Sensing and Communications for Tactical Radio: Mapping the RF Weather. This project investigates sensing, localisation and communication strategies to improve the performance of modern tactical radio networks. Such networks face all of the well-known design challenges of mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) but with added complication of a contested and adversarial operating environment. By exploiting the power of radio nodes to sense the radio spectrum, as well as to communicate over it, a distribut ....Sensing and Communications for Tactical Radio: Mapping the RF Weather. This project investigates sensing, localisation and communication strategies to improve the performance of modern tactical radio networks. Such networks face all of the well-known design challenges of mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) but with added complication of a contested and adversarial operating environment. By exploiting the power of radio nodes to sense the radio spectrum, as well as to communicate over it, a distributed network of nodes can create a detailed picture of the surrounding radio-frequency (RF) environment: the nodes can work together to map the “RF weather”. In this project we will design advanced sensing and localisation methods to accurately map the RF spectrum, and then exploit this map in communication system design.Read moreRead less
Origami structures and materials: energy absorption and impact mechanics. This project will devise novel structures and advanced metamaterials to mitigate injury and death from impact or blast loading, using traditional origami folding concepts of design. This technology will have applications to many industries and occupations including vehicle manufacture and the military, as well as personal and public safety. Experiments and advanced numerical simulations will be performed and then analytica ....Origami structures and materials: energy absorption and impact mechanics. This project will devise novel structures and advanced metamaterials to mitigate injury and death from impact or blast loading, using traditional origami folding concepts of design. This technology will have applications to many industries and occupations including vehicle manufacture and the military, as well as personal and public safety. Experiments and advanced numerical simulations will be performed and then analytical models of structural plasticity and impact dynamics will be established to capture the physics involved. The findings will provide an insight into the fundamental mechanics of structures and metamaterials, as well as guidelines for their optimum design.Read moreRead less
Fluid-structural interactions in high-speed flows. This project aims to perform experiments to measure fluid-structure interaction in hypersonic flows. The work will improve the accuracy of simulation tools that are urgently required to aid industry in the design of more structurally efficient and robust high-speed vehicles. These tools will in turn be used to reveal the underlying physics of the fluid-structure interactions and establish the relative significance of the driving parameters. Accu ....Fluid-structural interactions in high-speed flows. This project aims to perform experiments to measure fluid-structure interaction in hypersonic flows. The work will improve the accuracy of simulation tools that are urgently required to aid industry in the design of more structurally efficient and robust high-speed vehicles. These tools will in turn be used to reveal the underlying physics of the fluid-structure interactions and establish the relative significance of the driving parameters. Accurate prediction of the behaviour and lifetime of structural components subject to these fluid-structural interactions, in which the deformation of the structure induced by the local flow field, can in turn influence this flow field. This coupling can result in damage or even catastrophic structural failure and thus robust design tools must be developed to avoid this.Read moreRead less
4D Printed Origami Structures: Deformation Mechanisms and Mechanics. This project aims to understand the physics and self-folding mechanisms of 4D printed origami structures and materials by utilising interdisciplinary approaches. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the areas of origami engineering and structural mechanics. The success of this project will form a foundation for studying shape-shifting and sequential control of smart origamis. The fundamental mechanics will be appli ....4D Printed Origami Structures: Deformation Mechanisms and Mechanics. This project aims to understand the physics and self-folding mechanisms of 4D printed origami structures and materials by utilising interdisciplinary approaches. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the areas of origami engineering and structural mechanics. The success of this project will form a foundation for studying shape-shifting and sequential control of smart origamis. The fundamental mechanics will be applied to characterise and design novel smart materials/structures with tuneable shape-morphing and mechanical performance. This should provide significant benefits to improvement of their safety, stability and reliability performance in applications such as space engineering, wearable technology and smart robotics.Read moreRead less
A new energy absorption system for brain injury mitigation. This research aims to propose and investigate a next generation high-energy absorbing helmet pad that will protect the Australian Defence Force soldiers against both ballistic and blast threats. New fundamental knowledge in the area of high-energy absorbing metamaterials will be obtained by using numerical modelling and experimental studies. The expected outcomes of the project include the development of a new wearable energy absorbing ....A new energy absorption system for brain injury mitigation. This research aims to propose and investigate a next generation high-energy absorbing helmet pad that will protect the Australian Defence Force soldiers against both ballistic and blast threats. New fundamental knowledge in the area of high-energy absorbing metamaterials will be obtained by using numerical modelling and experimental studies. The expected outcomes of the project include the development of a new wearable energy absorbing pad which can be used as the next generation combat helmet liners and accessories. The novel high-performance energy absorption system will have a wide range of direct applications in future personal armour, as well as sports gears and elderly healthcare products.Read moreRead less
Human-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle interactions: Making drones talk and listen. This project aims to develop audio technology to enable unmanned aerial vehicles or drones to hear, use speech and sound to communicate with humans, acoustically sense their surroundings and make them less noisy. This project expects to generate new knowledge in acoustic signal processing and its application in drones using innovative approaches, such as use of miniature microphone and loudspeaker arrays, and active noise ....Human-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle interactions: Making drones talk and listen. This project aims to develop audio technology to enable unmanned aerial vehicles or drones to hear, use speech and sound to communicate with humans, acoustically sense their surroundings and make them less noisy. This project expects to generate new knowledge in acoustic signal processing and its application in drones using innovative approaches, such as use of miniature microphone and loudspeaker arrays, and active noise control. Expected outcomes include development of new theories, Intellectual Property, with potential commercial value, and training of next generation researchers. This should provide significant benefits with applications in life saving, search and rescue operations, transportation of goods, and creation of 3D media.Read moreRead less
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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Intriguing aerodynamics of bees, hoverflies and beyond. Nature observers have long been fascinated by the elegance, agility and endurance of flying insects, but still human-engineered vehicles fail to match their performance. This project aims to reveal the key physical aspects that allow two different insects to fly so well and thus unlock greater performance for flapping flight vehicles beyond insects.
Nonlinear topological photonics . The rapidly growing demands of information processing have launched a race for compact optical devices transmitting signals without losses. Topological phases of light provides unique opportunities to create new photonic systems with functionalities and efficiencies well beyond current capabilities. This project aims to develop new ways to generate and guide light at the nanoscale by merging fundamental concepts of nonlinear photonics and topological physics. Th ....Nonlinear topological photonics . The rapidly growing demands of information processing have launched a race for compact optical devices transmitting signals without losses. Topological phases of light provides unique opportunities to create new photonic systems with functionalities and efficiencies well beyond current capabilities. This project aims to develop new ways to generate and guide light at the nanoscale by merging fundamental concepts of nonlinear photonics and topological physics. The outcomes of this project will result in experimental demonstration of the world-first, highly efficient, compact, and lossless nonlinear photonic devices for advanced optical technologies.Read moreRead less
Passive Positioning and Tracking of Flying Objects Using Satellite Signals. Along with the deployment of low Earth orbit satellite constellations for global satellite Internet services, such as Starlink, Ku/Ka/V band microwave signals from space will be available anywhere on Earth 24/7. Utilising the microwave signals, this project aims to investigate a high-resolution cost-effective solution to position and track un-cooperative flying objects, and expects to generate new knowledge in the area o ....Passive Positioning and Tracking of Flying Objects Using Satellite Signals. Along with the deployment of low Earth orbit satellite constellations for global satellite Internet services, such as Starlink, Ku/Ka/V band microwave signals from space will be available anywhere on Earth 24/7. Utilising the microwave signals, this project aims to investigate a high-resolution cost-effective solution to position and track un-cooperative flying objects, and expects to generate new knowledge in the area of remote sensing and to make Australia the leader in passive flying objects positioning and tracking. This should provide significant benefits, such as enabling new applications for future drone delivery systems or aerial taxi services, and benefiting the air transport industry, the defence industry, and bird conservation.Read moreRead less