Life Cycle Measures of Cost Effectiveness for 4 D CAD in Design and Construct Projects across Industry Sectors. The effective and efficient delivery of complex construction projects will be transformed by the increased application of virtual design and construction technologies, including 4D CAD. By combining a 3D computer model of a design with the time dimension of the construction schedule, 4D CAD enables risks and opportunities to be better managed during the design phase and hence avoid co ....Life Cycle Measures of Cost Effectiveness for 4 D CAD in Design and Construct Projects across Industry Sectors. The effective and efficient delivery of complex construction projects will be transformed by the increased application of virtual design and construction technologies, including 4D CAD. By combining a 3D computer model of a design with the time dimension of the construction schedule, 4D CAD enables risks and opportunities to be better managed during the design phase and hence avoid costly issues during construction. However this requires addition design costs which currently represent a barrier to the uptake of this transforming technology. This project will overcome this by developing a flexible framework that allows the benefits gained across the life cycle of a project through using 4D CAD to be set against the additional costs and thus make this emerging technology more attractive to industry. Significantly this research will be based on comparative cases studies across different industry sectors including civil, building, and process engineering.Read moreRead less
Optimization of internal pressure for designing industrial buildings. The project seeks to understand the internal pressure in a building during windstorms, to improve safety and performance. The internal pressure in a building is dependent on its volume and flexibility and the sizes of openings in the building envelope, and is a critical loading parameter in building design. Windstorm damage investigations have shown that incorrect internal pressures are frequently used in building design, lead ....Optimization of internal pressure for designing industrial buildings. The project seeks to understand the internal pressure in a building during windstorms, to improve safety and performance. The internal pressure in a building is dependent on its volume and flexibility and the sizes of openings in the building envelope, and is a critical loading parameter in building design. Windstorm damage investigations have shown that incorrect internal pressures are frequently used in building design, leading to damage. This project aims to study the internal pressures generated in buildings with a range of volumes and openings in the envelope. A combination of model-scale and full-scale tests and theoretical analysis are planned to determine critical parameters for highly turbulent air-flow though openings. Results will inform the revision of design data in codes and of guidelines for consistent, optimal design of buildings.Read moreRead less
The design and construction of quality, sustainable and affordable pre-made housing in Australia - optimisation and integration. Historically, industrialised construction has resulted in an industrialisation of the parts, rather than an industrialisation of the ensemble. In contrast, this project will integrate architecture and engineering, as well as construction and development to optimise the ensemble, and deliver architectural quality in industrially produced affordable housing.
Elucidating the morphology of organic semiconductors at an atomic level. Controlling morphology and self-organization at a molecular level is key to advancing the performance of optoelectronic devices such as organic light-emitting diodes and organic photovoltaic cells. Current device development relies on a costly and inefficient empirical design cycle (material synthesis followed by device fabrication and testing). In addition, the active layers often involve multiple components and their nano ....Elucidating the morphology of organic semiconductors at an atomic level. Controlling morphology and self-organization at a molecular level is key to advancing the performance of optoelectronic devices such as organic light-emitting diodes and organic photovoltaic cells. Current device development relies on a costly and inefficient empirical design cycle (material synthesis followed by device fabrication and testing). In addition, the active layers often involve multiple components and their nano-scale morphology is difficult to probe experimentally. Recently developed molecular simulation techniques can provide unique insight into atomic-level structural details that determine device efficiency. The project will determine if such simulations are sufficiently accurate to be industrially useful.Read moreRead less
Removal of Perfluorinated Chemicals Using New Fluorinated Polymer Sorbents. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of highly persistent chemicals that are linked to a number of human diseases, however existing approaches for removal of PFAS are highly inefficient. This project aims to develop and evaluate novel, reusable polymer sorbents for effective PFAS removal. The polymer sorbents will enable efficient, selective and continuous sorption of PFAS, while maintaining excellent ....Removal of Perfluorinated Chemicals Using New Fluorinated Polymer Sorbents. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of highly persistent chemicals that are linked to a number of human diseases, however existing approaches for removal of PFAS are highly inefficient. This project aims to develop and evaluate novel, reusable polymer sorbents for effective PFAS removal. The polymer sorbents will enable efficient, selective and continuous sorption of PFAS, while maintaining excellent environmental stability for long-term implementation in practical devices. The project will develop novel polymer sorbents to revolutionize the remediation of PFAS with high technical, economic and environmental feasibility, creating a pathway to a PFAS-free world, and ultimately protecting the natural environment.Read moreRead less
Innovative Double Patterning Strategies for Integrated Circuit Manufacture. The global computer chips industry is predicted to be worth in excess of 1.5 trillion USD by 2030. Despite its success, the industry is under threat due to rising costs of manufacture of the latest chips, in large part because of the complexity of the manufacturing process. This project aims to introduce new polymers for production of computer chips and, in collaboration with our industry partner, develop new methods of ....Innovative Double Patterning Strategies for Integrated Circuit Manufacture. The global computer chips industry is predicted to be worth in excess of 1.5 trillion USD by 2030. Despite its success, the industry is under threat due to rising costs of manufacture of the latest chips, in large part because of the complexity of the manufacturing process. This project aims to introduce new polymers for production of computer chips and, in collaboration with our industry partner, develop new methods of manufacture to enable the next generation of chips. The project has potential to generate valuable intellectual property, support new processes and equipment for our partners, and help train the next generation of Australian researchers in the growing field of polymeric nanotechnology. Read moreRead less
Design guidelines for safety-critical controllers in high-risk environments. This project aims to generate novel product design guidelines for developing safer controllers for use by potentially stressed individuals in high-risk situations. It will do this by generating specific insights and verifying generalisable solutions from the context of total artificial heart recipients –who must engage with critical controllers constantly. This project expects to generate new knowledge in design by esta ....Design guidelines for safety-critical controllers in high-risk environments. This project aims to generate novel product design guidelines for developing safer controllers for use by potentially stressed individuals in high-risk situations. It will do this by generating specific insights and verifying generalisable solutions from the context of total artificial heart recipients –who must engage with critical controllers constantly. This project expects to generate new knowledge in design by establishing a new research topic around an under-examined user cohort. Expected outcomes of this project include interaction design theory developments and improved controller design techniques. This should provide significant benefits and competitive advantages by lowering stress and improving safety across a range of contexts.Read moreRead less
Understanding the performance of cold-formed steel frame wall systems in fires to design for superior fire resistance. This project will develop new light gauge steel frame (LSF) wall systems with superior fire resistance rating and associated design rules to enable innovative and safe applications of these wall systems in various building applications. This will enable expansion of the worldwide market for LSF wall systems by the industry partner.
Innovative and safe design solutions for aluminium façade systems. This project plans to develop design rules and mullion profiles to support the use of façades using aluminium members with complex shapes. The façade is of great importance to the structural safety, energy efficiency and aesthetics of a building. Commonly used façade systems are made of glass supported by aluminium mullions with complex shapes. Current aluminium design standards do not consider the instability and failures caused ....Innovative and safe design solutions for aluminium façade systems. This project plans to develop design rules and mullion profiles to support the use of façades using aluminium members with complex shapes. The façade is of great importance to the structural safety, energy efficiency and aesthetics of a building. Commonly used façade systems are made of glass supported by aluminium mullions with complex shapes. Current aluminium design standards do not consider the instability and failures caused by wind actions on facades using such complex aluminium members. This project aims to conduct full-scale tests and develop advanced numerical models to resolve several critical problems and identify designs with superior wind resistance. Based on this, the project aims to provide innovative, accurate and safe design rules for the façade engineering profession and building industry.Read moreRead less
Fire resistance of complex light gauge steel framed wall systems. This project aims to investigate the thermal and structural behaviour of high-strength Light gauge Steel Framed (LSF) wall systems when exposed to fire, and develop a generic model for predicting fire resistance levels of all LSF wall systems. Plasterboard-lined LSF walls are increasingly used as cost-effective load-bearing walls in low and mid-rise buildings worldwide. This has required new wall designs with complex steel stud wa ....Fire resistance of complex light gauge steel framed wall systems. This project aims to investigate the thermal and structural behaviour of high-strength Light gauge Steel Framed (LSF) wall systems when exposed to fire, and develop a generic model for predicting fire resistance levels of all LSF wall systems. Plasterboard-lined LSF walls are increasingly used as cost-effective load-bearing walls in low and mid-rise buildings worldwide. This has required new wall designs with complex steel stud wall configurations, but their fire resistance is not understood. This project will provide validated fire resistance data and fire design methods for a proposed national Fire Design Handbook and steel design codes, enabling more widespread, safer use of these walls. This will benefit the Australian steel industry, the construction industry and the community.
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