Investigation of Strategies to Improve the Efficiency of Industrial Radiators and Cooling Coils. Innovative strategies for improving in-service effectiveness of tube & plate-fin heat exchange 'coils' will be explored. Such coils are used throughout chemical process industries, diesel powered plant, vehicles and air-conditioning systems. Coil manufacture is a 'mature' industry, but design concepts have changed little since 1950. Fouling of diesel engine 'radiators' in dusty conditions and in mari ....Investigation of Strategies to Improve the Efficiency of Industrial Radiators and Cooling Coils. Innovative strategies for improving in-service effectiveness of tube & plate-fin heat exchange 'coils' will be explored. Such coils are used throughout chemical process industries, diesel powered plant, vehicles and air-conditioning systems. Coil manufacture is a 'mature' industry, but design concepts have changed little since 1950. Fouling of diesel engine 'radiators' in dusty conditions and in marine environments is endemic. New design concepts evolved via Computational Fluid Dynamic analysis will be manufactured and tested in the unique heat and mass transfer wind tunnel on the University's Industry Liaison Campus. The major outcome will be a rugged design methodology with broad applicability.Read moreRead less
Research and development of devices to improve the quality of stormwater by removal of gross pollutants such as soil, litter and sediment. Oil,litter and sediment are serious pollutants in stormwater which go hand in hand with human and industrial activity. An outcome of this research will be to develop a device capable of removing such gross pollutants from stormwater at higher efficiencies than that currently commercially available. Vital wetland resources such as Moreton Bay near Brisbane, a ....Research and development of devices to improve the quality of stormwater by removal of gross pollutants such as soil, litter and sediment. Oil,litter and sediment are serious pollutants in stormwater which go hand in hand with human and industrial activity. An outcome of this research will be to develop a device capable of removing such gross pollutants from stormwater at higher efficiencies than that currently commercially available. Vital wetland resources such as Moreton Bay near Brisbane, a wetland of international significance that contributes around $400 million to the local economy,are under threat from polluted stormwater. Similar problems are occuring right around the entire coast of Australia and also in some inland waterways.Read moreRead less
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
Swirling turbulent pipe flow technology for drying brown coal. This project aims to understand the complex fluid mechanicalprocesses in a brown coal drying machine. Brown coal from the Latrobe Valley contains about 70 percent moisture, which must be reduced for it to be used efficiently in power stations. Utilising cutting-edge techniques in laboratory and field measurements together with advanced computational methods in fluid mechanics, the project intends to further knowledge in swirling turb ....Swirling turbulent pipe flow technology for drying brown coal. This project aims to understand the complex fluid mechanicalprocesses in a brown coal drying machine. Brown coal from the Latrobe Valley contains about 70 percent moisture, which must be reduced for it to be used efficiently in power stations. Utilising cutting-edge techniques in laboratory and field measurements together with advanced computational methods in fluid mechanics, the project intends to further knowledge in swirling turbulent flows, particle transport and vortex breakdown. The result of this research is expected to produce a drier brown coal, leading to a cleaner environment and an increase in Australian coal value. Read moreRead less
Aerodynamic enhancement of the capture of fine particle emissions and gaseous pollutants by sorbents. Fine particulate emissions alone, and just within Australia's four largest cities, are estimated to be responsible for some 1600 deaths annually, and are a leading cause of asthma and other lung disease. Hence the economic and social benefits of greatly reducing fine particulate emissions is enormous. Similar benefits can be expected to arise from the enhanced capture of SOx, NOx and heavy metal ....Aerodynamic enhancement of the capture of fine particle emissions and gaseous pollutants by sorbents. Fine particulate emissions alone, and just within Australia's four largest cities, are estimated to be responsible for some 1600 deaths annually, and are a leading cause of asthma and other lung disease. Hence the economic and social benefits of greatly reducing fine particulate emissions is enormous. Similar benefits can be expected to arise from the enhanced capture of SOx, NOx and heavy metals. Many of these pollutants also contribute to the greenhouse effect, so the international exploitation of the technology will also help to mitigate climate change. Should suitable sorbents be developed for CO2 capture, the technology will also enhance carbon capture and storage.Read moreRead less
Performance enhancement of tidal turbine arrays. Performance enhancement of tidal turbine arrays. This project aims to understand the environmental impact of turbines, by studying how an optimised array of turbines interacts with the downstream turbulent tidal flow. Tidal power could contribute substantially to Australia's Renewable Energy goals. Australia's coastlines produce over 2.4 terajoules of tidal energy, and research into turbine optimisation, array design and environmental impact is ne ....Performance enhancement of tidal turbine arrays. Performance enhancement of tidal turbine arrays. This project aims to understand the environmental impact of turbines, by studying how an optimised array of turbines interacts with the downstream turbulent tidal flow. Tidal power could contribute substantially to Australia's Renewable Energy goals. Australia's coastlines produce over 2.4 terajoules of tidal energy, and research into turbine optimisation, array design and environmental impact is needed to exploit this potential. Fluid dynamics and optimisation researchers will design an improved vertical axis tidal turbine for use in the Torres Strait Islands. This project could improve tidal turbine design and turbine placement designs, and improve understanding of interactions between turbines and the maritime environment.Read moreRead less
Understanding and predicting submarine hydrofoil noise. Australia needs to develop a more sophisticated underwater flow-induced noise research and development capability if it is to achieve its ambitious naval plans set out under the Defence White Paper. This project will develop an experimentally validated model to predict submarine noise for the purposes of submarine design, operation and procurement.
Optimal design of controlled aerodynamic bodies: from concept to prototype. This interdisciplinary project will deliver technological advances in the areas of fluid dynamics, control systems and optimisation. It utilises advanced knowledge in these areas to design manoeuvrable aerodynamic bodies and will have a direct effect on Australian defence capability.
The effect of non-homogeneous roughness on full-scale drag predictions. Partnering with AkzoNobel, one of the world’s leading suppliers of anti-fouling marine coatings, this project will deliver new tools for predicting the drag penalty on ships fouled by the settlement of marine organisms on the hull. All available predictions assume a homogeneous distribution of roughness. Yet we know biofouling is always patchy, hence prediction methods need an upgrade. Making a compelling business case to sh ....The effect of non-homogeneous roughness on full-scale drag predictions. Partnering with AkzoNobel, one of the world’s leading suppliers of anti-fouling marine coatings, this project will deliver new tools for predicting the drag penalty on ships fouled by the settlement of marine organisms on the hull. All available predictions assume a homogeneous distribution of roughness. Yet we know biofouling is always patchy, hence prediction methods need an upgrade. Making a compelling business case to ship operators is contingent on such predictions, where the cost of anti-fouling solutions is weighed against that of continued operation with a rough hull. The novel tools developed here will therefore lead to increased ship efficiency by empowering ship operators to optimise hull cleaning and repainting schedules.
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Lower greenhouse at lower cost: maximising the potential of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in passenger vehicles. This project will develop tools for designing internal combustion engines that simultaneously achieve low greenhouse emissions without added consumer cost. The project aim is to be achieved through the effective use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is an affordable fuel that has potentially low emissions if used properly.