Freshing, mixing and purging of riverine saline ponds by freshwater overflow. Develop a model to accurately predict the full details of flow in saline river ponds subjected to a freshwater overflow. Such ponds are ubiquitous in Australia's inland rivers, have low oxygen and high nutrient and salinity levels and are associated with poor water quality, both in the pond and downstream during flow events. The model will allow precise determination of the river flow rates required to fully purge pond ....Freshing, mixing and purging of riverine saline ponds by freshwater overflow. Develop a model to accurately predict the full details of flow in saline river ponds subjected to a freshwater overflow. Such ponds are ubiquitous in Australia's inland rivers, have low oxygen and high nutrient and salinity levels and are associated with poor water quality, both in the pond and downstream during flow events. The model will allow precise determination of the river flow rates required to fully purge ponds and the downstream effect of the low quality pond water on the riverine environment and will also assist in the devlopment of rule of thumb scaling formula that will be incorporated into a one-dimensional flow prediction model being developed by the industrial partner.Read moreRead less
The Fluid-Particle Mechanics of a Synthetic Jet-based Dry Powder Inhaler. This project aims to untangle the fundamental principles that govern the fluid mechanics and particulate interactions in a novel concept chip-based micro-zero-net-mass-flux (micro-ZNMF) jet-assisted dry powder inhaler (DPI). Respiratory diseases affect 6.2 million Australians. The treatment of these diseases is hampered by the poor efficiency of current delivery systems, with conventional DPI devices exhibiting sub-optimum ....The Fluid-Particle Mechanics of a Synthetic Jet-based Dry Powder Inhaler. This project aims to untangle the fundamental principles that govern the fluid mechanics and particulate interactions in a novel concept chip-based micro-zero-net-mass-flux (micro-ZNMF) jet-assisted dry powder inhaler (DPI). Respiratory diseases affect 6.2 million Australians. The treatment of these diseases is hampered by the poor efficiency of current delivery systems, with conventional DPI devices exhibiting sub-optimum performance, delivering typically less than 20% of the loaded dose to the target site, the lungs. The new fundamental knowledge resulting from this research will enable the engineering of a high-efficiency groundbreaking DPI, with the potential to be fully adaptive user-specific benefiting millions of Australians. Read moreRead less
A novel approach for the real-time measurement of aerosol surface area. This project aims to develop an innovative optical tomography technology capable of direct and real-time measurement of the surface area of airborne particles. By coupling advanced laser diagnostic tools with physiological models and in vitro characterisation techniques, this project will determine the hitherto unknown fundamental and critical relationships between the surface area of an aerosol and its dissolution when deli ....A novel approach for the real-time measurement of aerosol surface area. This project aims to develop an innovative optical tomography technology capable of direct and real-time measurement of the surface area of airborne particles. By coupling advanced laser diagnostic tools with physiological models and in vitro characterisation techniques, this project will determine the hitherto unknown fundamental and critical relationships between the surface area of an aerosol and its dissolution when delivered to a target. The Project’s outcomes will enable aerosol device manufacturers to develop and market significantly more advanced and highly specific products, thus conferring a competitive advantage.Read moreRead less
Improving respiratory drug delivery through targeted nozzle design. The project aims to develop designs for inhaler components which significantly reduce the existing variability in the sprays they produce, as well as an enhanced capacity to predict inhaler performance through development of new empirical models. This project will combine recently developed synchrotron x-ray measurement techniques with traditional visible light diagnostics to develop a greater understanding of the link between t ....Improving respiratory drug delivery through targeted nozzle design. The project aims to develop designs for inhaler components which significantly reduce the existing variability in the sprays they produce, as well as an enhanced capacity to predict inhaler performance through development of new empirical models. This project will combine recently developed synchrotron x-ray measurement techniques with traditional visible light diagnostics to develop a greater understanding of the link between the geometry of pressurised, metered-dose inhaler components and the drug particles these devices produce. The long term benefit from this research will be improved delivery efficiency and shorter product development times, leading to reduced dose-rate costs. This understanding will enable the development of the next generation of treatment devices with enhanced efficiency in delivery of the drugs used to treat these diseases and reduced costs per dose.Read moreRead less
Development of engine management systems for turbocharged gasoline direct-injection engines with optional natural gas port-injection. This project aims to develop universal and programmable engine management systems for gasoline direct-injection engines with lean-burn technology and optional natural gas port-injection. The new engine management system will enable higher fuel efficiency than its predecessors and the increased use of nationally-produced natural gas. The project aims to overcome th ....Development of engine management systems for turbocharged gasoline direct-injection engines with optional natural gas port-injection. This project aims to develop universal and programmable engine management systems for gasoline direct-injection engines with lean-burn technology and optional natural gas port-injection. The new engine management system will enable higher fuel efficiency than its predecessors and the increased use of nationally-produced natural gas. The project aims to overcome three main problems that limit efficiency improvement of direct-injection engines, namely: misfiring, unstable combustion, and soot emission. How these issues are impacted by additional natural gas port-injection will also be explored. This project aims to accomplish this by combining fundamental in-cylinder optical measurements and detailed modelling.Read moreRead less
Advances in real-time satellite monitoring of flow in rivers and estuaries. This project plans to improve the monitoring of our waterways by developing a novel moving drifter system that takes flow and water quality measurements along the pathlines of the drifters. One of the key challenges for Australian water management lies in monitoring and managing rivers and estuaries effectively over large geographical areas. Traditionally, instrumentation at stationary points has been used for such monit ....Advances in real-time satellite monitoring of flow in rivers and estuaries. This project plans to improve the monitoring of our waterways by developing a novel moving drifter system that takes flow and water quality measurements along the pathlines of the drifters. One of the key challenges for Australian water management lies in monitoring and managing rivers and estuaries effectively over large geographical areas. Traditionally, instrumentation at stationary points has been used for such monitoring, under the simplifying assumption that a single point adequately represents a very large region of water. By contrast, the Real-Time Flow Logging of Water (RT-FLOW) system expects to provide information from large regions of our waterways, providing stakeholders with more information to enable them to better manage issues including storm surge and erosion. The project also aims to provide improved validation of hydrodynamic models.Read moreRead less
Thermal Optimisation of Gigascale Solar Photovoltaics. Large-scale solar photovoltaics are critical to decarbonising the global economy. Sun Cable is developing the world’s largest solar farm in the Northern Territory, and is considering deploying the 5B MAV solar array. At this scale, temperature-induced panel efficiency losses represent a major challenge that must be overcome through thermal performance optimisation. We will build sophisticated multiscale models to simulate and understand the ....Thermal Optimisation of Gigascale Solar Photovoltaics. Large-scale solar photovoltaics are critical to decarbonising the global economy. Sun Cable is developing the world’s largest solar farm in the Northern Territory, and is considering deploying the 5B MAV solar array. At this scale, temperature-induced panel efficiency losses represent a major challenge that must be overcome through thermal performance optimisation. We will build sophisticated multiscale models to simulate and understand the multiple interacting phenomena that cause panel heating, for the first time. This project will create the tools and know-how to optimise array design and solar farm development, delivering major efficiency gains and enhancing the viability of future gigascale solar projects.Read moreRead less
Microwave-generated plasma combustion for in-cylinder soot reduction. Microwave-generated plasma combustion for in-cylinder soot reduction. This project aims to develop a microwave-generated plasma combustion system for the in-cylinder formation of hydroxyl radicals, achieving cost-effective reduction of engine-out emissions in diesel engines. This new system should overcome high-load particulate emissions and high-cost fuel injection systems, which limit further improvement of diesel engines. T ....Microwave-generated plasma combustion for in-cylinder soot reduction. Microwave-generated plasma combustion for in-cylinder soot reduction. This project aims to develop a microwave-generated plasma combustion system for the in-cylinder formation of hydroxyl radicals, achieving cost-effective reduction of engine-out emissions in diesel engines. This new system should overcome high-load particulate emissions and high-cost fuel injection systems, which limit further improvement of diesel engines. This project expects to accomplish this by combining laser diagnostics in optical combustion facilities and computational modelling, which should lead to the scientific knowledge accelerating the development cycle of the new system.Read moreRead less
Development of low emissions compression-ignition engines via ethanol port-injection dual-fuelling. The project aims to develop a more efficient and more cost-effective way of utilising clean-burning ethanol fuel. Port-injection fuelling of ethanol as a separate fuel stream in compression-ignition engines will be studied fundamentally and combined with novel combustion strategies to overcome problems that occur at high ethanol substitution.