Theoretical and Numerical Analyses on Smart-Cut Technology. Smart-cut is an innovative and effective technique for fabricating high quality silicon-on-insulator structures which are widely used in the semiconductor and microelectronics industries. The quantification of the effects of processing parameters and the optimization of smart-cut process will be conducted in this project. The results are expected to make significant contributions to reducing cost, increasing efficiency and optimizing pr ....Theoretical and Numerical Analyses on Smart-Cut Technology. Smart-cut is an innovative and effective technique for fabricating high quality silicon-on-insulator structures which are widely used in the semiconductor and microelectronics industries. The quantification of the effects of processing parameters and the optimization of smart-cut process will be conducted in this project. The results are expected to make significant contributions to reducing cost, increasing efficiency and optimizing procedure by providing a theoretical and quantitative design methodology to improve the smart-cut technique. Consequently, the outcomes and results of the project will bring many benefits to and encourage further R&D in the semiconductor and microelectronics industries in Australia.Read moreRead less
Modelling the Transient Effects in Dense Phase Gas-Solids Flow in Pipelines. Almost every physical item we use in our daily lives at some point requires the transport and handling of powdered or granular materials during the manufacturing process. Be it food (sugar, flour), chemicals (soap powders, detergents), cosmetics (talc, face powder) or electricity generation (coal and ash); each of these industries uses the flexibility of pipeline systems to transport powders and granular solids using ai ....Modelling the Transient Effects in Dense Phase Gas-Solids Flow in Pipelines. Almost every physical item we use in our daily lives at some point requires the transport and handling of powdered or granular materials during the manufacturing process. Be it food (sugar, flour), chemicals (soap powders, detergents), cosmetics (talc, face powder) or electricity generation (coal and ash); each of these industries uses the flexibility of pipeline systems to transport powders and granular solids using air as the motive force. However, the cost of poor design and the inaccurate prediction of system performance adversely affect the efficiency of many industries. Improvements to the accuracy of gas-solid flow modeling particularly for low velocity dense phase systems will have a direct impact on manufacturing efficiency.Read moreRead less
Does retail petrol price respond asymmetrically to changes in its cost? A modelling framework. This project will offer a model for assessing the abnormal-price setting for various goods and services, leading to greater transparency of the market. The modelling framework proposed in this project will assist in resolving a significant policy issue, which is now the subject of considerable public debate and not thoroughly examined to date.
Investigation of Delay Propagation in Airline Schedules and the Impact on Network Reliability. This project will investigate the phenomenon of delay propagation in airline schedules and potential ways to mitigate the impact on network reliability. This project will improve our understanding of the complex behaviour of airline schedule systems in dealing with delay propagation and significantly enhance airlines' ability of controlling schedule delays. Australian airlines and passengers will benef ....Investigation of Delay Propagation in Airline Schedules and the Impact on Network Reliability. This project will investigate the phenomenon of delay propagation in airline schedules and potential ways to mitigate the impact on network reliability. This project will improve our understanding of the complex behaviour of airline schedule systems in dealing with delay propagation and significantly enhance airlines' ability of controlling schedule delays. Australian airlines and passengers will benefit from this project by improving schedule reliability, reducing schedule delays and delay costs, which are estimated at a hundred million dollars per year. This saving will also benefit passengers through lower fares. Developed scheduling methodologies are applicable to all other airlines.Read moreRead less
Developing Tour Based Models for an Integrated Land Use, Transport and Environment Model System for Australia. Land use activity and transport provision represent important facets of the Australian economy (e.g., transport activities represent 17% of the total national gross domestic product). This project will improve significantly the ability of policy makers to make better and timely judgments about the virtues of specific land use and transport planning outcomes. The behavioural models to b ....Developing Tour Based Models for an Integrated Land Use, Transport and Environment Model System for Australia. Land use activity and transport provision represent important facets of the Australian economy (e.g., transport activities represent 17% of the total national gross domestic product). This project will improve significantly the ability of policy makers to make better and timely judgments about the virtues of specific land use and transport planning outcomes. The behavioural models to be developed will allow for greater sensitivity analysis to policy scenario planning, with measured impacts including forecasts of traffic levels and environmental impacts, especially greenhouse gas emissions and energy requirements.Read moreRead less
Valuation of service reliability and crowding under risk and uncertainty: neglected drivers of demand for public transport. The reliability of public transport services, and the amount of crowding at stations and also on trains and on buses, have come under strong criticism. This study identifies the role that improved service reliability and reduced crowding play in influencing the switch from car to public transport for the commute.
Modelling the Environmental Impacts of Commercial Vehicle Tours and Freight Management Policies in Urban Areas. Commercial vehicle flows have a negative impact on the health and wellbeing of millions of pedestrians and urban dwellers. Commercial vehicles' environmental costs per kilometre are about four times higher the corresponding environmental costs of a private car. However, the amount and level of these impacts are highly dependent on the population density and its proximity to freight flo ....Modelling the Environmental Impacts of Commercial Vehicle Tours and Freight Management Policies in Urban Areas. Commercial vehicle flows have a negative impact on the health and wellbeing of millions of pedestrians and urban dwellers. Commercial vehicles' environmental costs per kilometre are about four times higher the corresponding environmental costs of a private car. However, the amount and level of these impacts are highly dependent on the population density and its proximity to freight flows. Existing methods to assess environmental impacts such as air quality or noise tend to focus on the production source of the pollutant not the impacts, without providing the necessary framework and methodology to evaluate freight management policies in urban areas.Read moreRead less
Integrating land use, market equilibrium, and transport for city planning. This project is significant because it offers a comprehensive travel demand modelling platform that provides realistic, robust, and self-consistent metrics for transport infrastructure planning addressing contemporary changes in the transport system. The expected outcomes of the platform are incorporating recent advances in activity-based methods for travel demand modelling, developing a dynamic and integrated system for ....Integrating land use, market equilibrium, and transport for city planning. This project is significant because it offers a comprehensive travel demand modelling platform that provides realistic, robust, and self-consistent metrics for transport infrastructure planning addressing contemporary changes in the transport system. The expected outcomes of the platform are incorporating recent advances in activity-based methods for travel demand modelling, developing a dynamic and integrated system for modelling short- and long-term household decisions, and creating a systematic calibration mechanism to handle the large-scale model. The benefits of this platform to the Australian transport industry and authorities will be demonstrated in use cases to design and optimise pricing for a multiplayer transport network.Read moreRead less
Scalable urban traffic control framework driven by distributed information. This project aims to develop a mathematical framework for investigating the role of information interactions between traffic signal settings and choices made by road users. Traffic control is one of the oldest and most cost-effective solutions for the worsening congestion problem in many metropolitan areas. However, through addressing fundamental mathematical challenges, further gains can be achieved to improve traffic ....Scalable urban traffic control framework driven by distributed information. This project aims to develop a mathematical framework for investigating the role of information interactions between traffic signal settings and choices made by road users. Traffic control is one of the oldest and most cost-effective solutions for the worsening congestion problem in many metropolitan areas. However, through addressing fundamental mathematical challenges, further gains can be achieved to improve traffic control and combat congestion. The expected outcome will be insights into the use of information and algorithms that can provide efficient, robust and safe traffic network management.Read moreRead less
Investigating travel choice behaviour: a new approach. Since large monetary investments are involved in infrastructure decisions, it is of utmost importance that impacts of transport policies can be accurately predicted. The recent failures to forecast usage and revenues of toll tunnels in Australia illustrate this well. This project aims to contribute by producing improved practical behavioural models to predict responses to such transport policies to assist in better decision making. Further, ....Investigating travel choice behaviour: a new approach. Since large monetary investments are involved in infrastructure decisions, it is of utmost importance that impacts of transport policies can be accurately predicted. The recent failures to forecast usage and revenues of toll tunnels in Australia illustrate this well. This project aims to contribute by producing improved practical behavioural models to predict responses to such transport policies to assist in better decision making. Further, the project is expected to make several methodological contributions by for the first time merging methods from stated choice surveys, experimental economics, and naturalistic driving simulators in order to better investigate travel choice behaviour in realistic environments.Read moreRead less