment on a molecular level. Physical distortion of erythrocytes doubles their glucose consumption and increases cation membrane flux five-fold. This mechanism involves opening of the mechanosenstive ion channel Piezo1. This project will include a kinetic description of these phenomena, with a goal to establish a predictive mathematical model of the regulation of cell-shape and volume. The project will provide an understanding of mechanisms operating when cells and tissues are succumbing to trauma and invasion, and how to control these processes on a molecular level.Read moreRead less