A Novel Reconfigurable Unlimited Spherical Motion Generator. The main contribution of this research lies in the National Research Priority of Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries. The main outcome is a strategy to produce unlimited spherical motion with high precision. It is an innovative solution that is applicable to many cutting edge research and industry problems. Immediate application is expected to produce a faithful motion simulation, for flight, astr ....A Novel Reconfigurable Unlimited Spherical Motion Generator. The main contribution of this research lies in the National Research Priority of Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries. The main outcome is a strategy to produce unlimited spherical motion with high precision. It is an innovative solution that is applicable to many cutting edge research and industry problems. Immediate application is expected to produce a faithful motion simulation, for flight, astronaut, and vehicle control training. It would potentially improve the quality of human resources and the quality of Australian industry, both civil and military. This project would also enhance the Australian competitive technological edge in developing advanced mechatronic systems.Read moreRead less
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
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
Surface roughness and its effects on wall-bounded turbulence. Examples in engineering where turbulence is important are: wind tunnel model testing, numerical prediction of turbulent skin friction drag over an aircraft wing, turbulent forces and acoustic field around a submarine or a road vehicle, and the dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere. Turbulence may also be beneficial, for example, in improving engine combustion and decreasing pollutant emissions. Hence this study will have national ....Surface roughness and its effects on wall-bounded turbulence. Examples in engineering where turbulence is important are: wind tunnel model testing, numerical prediction of turbulent skin friction drag over an aircraft wing, turbulent forces and acoustic field around a submarine or a road vehicle, and the dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere. Turbulence may also be beneficial, for example, in improving engine combustion and decreasing pollutant emissions. Hence this study will have national benefits in many scientific fields, for example, in fuel savings (economy and energy ), stability of road vehicles (safety and health), noise generation and acoustic signatures of submarines (transforming defence technology and safeguarding Australia).Read moreRead less
Structure, Dynamics and Control of Wall-Bounded Turbulence. This research has immense impact in engineering and environmental science including aeronautical, mechanical, biomedical engineering, and meteorological science. The energy savings with reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions resulting from this research and economic benefits will impact directly on global climate change and a sustainable urban environment in Australia. This research will deliver technological advances in complex fl ....Structure, Dynamics and Control of Wall-Bounded Turbulence. This research has immense impact in engineering and environmental science including aeronautical, mechanical, biomedical engineering, and meteorological science. The energy savings with reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions resulting from this research and economic benefits will impact directly on global climate change and a sustainable urban environment in Australia. This research will deliver technological advances in complex fluid dynamics and instrumentation, in addition to new and exciting training opportunities for future generations of researchers and engineers. This project will secure Australian science and engineering as world leaders in the crucial area of Fluid Dynamics that influences our everyday lives.
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Stochastic Geometry for Multi-sensor Data Fusion System. The aim of this project is to develop efficient algorithms for tracking and sensor management in a multi-sensor multi-target environment. Finite random set theory provides a natural way of representing a random number of (random) object states, an issue that has been largely ignored in the tracking literature until recently. Although a satisfactory foundation for multiple object filtering has been provided by random set theory, in this ear ....Stochastic Geometry for Multi-sensor Data Fusion System. The aim of this project is to develop efficient algorithms for tracking and sensor management in a multi-sensor multi-target environment. Finite random set theory provides a natural way of representing a random number of (random) object states, an issue that has been largely ignored in the tracking literature until recently. Although a satisfactory foundation for multiple object filtering has been provided by random set theory, in this early stage no algorithm capable of tracking many targets has emerged from this framework. We are confident that efficient algorithms can be developed by exploiting the insights and mathematical tools of stochastic geometryRead moreRead less
Tackling Atmospheric Chemistry Grand Challenges in the Southern Hemisphere. The project aims to provide a southern hemisphere perspective on current challenges in atmospheric chemistry: air quality, oxidation capacity, stratospheric change, and chemistry–climate interactions. Australia’s geographic position in the relatively clean southern hemisphere allows a unique opportunity to study environments with limited human influence, an opportunity that has largely been lost in the more populous nort ....Tackling Atmospheric Chemistry Grand Challenges in the Southern Hemisphere. The project aims to provide a southern hemisphere perspective on current challenges in atmospheric chemistry: air quality, oxidation capacity, stratospheric change, and chemistry–climate interactions. Australia’s geographic position in the relatively clean southern hemisphere allows a unique opportunity to study environments with limited human influence, an opportunity that has largely been lost in the more populous northern hemisphere. The intended outcomes of the project include validated ground-based and satellite datasets for monitoring Australia’s air quality, improved atmospheric models for predicting future atmospheric change, and a deeper understanding of the processes driving atmospheric composition worldwide.Read moreRead less
Arsenite oxidation by a novel bacterium that is a candidate for arsenic bioremediation. The arsenic munching microbe NT-26 could help in the fight to clean up arsenic-contaminated mining waste and drinking water. Arsenic poses an environmental problem in countries such as Australia, USA and Canada owing primarily to mining activities. The problem in countries such as Bangladesh and West Bengal are even more serious as these people are dying of arsenic-related diseases as they rely on water conta ....Arsenite oxidation by a novel bacterium that is a candidate for arsenic bioremediation. The arsenic munching microbe NT-26 could help in the fight to clean up arsenic-contaminated mining waste and drinking water. Arsenic poses an environmental problem in countries such as Australia, USA and Canada owing primarily to mining activities. The problem in countries such as Bangladesh and West Bengal are even more serious as these people are dying of arsenic-related diseases as they rely on water containing arsenic as their primary source of drinking water. The outcomes of this research should provide the necessary information for removing arsenic from all types of waters.Read moreRead less
Fast Signal Processing and Control Algorithms for Complex Hierarchical Systems. Complex dynamical behaviour is inherent to many real-world systems including telecommunications networks, financial markets and biological systems. High performance signal processing and control algorithms for such large-scale, complex systems are computationally very expensive in general. An important class of large-scale Markovian models arising in many applications shows a remarkable hierarchical property, display ....Fast Signal Processing and Control Algorithms for Complex Hierarchical Systems. Complex dynamical behaviour is inherent to many real-world systems including telecommunications networks, financial markets and biological systems. High performance signal processing and control algorithms for such large-scale, complex systems are computationally very expensive in general. An important class of large-scale Markovian models arising in many applications shows a remarkable hierarchical property, displaying strong interactions within certain clusters of states and weak interactions among these clusters. By utilizing this property, the proposed project will design and analyze novel reduced-complexity signal processing and control algorithms with rigorous performance guarantees. In addition, this project will explore possibilities of making these algorithms hierarchical such that they are easy to implement through decentralization.Read moreRead less
Development of Leakage Resistant Well-Cements for Geo-Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide Application using Alkali Activated Slag and Geopolymer Cements. The biggest threat facing life now is climate change due to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Extreme weathers are increasing in frequency and intensity, as evidenced by recent bushfires, and it is predicted to get worse unless carbon mitigation strategies are quickly implemented. Geo-sequestration is the technology of capturing and storing of the CO ....Development of Leakage Resistant Well-Cements for Geo-Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide Application using Alkali Activated Slag and Geopolymer Cements. The biggest threat facing life now is climate change due to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Extreme weathers are increasing in frequency and intensity, as evidenced by recent bushfires, and it is predicted to get worse unless carbon mitigation strategies are quickly implemented. Geo-sequestration is the technology of capturing and storing of the CO2 deep below ground for long time (>1000 years). It offers the best hope for large reductions of CO2 emissions. However, CO2-brine stored under pressure is acidic and has the risk of leaking in the long term by dissolving the cement used to seal the pipe wells. This project will develop alternative novel cements which are acid resistant and will not allow CO2 to leak through the sealed wells.Read moreRead less