Innovative urban traffic congestion solutions: optimising road space using networks of multi-class priority lanes. This project strengthens national approaches to a pervasive Australian problem; growing traffic congestion deteriorating liveability, environmental health and economic performance of the cities. This project improves approaches for traffic priority design to improve the efficiency of several class of vehicles and therefore, reducing traffic congestion.
Response of Metallic Foam Core Sandwich Panels under Impact and Blast Loadings. Human or natural disasters such as vehicle crashes, terrorist attacks or tsunami take place with catastrophic consequences, including significant loss of life and considerable financial losses. For example, in Australia in 2002 over 1,700 people died as a result of vehicle crashes. Research on new materials composites and novel composite structures for use in vehicles, buildings and other man-made structures will be ....Response of Metallic Foam Core Sandwich Panels under Impact and Blast Loadings. Human or natural disasters such as vehicle crashes, terrorist attacks or tsunami take place with catastrophic consequences, including significant loss of life and considerable financial losses. For example, in Australia in 2002 over 1,700 people died as a result of vehicle crashes. Research on new materials composites and novel composite structures for use in vehicles, buildings and other man-made structures will be undertaken to evaluate their performance under extreme or disastrous conditions. This project will investigate the performance of sandwich panels with a cellular core structure under high impact or blast loading conditions. The findings will be directly applicable to structural design of military and civil vehicles and components for the aerospace industry in order to mitigate the level of impact or blast loading under extreme conditions.Read moreRead less
A Multi-Scale Approach To Reliability And Durability Of Engineering Structures And Sensors. The Longford explosion is an example where a major failure was due to a very small defect. It is estimated to have cost Australia in excess of $1.5 Billion. The acquisition costs of aircraft mean that keeping a fleet operational for a year can produce savings of ~$100,000,000.The automotive industry is designing lighter vehicles. GM Australia has realised that ensuring the durability of these new designs ....A Multi-Scale Approach To Reliability And Durability Of Engineering Structures And Sensors. The Longford explosion is an example where a major failure was due to a very small defect. It is estimated to have cost Australia in excess of $1.5 Billion. The acquisition costs of aircraft mean that keeping a fleet operational for a year can produce savings of ~$100,000,000.The automotive industry is designing lighter vehicles. GM Australia has realised that ensuring the durability of these new designs is essential. By our participation in the GM PACE program we ensure that the developments are available to the broader Australian Industry. Indeed, to design durable MEM's structures would give Australia a commercial edge.Read moreRead less
Pipeline backfill reimagined to provide in-line corrosion protection. This project aims to innovate new resistive pipeline backfill materials, associated construction methods and numerical techniques to minimise corrosion at network level, considering interference effects among adjacent pipelines. In contrast to only providing mechanical support, this project will envision backfill for in-line corrosion protection by elucidating its role in pipeline corrosion. The expected outcomes are very effe ....Pipeline backfill reimagined to provide in-line corrosion protection. This project aims to innovate new resistive pipeline backfill materials, associated construction methods and numerical techniques to minimise corrosion at network level, considering interference effects among adjacent pipelines. In contrast to only providing mechanical support, this project will envision backfill for in-line corrosion protection by elucidating its role in pipeline corrosion. The expected outcomes are very effective and low-cost approach and tools to provide in-line protection, in contrast to other protection methods that are expensive and not always possible. The project will bring significant economic benefits by addressing corrosion-induced pipe failures for urban centres, where underground space is heavily congested.
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Elliptical nozzles: the shape of silence? This project aims to leverage the aeroacoustic properties of elliptical nozzle geometries to significantly reduce installed jet noise. This project expects to generate new knowledge regarding methods to reduce installed jet noise, a serious problem for the aerospace industry. Regulatory constraints inhibit the implementation of efficiency-increasing configurations but still fail to eliminate public health impacts. Expected outcomes include a set of tools ....Elliptical nozzles: the shape of silence? This project aims to leverage the aeroacoustic properties of elliptical nozzle geometries to significantly reduce installed jet noise. This project expects to generate new knowledge regarding methods to reduce installed jet noise, a serious problem for the aerospace industry. Regulatory constraints inhibit the implementation of efficiency-increasing configurations but still fail to eliminate public health impacts. Expected outcomes include a set of tools for optimizing nozzle designs capable of significantly reducing installed jet noise. This will provide significant benefits, as jet noise is a serious health issue for the Australian public. This project represents an opportunity to reduce its impact while improving fuel efficiency.Read moreRead less
The long-term effects of autonomous cars on land use, access and travel . Historically new transport technologies have significantly changed urban form in Australian cities with important business, economic, congestion, social and environmental impacts. Autonomous cars are said to revolutionise tomorrows transport but no research has yet considered long term impacts on land use and city structure. This project explores how land use and travel will change adopting innovative land use and transp ....The long-term effects of autonomous cars on land use, access and travel . Historically new transport technologies have significantly changed urban form in Australian cities with important business, economic, congestion, social and environmental impacts. Autonomous cars are said to revolutionise tomorrows transport but no research has yet considered long term impacts on land use and city structure. This project explores how land use and travel will change adopting innovative land use and transport models. Outcomes will better prepare Australia for an autonomous travel future.Read moreRead less
A real-time modelling of crowd dynamics for disaster prevention. This project aims to develop methods and technologies to enable urban planners to design infrastructures to ensure public safety in emergency situations and to enable emergency management to optimise effective response plans. Rapid population growth creates major challenges for urban management, which has a responsibility to ensure the safety of citizens in the case of emergencies. This project aims to develop a methodology to stud ....A real-time modelling of crowd dynamics for disaster prevention. This project aims to develop methods and technologies to enable urban planners to design infrastructures to ensure public safety in emergency situations and to enable emergency management to optimise effective response plans. Rapid population growth creates major challenges for urban management, which has a responsibility to ensure the safety of citizens in the case of emergencies. This project aims to develop a methodology to study pedestrian crowd dynamics under panic or extreme emergency conditions, using innovative experimental approaches with new multi-scale online simulation methods and optimisation techniques. The resultant methodology would support planning and prediction of pedestrian crowd movements based on data from past events as well as adaptive planning for live events as they unfold.Read moreRead less
Protecting Occupants in Vehicle Rollover Crashes. This project addresses a public health issue involving rollover crashes. It will help prevent 340 deaths, 6000 injuries and save $3.6 billion annually in Australia and many fold this number internationally. A dynamic rollover crashworthiness test protocol, that ensures efficient and economical vehicle rollover protection systems are designed and manufactured, will be provided to consumer and regulatory bodies to consider and implement. In additio ....Protecting Occupants in Vehicle Rollover Crashes. This project addresses a public health issue involving rollover crashes. It will help prevent 340 deaths, 6000 injuries and save $3.6 billion annually in Australia and many fold this number internationally. A dynamic rollover crashworthiness test protocol, that ensures efficient and economical vehicle rollover protection systems are designed and manufactured, will be provided to consumer and regulatory bodies to consider and implement. In addition, much needed Occupational Health & Safety information regarding vehicle rollover crashworthiness, which provide a safe work place environment for professional drivers and employees using vehicles, will be supplied to industry fleet managers, defence and emergency services.Read moreRead less
Dynamic Crushing of Cellular Solids: Deformation Modes and Energy Absorption. Energy absorption behaviour of structures and materials is essential in minimising damage and fatalities caused by accidental collisions. Cellular solids are excellent in this respect. This project aims to systematically investigate the dynamic crushing of two such materials: honeycombs and metal foams. Experimental techniques applicable to these materials will be developed and comprehensive tests will be conducted. St ....Dynamic Crushing of Cellular Solids: Deformation Modes and Energy Absorption. Energy absorption behaviour of structures and materials is essential in minimising damage and fatalities caused by accidental collisions. Cellular solids are excellent in this respect. This project aims to systematically investigate the dynamic crushing of two such materials: honeycombs and metal foams. Experimental techniques applicable to these materials will be developed and comprehensive tests will be conducted. Studies will be made into their dynamic deformation modes and the associated energy absorption behaviour. The findings will extend our conceptual understanding of a class of similar problems and will help to design structures with cellular solids for much improved crashworthiness performance.Read moreRead less
An innovative mechanism for optimising freeway traffic efficiency, safety, and sustainability via variable speed limit control. Congestion, safety, and emissions are three major traffic problems threatening the Australian economy. This project aims to develop a novel approach to collectively handle these problems for freeway traffic using variable speed limits (VSL). The project tasks address modelling, VSL controller design and automatic fine tuning of VSL controllers.