Theory and methods for evaluation of microstructural fatigue damage. The microstructural damage accumulation stage often consumes a significant portion of the total fatigue life of structures. However, its progressive evaluation is beyond the reach of safety inspection techniques which are currently employed to maintain structural integrity and prevent fatigue failures. This project aims to fill this gap by developing innovative methods for the measurement of material properties related to fatig ....Theory and methods for evaluation of microstructural fatigue damage. The microstructural damage accumulation stage often consumes a significant portion of the total fatigue life of structures. However, its progressive evaluation is beyond the reach of safety inspection techniques which are currently employed to maintain structural integrity and prevent fatigue failures. This project aims to fill this gap by developing innovative methods for the measurement of material properties related to fatigue damage and establishing a new theory which links these properties to the remaining life of the structure. The project outcomes will facilitate the global trend towards predictive maintenance strategies, thereby generating substantial cost benefits, specifically, for high-value assets and ageing infrastructure.Read moreRead less
AM of MAX Phase parts for applications in extreme environments. This project aims to develop techniques to synthesize MAX Phase compound materials in-situ using laser additive manufacturing. The project expects to increase jet engine fuel efficiency and thrust, and to fabricate longer-lasting parts for supersonic speed applications. The expected outcomes include well-developed additive manufacturing processes to make high performance engineering components with shape complexity for extreme envir ....AM of MAX Phase parts for applications in extreme environments. This project aims to develop techniques to synthesize MAX Phase compound materials in-situ using laser additive manufacturing. The project expects to increase jet engine fuel efficiency and thrust, and to fabricate longer-lasting parts for supersonic speed applications. The expected outcomes include well-developed additive manufacturing processes to make high performance engineering components with shape complexity for extreme environment applications, and new methods to increase the 3D printability of brittle materials. This should provide significant benefits to aerospace and defense industries through solving their long standing bottleneck material and processing problems. The outcomes also enhance Australia’s manufacturing capacity.Read moreRead less
Advanced hard metals: microstructure-property-processing relationships. Our aim is to understand the origins of the properties of tungsten-carbide cobalt based hard metals and how these may be tuned via alloying and processing. This is significant because hard metals are used in industrial-scale turning, milling and drilling processes to cut other materials into finished parts with precise tolerance and surface finish. The expected outcomes are increased competitiveness of Australia's aerospace, ....Advanced hard metals: microstructure-property-processing relationships. Our aim is to understand the origins of the properties of tungsten-carbide cobalt based hard metals and how these may be tuned via alloying and processing. This is significant because hard metals are used in industrial-scale turning, milling and drilling processes to cut other materials into finished parts with precise tolerance and surface finish. The expected outcomes are increased competitiveness of Australia's aerospace, agriculture, biomedical, construction, defence, mechatronics, mining, and oil and gas industries, which depend on this materials technology. The benefits will be the creation of leading expertise in advanced manufacturing, support of end-user industries and the establishment of a regional R&D focal point in hard metals.Read moreRead less
Target detection: neural networks, behaviour and biomimetic applications. This project aims to understand the neural and behavioural mechanisms that allow insects to efficiently detect moving targets in visual clutter, despite being equipped with small brains and low-resolution eyes. The project is expected to generate fundamental knowledge using a unique combination of quantitative behaviour, neurophysiology, pharmacological intervention and biomimetic modelling. Expected outcomes include an in ....Target detection: neural networks, behaviour and biomimetic applications. This project aims to understand the neural and behavioural mechanisms that allow insects to efficiently detect moving targets in visual clutter, despite being equipped with small brains and low-resolution eyes. The project is expected to generate fundamental knowledge using a unique combination of quantitative behaviour, neurophysiology, pharmacological intervention and biomimetic modelling. Expected outcomes include an increased understanding of neural mechanisms underlying sensory selectivity, the development of novel techniques, and enhanced capacity for interdisciplinary collaborations. The project will provide significant knowledge as the developed biomimetic algorithms should be applicable for increased performance in drones or other unmanned vehicles.Read moreRead less
Vibration-based health monitoring of aero-engine bearings . This project will develop new vibration-based techniques to greatly improve the detection and diagnosis of faults in aero engine bearings from in-flight measurements. To achieve this goal, advances will be made on source separation algorithms to extract the weak bearing signals, and signal processing techniques to extract features for diagnosing bearing fault severity and lubrication conditions, under a wide range of operating condition ....Vibration-based health monitoring of aero-engine bearings . This project will develop new vibration-based techniques to greatly improve the detection and diagnosis of faults in aero engine bearings from in-flight measurements. To achieve this goal, advances will be made on source separation algorithms to extract the weak bearing signals, and signal processing techniques to extract features for diagnosing bearing fault severity and lubrication conditions, under a wide range of operating conditions. A bearing degradation model will estimate the remaining useful life. Since rolling element bearings are among the most critical components in most machines, the results of this research will also provide massive benefits in other sectors such as mining, transportation, energy production and manufacturing.Read moreRead less
The Transitional and Turbulent Structure of Rotating Disk Boundary Layers. Design optimization in areas of energy, materials processing, manufacturing and aerodynamics often depends on fluid flows adjacent to surfaces (wall-flows), and many such flows are three-dimensional (3-D). At present, 3-D wall-flows are poorly understood, and thus we aim to provide the first comprehensive study of the prototypical 3-D wall-flow on a rotating disk. Experiments in a bespoke facility will cover the importan ....The Transitional and Turbulent Structure of Rotating Disk Boundary Layers. Design optimization in areas of energy, materials processing, manufacturing and aerodynamics often depends on fluid flows adjacent to surfaces (wall-flows), and many such flows are three-dimensional (3-D). At present, 3-D wall-flows are poorly understood, and thus we aim to provide the first comprehensive study of the prototypical 3-D wall-flow on a rotating disk. Experiments in a bespoke facility will cover the important flow regimes (transitional and turbulent), and novel sensors will quantify the detailed 3-D flow structure. By clarifying critical instability scenarios and revealing turbulent flow scaling structure, this project will fundamentally advance physical understanding and analytical and computational models of 3-D wall-flowsRead moreRead less
Life or death decisions: making fast, accurate choices in a complex world. This project aims to understand how hoverflies and honey bees, with tiny brains and sensory systems, excel at making fast and accurate decisions while on the fly in a complex world. The project will combine brain recordings with flight analyses and computational modelling to generate new knowledge on how animals may utilize movements to simplify information sampling. Expected outcomes are a novel, comprehensive understand ....Life or death decisions: making fast, accurate choices in a complex world. This project aims to understand how hoverflies and honey bees, with tiny brains and sensory systems, excel at making fast and accurate decisions while on the fly in a complex world. The project will combine brain recordings with flight analyses and computational modelling to generate new knowledge on how animals may utilize movements to simplify information sampling. Expected outcomes are a novel, comprehensive understanding of how animal movements could enhance decision speed and accuracy. This should provide substantial benefits for neuroscience, and for enhancing performance of autonomous robotic systems operating in challenging environments, such as disaster relief, mining and remote exploration. Read moreRead less