Development of nanoporous materials for capture and release of oxygen. This project aims to develop new materials to make lighter, more efficient oxygen concentrators. The project will combine materials that can capture oxygen with particles that can be magnetically heated, making it possible to release the oxygen rapidly and efficiently when needed. Expected outcomes from this project include new composite materials and better understanding of how gases are trapped and released within composite ....Development of nanoporous materials for capture and release of oxygen. This project aims to develop new materials to make lighter, more efficient oxygen concentrators. The project will combine materials that can capture oxygen with particles that can be magnetically heated, making it possible to release the oxygen rapidly and efficiently when needed. Expected outcomes from this project include new composite materials and better understanding of how gases are trapped and released within composite materials. Benefits from this project may include oxygen concentrators that are more portable and have longer battery life, both with industrial and medical applications.Read moreRead less
Ultrathin membranes of novel structures for highly efficient water reuse. This project aims to develop a new generation of reverse osmosis membranes to enable significantly more efficient water reuse. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of membrane technology and wastewater reclamation using innovative designs of membrane structures and new techniques for membrane synthesis. Expected outcomes of the project include the development of highly permeable and high selective reve ....Ultrathin membranes of novel structures for highly efficient water reuse. This project aims to develop a new generation of reverse osmosis membranes to enable significantly more efficient water reuse. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of membrane technology and wastewater reclamation using innovative designs of membrane structures and new techniques for membrane synthesis. Expected outcomes of the project include the development of highly permeable and high selective reverse osmosis membranes. This project should provide significant benefits to water reuse by greatly improving product water quality and dramatically reducing its energy consumption by over 50 per cent, which in turn addresses the challenges of water scarcity and water-energy nexus.Read moreRead less
Advanced separators for lithium-sulphur batteries. This project aims to develop new membranes for use as separators in lithium-sulphur batteries. Currently diffusion of polysulphides within these batteries reduces battery power and lifetime. The new membranes are intended to block polysulphide diffusion over an extended lifetime, while transporting the other ions needed for the battery to function. The project is expected to generate new membrane materials and further knowledge about the design, ....Advanced separators for lithium-sulphur batteries. This project aims to develop new membranes for use as separators in lithium-sulphur batteries. Currently diffusion of polysulphides within these batteries reduces battery power and lifetime. The new membranes are intended to block polysulphide diffusion over an extended lifetime, while transporting the other ions needed for the battery to function. The project is expected to generate new membrane materials and further knowledge about the design, synthesis and larger-scale production of membranes for electrochemical applications. This project will provide significant benefits by producing potentially lighter, longer-lasting and cheaper batteries than existing lithium-ion technologies, with the potential to accelerate the adoption of electric cars.Read moreRead less
Tailoring the nanoporous structure of polymer membranes for fast water permeation. A novel strategy of using a hydrophobic, charged polymer as an additive is proposed to tailor the wettability and charge density gradients in nanoporous polymer membranes for enhancing water permeation. The experimental results obtained in this project will advance our fundamental understanding of the roles of the pore surface charge and wettability gradients in water transport through nanopores. The proposed rese ....Tailoring the nanoporous structure of polymer membranes for fast water permeation. A novel strategy of using a hydrophobic, charged polymer as an additive is proposed to tailor the wettability and charge density gradients in nanoporous polymer membranes for enhancing water permeation. The experimental results obtained in this project will advance our fundamental understanding of the roles of the pore surface charge and wettability gradients in water transport through nanopores. The proposed research is expected to result in a major breakthrough in designing nanoporous membranes with ultrahigh high flux and superior separation properties for a variety of applications including water treatment and food processing. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100130
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$368,446.00
Summary
Development of two-dimensional nanoporous membranes. This project aims to develop new desalination membranes able to selectively remove contaminants from liquid effluents with greater cost efficiency and lower environmental footprint. It aims to do this by forming hierarchical membranes, where nanoscale pores generated across nano-porous two-dimensional materials are seeded with highly selective micro-porous crystals. These membranes will reduce the cost of desalination, developing new markets b ....Development of two-dimensional nanoporous membranes. This project aims to develop new desalination membranes able to selectively remove contaminants from liquid effluents with greater cost efficiency and lower environmental footprint. It aims to do this by forming hierarchical membranes, where nanoscale pores generated across nano-porous two-dimensional materials are seeded with highly selective micro-porous crystals. These membranes will reduce the cost of desalination, developing new markets beyond the sole field of water desalination, in resource, solvent recovery and protein fractionation.Read moreRead less
Machining-induced damage mechanisms in KDP crystals. This project aims to produce damage-free potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystals. How machining-induced damage reduces these crystals’ property thresholds is unclear, which hinders the development of high performance devices relying on KDP. This project will use multi-scale modelling and in-situ experiments to research machining-induced damage in KDP. This project is expected to establish a knowledge base of machining-induced damage of K ....Machining-induced damage mechanisms in KDP crystals. This project aims to produce damage-free potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystals. How machining-induced damage reduces these crystals’ property thresholds is unclear, which hinders the development of high performance devices relying on KDP. This project will use multi-scale modelling and in-situ experiments to research machining-induced damage in KDP. This project is expected to establish a knowledge base of machining-induced damage of KDP crystals, important for high performance systems and materials sensitive to environmental conditions, including moisture and temperature.Read moreRead less
Developing and modelling an additive process for three-dimensional micro-fabrication. This project aims to develop new scientific knowledge to govern the optimum design and use of a three-dimensional fabrication technology for the precision manufacturing of micro-structures. It will also gain a fundamental understanding of the fabrication process and develop new models for predicting and optimizing the process performance. The intended outcomes will increase Australia's international research st ....Developing and modelling an additive process for three-dimensional micro-fabrication. This project aims to develop new scientific knowledge to govern the optimum design and use of a three-dimensional fabrication technology for the precision manufacturing of micro-structures. It will also gain a fundamental understanding of the fabrication process and develop new models for predicting and optimizing the process performance. The intended outcomes will increase Australia's international research standing in precision and nano/micro manufacturing, while the new technology developed will fill a process gap in fabricating micro-structures and enable industry to quickly respond to market demand at commercially viable cost, particularly for small batch and customized products, and in dental, medical and electronics applications.Read moreRead less
AM of MAX Phase parts for applications in extreme environments. This project aims to develop techniques to synthesize MAX Phase compound materials in-situ using laser additive manufacturing. The project expects to increase jet engine fuel efficiency and thrust, and to fabricate longer-lasting parts for supersonic speed applications. The expected outcomes include well-developed additive manufacturing processes to make high performance engineering components with shape complexity for extreme envir ....AM of MAX Phase parts for applications in extreme environments. This project aims to develop techniques to synthesize MAX Phase compound materials in-situ using laser additive manufacturing. The project expects to increase jet engine fuel efficiency and thrust, and to fabricate longer-lasting parts for supersonic speed applications. The expected outcomes include well-developed additive manufacturing processes to make high performance engineering components with shape complexity for extreme environment applications, and new methods to increase the 3D printability of brittle materials. This should provide significant benefits to aerospace and defense industries through solving their long standing bottleneck material and processing problems. The outcomes also enhance Australia’s manufacturing capacity.Read moreRead less
Experimental validation of the strain invariant failure theory for carbon/epoxy composites. The project will be of national and international benefit, through providing a validated, enhanced design capability for advanced composite materials. Greater depth of understanding of such materials will allow more efficient structures to be designed in applications requiring high strength and stiffness, low weight, and resistance to corrosion and fatigue. Such applications include the aerospace, offshor ....Experimental validation of the strain invariant failure theory for carbon/epoxy composites. The project will be of national and international benefit, through providing a validated, enhanced design capability for advanced composite materials. Greater depth of understanding of such materials will allow more efficient structures to be designed in applications requiring high strength and stiffness, low weight, and resistance to corrosion and fatigue. Such applications include the aerospace, offshore and mining industries. There are, therefore, far-reaching benefits in industries important to Australia. In addition, the reputation of the Australian aerospace research industry will be promoted through a collaborative association with Boeing, a world leader in development of commercial aircraft.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC160100040
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,815,143.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Automated Manufacture of Advanced Composites. ARC Training Centre for Automated Manufacture of Advanced Composites. This centre aims to develop innovative researchers who can transform Australia’s high-performance carbon composites manufacturing industry. This aim will be achieved through the adoption and creative use of advanced automation technology, which brings benefits of speed, flexibility and accuracy. Industry-based research experience will be enhanced through exp ....ARC Training Centre for Automated Manufacture of Advanced Composites. ARC Training Centre for Automated Manufacture of Advanced Composites. This centre aims to develop innovative researchers who can transform Australia’s high-performance carbon composites manufacturing industry. This aim will be achieved through the adoption and creative use of advanced automation technology, which brings benefits of speed, flexibility and accuracy. Industry-based research experience will be enhanced through exposure to international partners at the cutting edge of advanced composites manufacturing research and development in developed economies. The intended outcome is a generation of innovators who can use the benefits of automation to position Australian manufacturers as world-class agile producers of high-value advanced composite structures using high-rate, error-free processes.Read moreRead less