Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100011
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$700,000.00
Summary
The national geotechnical centrifuge facility. A new geotechnical centrifuge will enable the modelling of complex offshore and onshore structures. The new facility will support many geotechnical fields, associated with the economical and geographical development of Australia, and ensure that Australia will maintain its leadership within the international physical modelling community.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100109
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$370,000.00
Summary
A facility for non-destructive quantification of coal structures, composition and percolation fluid flows in energy and environmental applications. The facility will advance our scientific understanding of 3D micro- and nanostructures of coal under various mechanical and chemical conditions. It will help develop process innovation and breakthrough technologies for energy and environmental applications. It will also enhance the research capabilities of the collaborating institutions.
Development of next generation smart sucker rod wear guides . In a natural gas wells, sucker rod guides protect the production tubing from wear by the rod string. Premature and erratic failures are costing the industry tens of millions every year. In collaboration with two local SMEs, this project aims to develop the next generation of smart and durable wear guides. The project seeks to understand the complex three body wear mechanisms that drive guide and tubing wear, then use this knowledge to ....Development of next generation smart sucker rod wear guides . In a natural gas wells, sucker rod guides protect the production tubing from wear by the rod string. Premature and erratic failures are costing the industry tens of millions every year. In collaboration with two local SMEs, this project aims to develop the next generation of smart and durable wear guides. The project seeks to understand the complex three body wear mechanisms that drive guide and tubing wear, then use this knowledge to develop new wear resistant compounds and develop a smart guide that provides feedback on its wear state. This will enable the industry partners to supply cutting edge technology to the global oil and gas industry that not only reduces well operation cost but also enhances well resilience.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100095
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$620,000.00
Summary
High-resolution X-ray micro computed tomography supporting West Australian geo-, physical and biological science. An X-ray micro computed tomography facility will provide West Australian researchers with much needed access to cutting-edge instrumentation for high-resolution three-dimensional imaging. This facility will support major research programs in key disciplines, including minerals and mining, energy, medical and biological sciences.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101296
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$386,552.00
Summary
Unlocking lab-to-field scaling in design for floating offshore structures. This project aims to develop rigorous, physics-based models to accurately predict hydrodynamics of floating offshore structures at different scales. The project will address the issue between laboratory-to-field scaling, a fundamental problem in fluid dynamics. This outcome will be achieved through the integration of numerical technology, with physical modelling and field data acquisition. The outputs from this project wi ....Unlocking lab-to-field scaling in design for floating offshore structures. This project aims to develop rigorous, physics-based models to accurately predict hydrodynamics of floating offshore structures at different scales. The project will address the issue between laboratory-to-field scaling, a fundamental problem in fluid dynamics. This outcome will be achieved through the integration of numerical technology, with physical modelling and field data acquisition. The outputs from this project will reduce risks and improve operability of existing offshore structures, and lead to more efficient design for potential floating offshore projects. This will benefit the whole community of floating offshore structures and cement Australia’s place as a pioneer in offshore industry and emerging renewable energy sector.Read moreRead less
Real-time global optimisation for distributed parameter control systems. This project aims to develop real-time optimal control algorithms for distributed parameter systems involving both time and spatial variables and multiple time-delays, with a focus on mining and energy applications. Current optimal control algorithms for such systems are too slow for real-time use and often get trapped at local optima, which can be vastly inferior to the global solution. This project will result in a new op ....Real-time global optimisation for distributed parameter control systems. This project aims to develop real-time optimal control algorithms for distributed parameter systems involving both time and spatial variables and multiple time-delays, with a focus on mining and energy applications. Current optimal control algorithms for such systems are too slow for real-time use and often get trapped at local optima, which can be vastly inferior to the global solution. This project will result in a new optimal control framework, underpinned by recent advances in constraint propagation, switching surface optimisation, and input regularisation. It will result in cutting-edge mathematical tools to complement and exploit new technologies and optimise key processes in natural gas liquefaction and zinc and alumina production, increasing efficiency and reducing the ecological footprint. This project will lead to new cutting-edge control algorithms for replacing the inefficient manual operations endemic in Australia’s natural gas and mineral processing plants.Read moreRead less
Crusty Seabeds: From (Bio-)Genesis To Reliable Offshore Design. The project aims to make deep water oil and gas developments safer and cheaper by understanding better the unique seabed ‘crust’ conditions that occur in Australian waters. By studying the biogenic, structural and mechanical properties of deepwater crusts in more detail than can be done in ‘live’ oil and gas projects, this project expects to make a step change in the understanding of these seabed crusts. Expected outcomes of this pr ....Crusty Seabeds: From (Bio-)Genesis To Reliable Offshore Design. The project aims to make deep water oil and gas developments safer and cheaper by understanding better the unique seabed ‘crust’ conditions that occur in Australian waters. By studying the biogenic, structural and mechanical properties of deepwater crusts in more detail than can be done in ‘live’ oil and gas projects, this project expects to make a step change in the understanding of these seabed crusts. Expected outcomes of this project include developing new seabed investigation and design approaches for these soils. This should provide significant benefits, by facilitating the design and installation of low-risk, yet low cost seabed infrastructure (e.g. pipelines, risers, shallow foundations etc.) in these problematical seabed typesRead moreRead less
Predicting scour and scour-induced settlement of subsea infrastructure. This project aims to develop improved predictions and understanding of the potential and extent of scour and scour-induced settlement of subsea infrastructure on mobile seabeds. This is expected to enable scour and settlement to be accounted for directly in engineering stability and serviceability design, overturning current practice which ignores both effects on the basis of using scour protection and costly maintenance and ....Predicting scour and scour-induced settlement of subsea infrastructure. This project aims to develop improved predictions and understanding of the potential and extent of scour and scour-induced settlement of subsea infrastructure on mobile seabeds. This is expected to enable scour and settlement to be accounted for directly in engineering stability and serviceability design, overturning current practice which ignores both effects on the basis of using scour protection and costly maintenance and remediation. Development of accurate predictions is expected to be achieved through physical model testing, numerical modelling and analysis of field data. Predictions should improve subsea reliability and lead to omission of scour protection in some situations, increasing international competitiveness of our offshore oil and gas industry.Read moreRead less
Lifting objects off the seabed. This project aims to investigate the process of lifting objects off the seabed. Understanding this breakout process is the scientific basis for a variety of offshore applications such as oil and gas decommissioning, marine salvage and securing foundations under extreme storms. This project expects to advance the understanding of soil-fluid-structure interactions of this problem using innovative high-speed photography observations and advanced numerical coupled ana ....Lifting objects off the seabed. This project aims to investigate the process of lifting objects off the seabed. Understanding this breakout process is the scientific basis for a variety of offshore applications such as oil and gas decommissioning, marine salvage and securing foundations under extreme storms. This project expects to advance the understanding of soil-fluid-structure interactions of this problem using innovative high-speed photography observations and advanced numerical coupled analyses. Outcomes will include a numerical tool, verified against a high quality experimental database, to predict the breakout process and uplift required for pressing offshore challenges. The ability for Australia’s engineers to predict lift procedures more accurately will contribute to safer operations in Australian waters and to the more economic harnessing of ocean resources.Read moreRead less
Mobile and rapid nuclear magnetic resonance characterisation of oilfield emulsions. Oilfield emulsions, which can severely disrupt crude oil production, require droplet sizing in order to enable separation of the emulsified water. This project will provide this measurement capability based on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance techniques, as are frequently used for chemical identification and medical diagnostics.