Advanced Combustion Modelling for Scramjets and Rotating Detonation Engines. This project will develop new fundamental knowledge and engineering models underpinning air-breathing high speed propulsion engines employing complex hydrocarbon fuels. Extensive data and new physical understanding will be garnered through analysis of direct numerical simulations of supersonic reacting mixing layers including impinging shock waves. That data will be employed to isolate, test and develop computationally ....Advanced Combustion Modelling for Scramjets and Rotating Detonation Engines. This project will develop new fundamental knowledge and engineering models underpinning air-breathing high speed propulsion engines employing complex hydrocarbon fuels. Extensive data and new physical understanding will be garnered through analysis of direct numerical simulations of supersonic reacting mixing layers including impinging shock waves. That data will be employed to isolate, test and develop computationally efficient engineering models that are accurate and efficient for high speed combustion in rotating detonation engines and scramjets. Expected outcomes are knowledge and tools needed to develop practical and effective supersonic propulsion engines for access to space, defence and high speed point-to-point flight.
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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
Reduced fuel consumption through aerodynamic optimisation and the development of a new fuel consumption model for inter-modal trains in Australia. This project aims to improve intermodal freight train efficiency by developing new experimental and computational analytical techniques leading to aerodynamic optimisation and improved fuel consumption models. The aerodynamics solutions will be widely applicable to other rail and ground transportation modes.
Advancing unsteady bluff body aerodynamics: applications to elite cycling. Delivering a better understanding of unsteady wakes has real potential to further our future capabilities of reducing bluff body parasitic drag. The national benefit derived from this project is the advancement of knowledge of a complex fluid mechanics problem, with secondary benefits arising from the specific and practical application to sports aerodynamics. By better understanding the wake structure and its interaction ....Advancing unsteady bluff body aerodynamics: applications to elite cycling. Delivering a better understanding of unsteady wakes has real potential to further our future capabilities of reducing bluff body parasitic drag. The national benefit derived from this project is the advancement of knowledge of a complex fluid mechanics problem, with secondary benefits arising from the specific and practical application to sports aerodynamics. By better understanding the wake structure and its interaction with a locally oscillating bluff body this knowledge can feed into the field of active flow control in the transport sector. The potential for emissions mitigation by lowering aerodynamic losses in the ground transportation section through active aerodynamic control is significant.Read moreRead less
The convective boundaries in stars. This project aims to locate the boundaries of convection, a problem in models of stars. It will calculate high-resolution three-dimensional simulations of stars and observe star clusters. The effect of this advance on stellar modelling could be profound since almost all stars contain convective regions. Many branches of astronomy rely on stellar models so the effect could extend far beyond the immediate field, ultimately expanding understanding of the Universe ....The convective boundaries in stars. This project aims to locate the boundaries of convection, a problem in models of stars. It will calculate high-resolution three-dimensional simulations of stars and observe star clusters. The effect of this advance on stellar modelling could be profound since almost all stars contain convective regions. Many branches of astronomy rely on stellar models so the effect could extend far beyond the immediate field, ultimately expanding understanding of the Universe. It could also be crucial in realising the scientific advances of the surveys which are gathering data for up to a billion stars.Read moreRead less
Nucleosynthetic signatures of convective-reactive events in stars. This project aims to better understand where the elements in the periodic table come from, by investigating spectacular but poorly understood nuclear-burning events that occur in stars. The project aims to understand the inner workings of stars by calculating detailed three-dimensional simulations using Australia's largest supercomputers, and to combine this with telescope surveys that are recording the chemical make-up of millio ....Nucleosynthetic signatures of convective-reactive events in stars. This project aims to better understand where the elements in the periodic table come from, by investigating spectacular but poorly understood nuclear-burning events that occur in stars. The project aims to understand the inner workings of stars by calculating detailed three-dimensional simulations using Australia's largest supercomputers, and to combine this with telescope surveys that are recording the chemical make-up of millions of stars. The project expects to create new knowledge in the areas of stellar physics and nucleosynthesis. Many branches of astronomy rely on stellar models so the impact would extend far beyond the immediate field, ultimately expanding our understanding of the Universe.Read moreRead less
Aerodynamic interaction of bluff bodies with applications to sports aerodynamics. Numerical modelling and experiments will be combined by this project to characterise the flow and reduce drag on a set of objects in the wake of another object. The Olympic pursuit cycling team is a typical application, with small improvements leading to major competitiveness gains. Findings will also apply to Paralympic team sports, and potentially transportation.
Cosmic explosions and the origin of the elements. After the big bang, the universe consisted only of hydrogen and helium; all heavier elements, including those necessary to life were made in stars and stellar explosions. This project will develop an understanding and model stars, stellar explosions and the synthesis of heavy elements from the first stars to the present.
High-fidelity simulations for new models that reduce noise pollution. This project aims to develop a method for accurate and affordable prediction and mitigation of flow-induced noise. The innovative approach, based on recent developments in simulation and data-driven modelling, expects to reduce environmental noise pollution, improve public health and ease the impact of urbanisation. To date methodological limitations have hampered our ability to predict noise reliably and hence control it. Thi ....High-fidelity simulations for new models that reduce noise pollution. This project aims to develop a method for accurate and affordable prediction and mitigation of flow-induced noise. The innovative approach, based on recent developments in simulation and data-driven modelling, expects to reduce environmental noise pollution, improve public health and ease the impact of urbanisation. To date methodological limitations have hampered our ability to predict noise reliably and hence control it. This project, exploiting proven high-fidelity simulation and machine-learning techniques to overcome limitations to produce the scientific knowledge required for practical noise mitigation. Benefits include quieter aerospace, marine and renewable energy technologies, creating more pleasant communities.Read moreRead less
Designing textured roughness to control turbulent pipe flow. This project will combine a recent theoretical model of turbulent pipe flow with computer simulation to develop methods to control these flows (e.g. to increase mixing, reduce wall drag). Additionally we will extend the model so it can deal with many industrially significant flows of fluids carrying high concentrations of fine particles.