Fluid-thermal-structural interactions on high-speed aerospace vehicles. Sixteen years after the retirement of Concorde, high-speed commercial flight is once again on the rise with the development of new supersonic business jets and small airliners as well as hypersonic transport and reusable space launch systems. Robust and efficient designs for these light-weight vehicles must address the problem of aerodynamic heating and its effect on structural performance and lifing. This project will desig ....Fluid-thermal-structural interactions on high-speed aerospace vehicles. Sixteen years after the retirement of Concorde, high-speed commercial flight is once again on the rise with the development of new supersonic business jets and small airliners as well as hypersonic transport and reusable space launch systems. Robust and efficient designs for these light-weight vehicles must address the problem of aerodynamic heating and its effect on structural performance and lifing. This project will design and perform first-of-kind experiments that reproduce the complex fluid-thermal-structural interactions representative of those experienced by these aircraft and rockets. We will then use these measurements to assess, validate and improve the current state-of-the-art of simulation and modelling approaches for design.Read moreRead less
Dispersion of spacecraft components during re-entry. Destructive re-entry trajectories for used satellites are designed so debris remaining after re-entry falls harmlessly to the Earth. However, the dramatic increase in the mass of orbiting objects has outpaced improvements in predicting hazardous impact zones. This project aims to develop the experimental and theoretical methods needed to study separation of objects in hypersonic flow in order to better predict the dispersion of debris from re- ....Dispersion of spacecraft components during re-entry. Destructive re-entry trajectories for used satellites are designed so debris remaining after re-entry falls harmlessly to the Earth. However, the dramatic increase in the mass of orbiting objects has outpaced improvements in predicting hazardous impact zones. This project aims to develop the experimental and theoretical methods needed to study separation of objects in hypersonic flow in order to better predict the dispersion of debris from re-entering space objects. New hypersonic wind tunnel experiments, modelling, and computational simulations will be performed to enhance our understanding and improve predictions of how spacecraft components are dispersed during re-entry.Read moreRead less
Electron Transpiration Cooling of Hypersonic Vehicles. Future aircraft for flight at hypersonic speeds require sharp leading edges for the best aerodynamic performance. Sharp leading edges incur high heat loads and cannot be adequately cooled with current technologies. The project aim is to investigate novel surface materials that emit electrons when heated. This emission of electrons from the surface can significantly contribute to the cooling of the sharp leading edges. This project is expecte ....Electron Transpiration Cooling of Hypersonic Vehicles. Future aircraft for flight at hypersonic speeds require sharp leading edges for the best aerodynamic performance. Sharp leading edges incur high heat loads and cannot be adequately cooled with current technologies. The project aim is to investigate novel surface materials that emit electrons when heated. This emission of electrons from the surface can significantly contribute to the cooling of the sharp leading edges. This project is expected to deliver new experimental data on novel surface materials exposed to a hypersonic flow environment and computer models that can simulate their cooling effect. This investigation will contribute towards enabling technologies for sustained hypersonic flight by overcoming critical head load limitations.Read moreRead less
Wind Tunnel Testing of a Hypersonic Plasma Engine. This project intends to evaluate an electric engine that is capable of speeds in excess of 10000 km/hr, for access to space and responsive surveillance in our region. The expertise of Lockheed Martin, Lockheed Martin Australia, the University of Qld and DST Group are to be combined to complete experimental and theoretical evaluations of an air-breathing plasma engine that is capable of out-performing rockets and scramjets. US Air Force Research ....Wind Tunnel Testing of a Hypersonic Plasma Engine. This project intends to evaluate an electric engine that is capable of speeds in excess of 10000 km/hr, for access to space and responsive surveillance in our region. The expertise of Lockheed Martin, Lockheed Martin Australia, the University of Qld and DST Group are to be combined to complete experimental and theoretical evaluations of an air-breathing plasma engine that is capable of out-performing rockets and scramjets. US Air Force Research Laboratory results will also be compared and shared. This project provides opportunities for young Australian researchers to be participate and lead an exciting new field of propulsion. It is anticipated that the program will be the foundations to future flight demonstrations from Woomera, Australia.Read moreRead less
Promoting active travel and public transport for a post-pandemic world. In many major cities, COVID-19 stimulated the provision of open streets, pop up bike lanes and widened pedestrian access, prompting unprecedented increases cycling and walking. While this type of infrastructure has always been supported by urban planners and designers, the pandemic has served as a vital inflection point, enabling cities to pursue long-term sustainable transport initiatives, including investment in Active Tra ....Promoting active travel and public transport for a post-pandemic world. In many major cities, COVID-19 stimulated the provision of open streets, pop up bike lanes and widened pedestrian access, prompting unprecedented increases cycling and walking. While this type of infrastructure has always been supported by urban planners and designers, the pandemic has served as a vital inflection point, enabling cities to pursue long-term sustainable transport initiatives, including investment in Active Travel (AT). There is an opportunity to promote AT as part of an integrated transport strategy, and to develop tools for the robust evaluation of AT impacts to inform future investment strategies. This proposal will provide our partner organisation Transport for New South Wales (with the knowledge required to achieve this.
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Noise-free Cryogenic Wavefront Sensing. This project aims to optimise the prototype adaptive optics technology for the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) by leveraging past investment in adaptive optics instrumentation and shortwave infrared detector systems. This project expects to generate significant improvements in GMT performance, with ten times greater image resolution than the Hubble Space Telescope and current estimates of >90% sky coverage, compared with ~50% coverage for current technology ....Noise-free Cryogenic Wavefront Sensing. This project aims to optimise the prototype adaptive optics technology for the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) by leveraging past investment in adaptive optics instrumentation and shortwave infrared detector systems. This project expects to generate significant improvements in GMT performance, with ten times greater image resolution than the Hubble Space Telescope and current estimates of >90% sky coverage, compared with ~50% coverage for current technology. Expected outcomes of this project include the development of a highly trained workforce and continued international collaboration in the field of high-technology sensor systems. This contribution to the GMT will provide significant benefits—it will change the way we view the Universe.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE200100201
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$530,000.00
Summary
A major upgrade to the Australia Telescope Compact Array. This project aims to upgrade the $150m CSIRO Australia Telescope Compact Array ("the telescope"), by replacing the signal processing electronics and doubling the bandwidth. This will significantly enhance the performance of the telescope, enabling more ambitious science by the 450 researchers and students who use it each year. For example, it will enable the telescope to study radio counterparts to Gravitational Wave sources, and it will ....A major upgrade to the Australia Telescope Compact Array. This project aims to upgrade the $150m CSIRO Australia Telescope Compact Array ("the telescope"), by replacing the signal processing electronics and doubling the bandwidth. This will significantly enhance the performance of the telescope, enabling more ambitious science by the 450 researchers and students who use it each year. For example, it will enable the telescope to study radio counterparts to Gravitational Wave sources, and it will enable it to make detailed observations of initial discoveries made with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder and other Australian telescopes. In short, it will enable Australian researchers to do more ambitious research, and make more discoveries, across broad areas of astrophysics.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE200100096
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,150,000.00
Summary
A next-generation receiver for Radio Astronomy. This project will provide a next-generation radio astronomy receiver to be used on the Parkes radio telescope. This facility will provide a major increase in performance, particularly in sensitivity and survey speed. The science goals are to better understand the ionized and neutral components of the cosmic web, and their evolution, through observations of Fast Radio Bursts and neutral hydrogen. Advances in the understanding of pulsars, molecules, ....A next-generation receiver for Radio Astronomy. This project will provide a next-generation radio astronomy receiver to be used on the Parkes radio telescope. This facility will provide a major increase in performance, particularly in sensitivity and survey speed. The science goals are to better understand the ionized and neutral components of the cosmic web, and their evolution, through observations of Fast Radio Bursts and neutral hydrogen. Advances in the understanding of pulsars, molecules, radio galaxies and cosmic rays will also be achieved with this facility. The technology is based on cryogenic cooling of a large phased array feed. This receiver is a major advance over existing receivers on the Parkes and Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescopes.Read moreRead less