APEC Cooperation for Earthquake Simulation Visitors Program. This project aims to improve understanding of earthquakes through development of numerical simulation models for the earthquake generation process. Its centerpiece is a major international collaboration, achieved via a visitor exchange program between the headquarters of the APEC Cooperation for Earthquake Simulation in Australia and overseas centres of excellence. Earthquakes are one of the most costly and deadly natural disasters, a ....APEC Cooperation for Earthquake Simulation Visitors Program. This project aims to improve understanding of earthquakes through development of numerical simulation models for the earthquake generation process. Its centerpiece is a major international collaboration, achieved via a visitor exchange program between the headquarters of the APEC Cooperation for Earthquake Simulation in Australia and overseas centres of excellence. Earthquakes are one of the most costly and deadly natural disasters, and APEC member economies have a high earthquake risk. Recent analyses suggest earthquakes may dominate the loss potential in Australia. The complementary research programs offer an opportunity to achieve breakthrough advances in improved methods of earthquake forecasting and hazard quantification.Read moreRead less
A Novel Surface Alloying Technique to Improve the Corrosion and Wear Resistance of Magnesium Alloys. Surface mechanical attrition treatment will be used to generate nanometer-sized grains in the surface layer of engineering magnesium alloys, and therefore activate the surface of this material. Together with the use of efficient activators, the project will develop a novel low temperature surface alloying technique to significantly improve the wear and corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys wi ....A Novel Surface Alloying Technique to Improve the Corrosion and Wear Resistance of Magnesium Alloys. Surface mechanical attrition treatment will be used to generate nanometer-sized grains in the surface layer of engineering magnesium alloys, and therefore activate the surface of this material. Together with the use of efficient activators, the project will develop a novel low temperature surface alloying technique to significantly improve the wear and corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys without changing the substrate properties. Microstructural features and the wear and corrosion resistance of the ultrafine-grained surface layer will be examined. In addition, it may be possible to combine the surface alloying process with the conventional ageing process together in order to save energy.Read moreRead less
Supercomputer Simulation of Multiscale Dynamic Behaviour in Multiphase Deformable Porous Media. This project will establish and consolidate links between leading groups in China and Australia to develop a new and unique multiscale computational model and algorithm for simulating multiphase nonlinear behaviours of the porous media under dynamic loading conditions, and improve technology transfer between the two groups by the mobility of the ARC International Fellow. This will aid Australian geosc ....Supercomputer Simulation of Multiscale Dynamic Behaviour in Multiphase Deformable Porous Media. This project will establish and consolidate links between leading groups in China and Australia to develop a new and unique multiscale computational model and algorithm for simulating multiphase nonlinear behaviours of the porous media under dynamic loading conditions, and improve technology transfer between the two groups by the mobility of the ARC International Fellow. This will aid Australian geoscience and mining industry, such as in HFR geothermal/UCG energy facility design, construction, risk assessment and production and could help Australia shift away from greenhouse gases and become a world leader in the emerging worldwide HFR geothermal/UCG industry.Read moreRead less
Multi-scale Process Modelling for Intelligent Control. Processing and manufacturing systems are inherently multi-scale in their behaviour. From the molecular scale to the enterprise-wide scale. This and other attributes of the individual models create difficulties in the design and control of such systems. This project will develop suitable multi-scale measures (metrics) for process models based on an object oriented assumption based modelling language. It will lead to enhanced intelligent contr ....Multi-scale Process Modelling for Intelligent Control. Processing and manufacturing systems are inherently multi-scale in their behaviour. From the molecular scale to the enterprise-wide scale. This and other attributes of the individual models create difficulties in the design and control of such systems. This project will develop suitable multi-scale measures (metrics) for process models based on an object oriented assumption based modelling language. It will lead to enhanced intelligent control strategies and improved operational performance through use of the most appropriate model. The work will focus on industrially important reaction and particulate processing systemsRead moreRead less
Stochastic modelling and analysis of spatio-temporal processes with fractal characteristics. Interest has grown in recent years on the derivation of fractal models to represent certain physical phenomena such as diffusion and transport in porous media, oceanic and atmospheric turbulence, climatology, etc. This project focuses on the phenomenon of diffusion on domains with multifractal geometry. Recent advances in harmonic analysis on fractals and our own development of fractional generalized ran ....Stochastic modelling and analysis of spatio-temporal processes with fractal characteristics. Interest has grown in recent years on the derivation of fractal models to represent certain physical phenomena such as diffusion and transport in porous media, oceanic and atmospheric turbulence, climatology, etc. This project focuses on the phenomenon of diffusion on domains with multifractal geometry. Recent advances in harmonic analysis on fractals and our own development of fractional generalized random fields allow us to formulate a comprehensive program to tackle some key problems including modeling, processing and statistical estimation of fractional diffusion. Advances made in this program will in turn benefit the developments in related scientific fields.Read moreRead less
Beach groundwater dynamics: measurement and modelling. Beach groundwater is a highly complex, dynamic system interacting with tides, waves and swash. Such interactions affect beach sediment movement and contaminant transport/transformation in coastal aquifers. This project aims to measure and model the groundwater's behaviour at three different types of beaches: sand, gravel and gravel-sand mixed beaches. The study will provide much needed understanding and quantification of the beach groundwate ....Beach groundwater dynamics: measurement and modelling. Beach groundwater is a highly complex, dynamic system interacting with tides, waves and swash. Such interactions affect beach sediment movement and contaminant transport/transformation in coastal aquifers. This project aims to measure and model the groundwater's behaviour at three different types of beaches: sand, gravel and gravel-sand mixed beaches. The study will provide much needed understanding and quantification of the beach groundwater dynamics over a range of time scales. The outcome will help to assess the extent and intensity of mass and momentum exchanges across the beach face, and the resulting effects on beach stability and the fate of contaminants in coastal aquifers.Read moreRead less
University of Queensland/Arizona State University partnership to design industrially suitable zeolite membranes for desalination. For desalination, the highest costs are organic-based membrane replacement (lasting ~1 year) and energy requirement. Functionalised zeolitic membranes are low-cost, high performing, chemically tolerant and thermally stable. New zeolite membranes in principle could perform the separation outlasting their organic counterparts, while at the same time offering major energ ....University of Queensland/Arizona State University partnership to design industrially suitable zeolite membranes for desalination. For desalination, the highest costs are organic-based membrane replacement (lasting ~1 year) and energy requirement. Functionalised zeolitic membranes are low-cost, high performing, chemically tolerant and thermally stable. New zeolite membranes in principle could perform the separation outlasting their organic counterparts, while at the same time offering major energy reductions from higher fluxes. Current zeolite membrane research for desalination however is lacking. The proposed team offers experience in bringing highly significant lab scale technologies to industrial scales. The outcomes will address mutual priorities between Australia and USA for reliable low cost supply of fresh water.Read moreRead less
Biodiversity in high rainfall mediterranean-climate ecosystems: Integrating fields of ecological enquiry to achieve improved conservation outcomes. This project targets research priority 'An Environmentally Sustainable Australia' through the management and protection of Australia's terrestrial biodiversity, and by increasing understanding of the impact of climate change and variability at the local to regional level. By linking disparate data sets across similar climatic regions, and through dir ....Biodiversity in high rainfall mediterranean-climate ecosystems: Integrating fields of ecological enquiry to achieve improved conservation outcomes. This project targets research priority 'An Environmentally Sustainable Australia' through the management and protection of Australia's terrestrial biodiversity, and by increasing understanding of the impact of climate change and variability at the local to regional level. By linking disparate data sets across similar climatic regions, and through direct links to management agencies, this project will enable development of a landscape conservation culture for improved conservation outcomes, and more direct information use through science-based adaptive management. Efficient use of existing data and the 'promotion of an innovation culture and economy' by linking global perspectives to local conservation needs, are hallmarks of this project.Read moreRead less
International Evaluation of Algorithms for Mapping in Optically Shallow Waters. This work provides a means for Australian science and management agencies to apply a method for accurately mapping shallow coastal environments. The work will build Australian research capability by developing new collaborations among experienced researchers; as well as allowing the Australian teams to benchmark their proposed methods internationally. Nationally, the work will strengthen international research exper ....International Evaluation of Algorithms for Mapping in Optically Shallow Waters. This work provides a means for Australian science and management agencies to apply a method for accurately mapping shallow coastal environments. The work will build Australian research capability by developing new collaborations among experienced researchers; as well as allowing the Australian teams to benchmark their proposed methods internationally. Nationally, the work will strengthen international research experience and generate opportunities for postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers to link into leading-edge international research networks. This work will also allow us to build strong ongoing collaborations between research teams in Australia and their counterparts overseas (specifically USA, Canada, UK and Germany). Read moreRead less
The fossil record of galaxy formation. This Australian-led team recently used the Anglo-Australian Telescope to discover large numbers of a new type of very small galaxy in the centres of two galaxy clusters. This project will maintain Australian leadership in this new area of astrophysics research, whilst using the best international expertise and facilities.