Simulation Technology for Modelling Extreme Bushfire Behaviour. Extreme fires cause immeasurable damage to communities through destruction of homes and damage to infrastructure. Large, highly intense fires reduce biodiversity, take decades for recovery, increase greenhouse gas emissions and reduce carbon storage capacity. Climate change is likely to increase the frequency of extreme fire weather increasing the need for reliable fire spread prediction under extreme conditions and to reduce impa ....Simulation Technology for Modelling Extreme Bushfire Behaviour. Extreme fires cause immeasurable damage to communities through destruction of homes and damage to infrastructure. Large, highly intense fires reduce biodiversity, take decades for recovery, increase greenhouse gas emissions and reduce carbon storage capacity. Climate change is likely to increase the frequency of extreme fire weather increasing the need for reliable fire spread prediction under extreme conditions and to reduce impact by preparedness and suppression. Incorporating an evidence-based fire spread model into a fire location forecasting system will give fire agencies early warning of potentially disastrous fires, enable early response to prevent fires and mitigate the consequence to life, property and the environment. Read moreRead less
A new perturbation method for solving singular operator equations with applications to complex systems. This project will develop new methods for analysis of web-based search routines such as Google PageRank, a new algorithm for optimal estimation of random signals, more accurate error analysis in the approximate solution of singular systems of equations and enhanced understanding of models for the simulated management of urban stormwater. The project will involve collaboration between two Aus ....A new perturbation method for solving singular operator equations with applications to complex systems. This project will develop new methods for analysis of web-based search routines such as Google PageRank, a new algorithm for optimal estimation of random signals, more accurate error analysis in the approximate solution of singular systems of equations and enhanced understanding of models for the simulated management of urban stormwater. The project will involve collaboration between two Australian universities and a leading European Research Institute. It will provide employment and vital training for two postdoctoral Research fellows and research projects for three postgraduate students and two honours students.Read moreRead less
Mathematical models for water management systems. The Australian community is currently talking about schemes to return water to the Murray-Darling river system to combat increased salinity and dramatically reduced river flow. Many believe that vastly improved water management policies are essential to maintain agricultural well-being in Australia. Salinity and water quality depend directly on flow rates and are also important in smaller catchments. In this study we will use statistical rainf ....Mathematical models for water management systems. The Australian community is currently talking about schemes to return water to the Murray-Darling river system to combat increased salinity and dramatically reduced river flow. Many believe that vastly improved water management policies are essential to maintain agricultural well-being in Australia. Salinity and water quality depend directly on flow rates and are also important in smaller catchments. In this study we will use statistical rainfall models and stochastic dynamic programming to find practical water management policies that minimise the risk to water supply. We will develop an interactive simulation and management tool using a modern computer graphics package.Read moreRead less
A graphical simulation package for optimal management and risk assessment in urban stormwater harvesting systems. We will develop a Scalar Vector Graphics (SVG) simulation tool for optimal management and risk assessment in urban stormwater harvesting and utilisation schemes. The generic model will be applied to existing and proposed schemes within the City of Salisbury (CoS) and will include a capture dam, one or more storage dams and an aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) facility. The discret ....A graphical simulation package for optimal management and risk assessment in urban stormwater harvesting systems. We will develop a Scalar Vector Graphics (SVG) simulation tool for optimal management and risk assessment in urban stormwater harvesting and utilisation schemes. The generic model will be applied to existing and proposed schemes within the City of Salisbury (CoS) and will include a capture dam, one or more storage dams and an aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) facility. The discrete state vector will be the content of each storage unit and the daily transition will be driven by a new stochastic rainfall model (SRM). The objective will be to find a practical management policy that minimises Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR).Read moreRead less
Perturbation and approximation methods for linear operators with applications to train control, water resource management and evolution of physical systems. Linear equations are used to solve practical problems. In realistic problems the equations and their solutions depend on parameters obtained by measurement of physical quantities and on data derived from observations and experiments. Changes to the values of the key parameters will lead to changes in the solutions. This project will devel ....Perturbation and approximation methods for linear operators with applications to train control, water resource management and evolution of physical systems. Linear equations are used to solve practical problems. In realistic problems the equations and their solutions depend on parameters obtained by measurement of physical quantities and on data derived from observations and experiments. Changes to the values of the key parameters will lead to changes in the solutions. This project will develop methods to better understand the relationships between the key parameters and the solutions and will apply the new insights to practical problems such as the minimization of fuel consumption in trains, optimal resource management in water supply systems and the evolution of physical systems.Read moreRead less
Integrating dynamic and optimization models for efficient pipeline system operations in an evolving water and energy market. Developing an integrated dynamical and optimisation model for a piped water distribution system will advance Australia's capacity to deploy the most recent optimisation approaches to achieve the high level of efficiency required in the delivery of water to dryland regions. The outcomes of this project will be readily transferable to other regions and indeed other water d ....Integrating dynamic and optimization models for efficient pipeline system operations in an evolving water and energy market. Developing an integrated dynamical and optimisation model for a piped water distribution system will advance Australia's capacity to deploy the most recent optimisation approaches to achieve the high level of efficiency required in the delivery of water to dryland regions. The outcomes of this project will be readily transferable to other regions and indeed other water distribution systems. This will provide capability in securing Australia's water supplies and delivery systems. There may also be associated benefits to other pipeline operators in the oil and gas industries.Read moreRead less
Construction of utility functions from observations of consumer behaviour with application to resource modelling and water management strategies. The optimisation techniques developed will be on the forefront of applied mathematical sciences and will increase the prestige of the Australian mathematical community. The expected results will also be of value because they can be used to improve the CGE modelling technique. The implementation of the CGE model of one of Victoria's agricultural regions ....Construction of utility functions from observations of consumer behaviour with application to resource modelling and water management strategies. The optimisation techniques developed will be on the forefront of applied mathematical sciences and will increase the prestige of the Australian mathematical community. The expected results will also be of value because they can be used to improve the CGE modelling technique. The implementation of the CGE model of one of Victoria's agricultural regions will be used to improve the accuracy of regional economic models and will contribute to efficient regional resource management. This has the potential to positively affect the economic growth and employment in the region. The expected outcomes of the project are especially important taking into account the need for predicting the socio-economic consequences of the 1994 COAG water reforms. Read moreRead less
Automated Vector Extraction from Airborne Laser Scan Data. This project considers the problem of automatically extracting and vectorising the outlines of objects from Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data. The industry partner, AAM GeoScan, is a leading user of ALS systems in Australia, and has a need to develop automated solutions to this problem. ALS data is typically a dense cloud of 3D point data which represents the local terrain, as well as any trees, buildings or vehicles which may be in t ....Automated Vector Extraction from Airborne Laser Scan Data. This project considers the problem of automatically extracting and vectorising the outlines of objects from Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data. The industry partner, AAM GeoScan, is a leading user of ALS systems in Australia, and has a need to develop automated solutions to this problem. ALS data is typically a dense cloud of 3D point data which represents the local terrain, as well as any trees, buildings or vehicles which may be in the field of view. Spatial data is a very important resource, widely used in many types of urban and rural planning operations. Planning software packages require vectorised descriptions of building outlines and other spatial data, however this is not presently available from raw ALS data. The project will investigate this problem and develop new and effective means for producing it automatically from raw ALS data. Expected outcomes include a successful research masters studentship, the development of novel solutions to the problem which are directly applicable to the industry partner's core business, peer reviewed publications, and an strengthened link between the universities and the industry partner.Read moreRead less
Generation of Digital Elevation Models by Fusion of Image and Terrain Laser Scan Data. There are currently two separate approaches to obtaining digital elevation models of the terrain surface by remote sensing, image based methods using aerial or satellite images and scanner techniques by terrain laser scanners. Each method provides elevations with high accuracy, but both require significant input from an operator during processing. It is proposed to take advantage of the synegies of these two ....Generation of Digital Elevation Models by Fusion of Image and Terrain Laser Scan Data. There are currently two separate approaches to obtaining digital elevation models of the terrain surface by remote sensing, image based methods using aerial or satellite images and scanner techniques by terrain laser scanners. Each method provides elevations with high accuracy, but both require significant input from an operator during processing. It is proposed to take advantage of the synegies of these two forms of data by combining the processing into a single solution for elevation determination by data fusion. This approach will improve the quality and efficiency of elevation determination.Read moreRead less
Particle transport in turbulent non-Newtonian suspensions in self formed open channels. An improved understanding of the fundamentals of channel formation and the ability of channels to transport solids in either a natural or created environment will be of benefit to industries employing open channels (or flumes) or stacked tailings as part of their processes. This will lead to better design and operation with reduced water use and reduced volume of waste disposal. This research will build the ....Particle transport in turbulent non-Newtonian suspensions in self formed open channels. An improved understanding of the fundamentals of channel formation and the ability of channels to transport solids in either a natural or created environment will be of benefit to industries employing open channels (or flumes) or stacked tailings as part of their processes. This will lead to better design and operation with reduced water use and reduced volume of waste disposal. This research will build the scientific foundation for the design tools to more accurately predict the behaviour of tailings stacks. The mining industry will benefit from the improved management of their tailings disposal regimes, reduced water usage, lowered cost of disposal and reduced impact on the environment.Read moreRead less