Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100058
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$560,000.00
Summary
Three dimensionally compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar . 3D compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar: The 3D compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar allows determination of the dynamic mechanical properties and fracturing behaviour of materials under such confinement. Understanding material behaviour under dynamic loading is essential in dealing with many engineering problems as excavation, fragmentation, earthquake, blasting, and structure design. In geotechnical and structure projects, materi ....Three dimensionally compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar . 3D compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar: The 3D compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar allows determination of the dynamic mechanical properties and fracturing behaviour of materials under such confinement. Understanding material behaviour under dynamic loading is essential in dealing with many engineering problems as excavation, fragmentation, earthquake, blasting, and structure design. In geotechnical and structure projects, materials are often subjected to existing confining stresses. The full-field optical techniques, with an ultra-high speed and resolution camera in the system, aims to assist the quantitative measurement of deformation fields including small strain induced in brittle material's failure and identification of constitutive parameters.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100206
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$800,000.00
Summary
National Rock, Concrete and Advanced Composite Testing Capability. National rock, concrete and advanced composite testing capability:
The aim of the project is to develop a national hybrid biaxial/true triaxial load testing facility to serve the needs of geotechnical, structural, mining and materials researchers and engineers for sophisticated testing. It would address the need for leading edge testing and analysis of the deformation and strength of rock, concrete, and thin plates comprising me ....National Rock, Concrete and Advanced Composite Testing Capability. National rock, concrete and advanced composite testing capability:
The aim of the project is to develop a national hybrid biaxial/true triaxial load testing facility to serve the needs of geotechnical, structural, mining and materials researchers and engineers for sophisticated testing. It would address the need for leading edge testing and analysis of the deformation and strength of rock, concrete, and thin plates comprising metals, composites and polymers, under a wide range of loading conditions. The facility would accommodate cubic specimens up to 300 millimetres and be able to apply 10 megapascals of stress in up to three orthogonal directions. State-of-the-art monitoring equipment is designed to assess the degree of damage caused by testing, simulating damage induced by blasting, cutting, static loading and/or impact.Read moreRead less
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.
Eco-engineering soil from mine tailings for native plant rehabilitation. Eco-engineering soil from mine tailings for native plant rehabilitation. This project aims to develop integrated and low-cost eco-engineering technology to purposefully accelerate in-situ formation of soil from tailings for sustainable native plant community rehabilitation at metal mines. Soil shortages at mines cost the Australian mining industry billions of dollars in sustainable rehabilitation of tailings, and threaten t ....Eco-engineering soil from mine tailings for native plant rehabilitation. Eco-engineering soil from mine tailings for native plant rehabilitation. This project aims to develop integrated and low-cost eco-engineering technology to purposefully accelerate in-situ formation of soil from tailings for sustainable native plant community rehabilitation at metal mines. Soil shortages at mines cost the Australian mining industry billions of dollars in sustainable rehabilitation of tailings, and threaten the industry’s ecological and commercial sustainability. Building on recent findings of critical processes in soil formation from copper/lead–zinc tailings, this research will use key biogeochemical and rhizosphere processes in the tailing-soil to create a functional 'technosol'. This technology is intended to be used in Australian metal mines to offset the soil needed to rehabilitate tailings landforms with native plant communities.Read moreRead less
Rehabilitation strategies for metalliferous mine wastes using native metallophytes from Pb-Zn-Ag gossans, northwest Queensland. The global area covered with mine waste is in the order of 100 million hectares containing several 100,000 million tonnes of mine wastes. The long-term sustainable rehabilitation of metal mine sites is inhibited by our lack of knowledge of metal resistance and uptake by Australian native plants. This project will evaluate metallophytes naturally growing on metal-rich so ....Rehabilitation strategies for metalliferous mine wastes using native metallophytes from Pb-Zn-Ag gossans, northwest Queensland. The global area covered with mine waste is in the order of 100 million hectares containing several 100,000 million tonnes of mine wastes. The long-term sustainable rehabilitation of metal mine sites is inhibited by our lack of knowledge of metal resistance and uptake by Australian native plants. This project will evaluate metallophytes naturally growing on metal-rich soils, northwest Queensland, for their capabilities and revegetation potential when grown in mine wastes of the Cannington Ag-Pb-Zn mine. Outcomes will include practical, innovative methods of mine site rehabilitation that are low-cost and environmentally-friendly.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH140100035
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$5,000,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub for Computational Particle Technology. ARC Research Hub for Computational Particle Technology. This research hub aims to develop and apply advanced theories and mathematical models to design and optimise particulate and multiphase processes that are widely used in the minerals and metallurgical industries. This should be achieved through detailed analysis of the fundamentals governing fluid flow, heat and mass transfer at different time and length scales, facilitated by various ....ARC Research Hub for Computational Particle Technology. ARC Research Hub for Computational Particle Technology. This research hub aims to develop and apply advanced theories and mathematical models to design and optimise particulate and multiphase processes that are widely used in the minerals and metallurgical industries. This should be achieved through detailed analysis of the fundamentals governing fluid flow, heat and mass transfer at different time and length scales, facilitated by various novel research techniques. Research outcomes including theories, computer models and simulation techniques, as well as well-trained young researchers, should have a significant impact across a range of industries of vital importance to Australia’s economic and technological future, including the minerals, metallurgical, materials, chemical, energy, pharmaceutical and environment sectors.Read moreRead less
Synthetic natural gas and biochar from biomass for energy services in remote communities and soil carbon sequestration. Resources, industry and rural communities, the backbone of Australian economy, are confronted by unprecedented challenges of carbon pollution reduction, land conservation and eco-sustainability to combat global climate change. This exciting, highly integrated and multidisciplinary project will develop a scientific basis and technological options for the resources industry and r ....Synthetic natural gas and biochar from biomass for energy services in remote communities and soil carbon sequestration. Resources, industry and rural communities, the backbone of Australian economy, are confronted by unprecedented challenges of carbon pollution reduction, land conservation and eco-sustainability to combat global climate change. This exciting, highly integrated and multidisciplinary project will develop a scientific basis and technological options for the resources industry and remote communities to respond to these challenges. The outcomes of this research will enable the deployment of renewable biomass energy technology, bio-char for carbon storage, and affect the restoration of marginal lands and salinity levels in an environmentally and economically sustainable way, thus contributing to the development of an environmentally sustainable Australia.Read moreRead less
Nature's mechanisms for leaching and remobilising metals. This project aims to understand the chemical and physical processes that govern reactive transport and metal scavenging in rocky environments. Much of Australia's mineral wealth is the result of the interaction of warm fluids with rocks deep in the Earth over geological timescales. The formation of ore deposits is governed by the physical chemistry of mineral dissolution and crystallisation, and by fluid flow through porous rocks and frac ....Nature's mechanisms for leaching and remobilising metals. This project aims to understand the chemical and physical processes that govern reactive transport and metal scavenging in rocky environments. Much of Australia's mineral wealth is the result of the interaction of warm fluids with rocks deep in the Earth over geological timescales. The formation of ore deposits is governed by the physical chemistry of mineral dissolution and crystallisation, and by fluid flow through porous rocks and fractures. This project integrates innovation in geology, chemistry, and mineral engineering, and will deliver mineral-scale reaction models that will increase efficiency of in-situ mining and leaching technologies. Knowledge generated can be applied to improve mineral exploration, mining, and processing, contributing to unlocking billions of dollars’ worth of resources tied up in low grade, mineralogically complex ores.Read moreRead less
Ecosystem restoration of bauxite-processing residue sand disposal areas in Western Australia: Important biogeochemical processes and effective fertilisation strategies. Alumina production is one of Australia's most important mining activities. Residue from bauxite-processing must be managed appropriately to minimise detrimental impacts on the surrounding environment. The location of Alcoa's WA Refineries in environmentally- and community- sensitive areas necessitates a detailed understanding of ....Ecosystem restoration of bauxite-processing residue sand disposal areas in Western Australia: Important biogeochemical processes and effective fertilisation strategies. Alumina production is one of Australia's most important mining activities. Residue from bauxite-processing must be managed appropriately to minimise detrimental impacts on the surrounding environment. The location of Alcoa's WA Refineries in environmentally- and community- sensitive areas necessitates a detailed understanding of residue disposal area (RDA) management. Currently little is known about the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon in the residue sand despite its importance for sustainable rehabilitation practice. Findings from this project are critical for developing improved fertilisation strategies and protocols for ecosystem restoration of RDAs, which will be applicable both in Australia and overseas. Read moreRead less