Suspension flows and particle focusing in curved geometries. The project aims to develop fast predictive tools to investigate suspension flows in curved channels and thin ducts and the effect of channel geometry on the focusing of particles by weight to different regions of the channel. Interaction between particles and fluid in suspension flows is a fundamental problem that is little understood but which is important in a wide range of problems in nature and industry (eg for design of microscal ....Suspension flows and particle focusing in curved geometries. The project aims to develop fast predictive tools to investigate suspension flows in curved channels and thin ducts and the effect of channel geometry on the focusing of particles by weight to different regions of the channel. Interaction between particles and fluid in suspension flows is a fundamental problem that is little understood but which is important in a wide range of problems in nature and industry (eg for design of microscale segregation devices for separation of different cells in a blood sample, and of macroscale devices for separation of mineral particles from crushed ore). At present, the description of these processes is qualitative, with quantitative understanding seen as a challenge without intensive computation. The project plans to develop, solve and validate mathematical models to give a quantitative understanding of these processes.Read moreRead less
Mathematical and computational models for agrichemical retention on plants. Mathematical and computational models for agrichemical retention on plants. This project aims to build interactive software that simulates agrichemical spraying for multiple virtual plants reconstructed from scanned data. Mathematical modelling and computer simulation could offer an alternative to expensive experimental programs for agrichemical spraying of plants. This project will use contemporary fluid mechanics to bu ....Mathematical and computational models for agrichemical retention on plants. Mathematical and computational models for agrichemical retention on plants. This project aims to build interactive software that simulates agrichemical spraying for multiple virtual plants reconstructed from scanned data. Mathematical modelling and computer simulation could offer an alternative to expensive experimental programs for agrichemical spraying of plants. This project will use contemporary fluid mechanics to build practical mathematical models for droplet impaction, spreading and evaporation on leaf surfaces, and experimentally calibrate and validate the models. The software is expected to drive the development of agrichemical products that increase retention, minimise environmental impacts, and reduce costs for end-users.Read moreRead less
Optimisation of piezoelectric metamaterials: Towards robotic stress sensors. This project aims to design new piezoelectric material microstructures that can enhance the measurement of complex local stress states within robotic limbs. The project expects to generate new knowledge of the achievable properties of multi-poled piezoelectric materials and develop computational tools for the analysis and structural optimisation of such materials. The designed microstructures may revolutionise piezoelec ....Optimisation of piezoelectric metamaterials: Towards robotic stress sensors. This project aims to design new piezoelectric material microstructures that can enhance the measurement of complex local stress states within robotic limbs. The project expects to generate new knowledge of the achievable properties of multi-poled piezoelectric materials and develop computational tools for the analysis and structural optimisation of such materials. The designed microstructures may revolutionise piezoelectric sensor technology. Expected outcomes include manufactured proof-of-concept sensors that enable measurement of local stress fields. This should provide significant benefits, such as improved future robot capability and reliability, and research training for next-generation Australian computational mathematicians. Read moreRead less
Asymptotics of the exponentially small. Asymptotic analysis plays a vital role in studying the complex interfacial dynamics that are fundamental for practical problems in fluid mechanics such as the withdrawal of oil and gas from underground reservoirs and the optimal design of ship hulls to minimise wave drag. These applications exhibit extremely small physical effects that may be crucially important but cannot be described using classical asymptotic analysis. This project will develop state of ....Asymptotics of the exponentially small. Asymptotic analysis plays a vital role in studying the complex interfacial dynamics that are fundamental for practical problems in fluid mechanics such as the withdrawal of oil and gas from underground reservoirs and the optimal design of ship hulls to minimise wave drag. These applications exhibit extremely small physical effects that may be crucially important but cannot be described using classical asymptotic analysis. This project will develop state of the art mathematical techniques in exponential asymptotics to address this deficiency in the classical theory, and provide a deeper understanding of pattern formation, instabilities and wave propagation on the interface between two fluids.Read moreRead less
Mathematical and computational analysis of ship wakes. This project aims to develop mathematical and computational tools to compute the energy in a given ship wake and to determine a range of properties of a ship by taking simple measurements of the water height as the ship travels past. The expected outcomes of this project include a suite of algorithms that back-calculate the hull shape and operating conditions of a moving ship given only the surface height data measured at a single point. The ....Mathematical and computational analysis of ship wakes. This project aims to develop mathematical and computational tools to compute the energy in a given ship wake and to determine a range of properties of a ship by taking simple measurements of the water height as the ship travels past. The expected outcomes of this project include a suite of algorithms that back-calculate the hull shape and operating conditions of a moving ship given only the surface height data measured at a single point. These results should have direct implications for measuring damage to coastal zones by ship wakes and for surveillance of shipping channels.Read moreRead less
Bodies in space. By investigating how a change in shape of the human body can produce a change in spatial orientation, the project will bring a fundamental advance of knowledge in the intersection of applied mathematics, sports science and mechanical engineering. These knowledge advances will lead to a novel theory regarding the control of the aerial dynamics of athletes, specifically springboard and platform divers. When applied in collaboration with world class Australian athletes, this theory ....Bodies in space. By investigating how a change in shape of the human body can produce a change in spatial orientation, the project will bring a fundamental advance of knowledge in the intersection of applied mathematics, sports science and mechanical engineering. These knowledge advances will lead to a novel theory regarding the control of the aerial dynamics of athletes, specifically springboard and platform divers. When applied in collaboration with world class Australian athletes, this theory will result in innovative platform and springboard diving techniques and improved performance. The reach of new insights generated by this work extends to many other fields, including robotics, spacecraft dynamics and nano technology.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180101098
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$374,200.00
Summary
New mathematical theory for fluid motion on surfaces with holes. This project aims to develop new explicit mathematical results to enhance the understanding of potential theory – a fundamental area of mathematics - on surfaces with complicating geometrical properties. There are very few such fundamental results on complicated curved surfaces, such as those with holes. This project should provide a toolbox for solving many different mathematical problems on curved surfaces. The new results should ....New mathematical theory for fluid motion on surfaces with holes. This project aims to develop new explicit mathematical results to enhance the understanding of potential theory – a fundamental area of mathematics - on surfaces with complicating geometrical properties. There are very few such fundamental results on complicated curved surfaces, such as those with holes. This project should provide a toolbox for solving many different mathematical problems on curved surfaces. The new results should also have application to the analysis of fluid flows over porous media and practical engineering structures.Read moreRead less
A new asymptotic toolbox for nonlinear discrete systems and particle chains. This project aims to pioneer a mathematical toolbox of new asymptotic techniques for discrete systems driven by vanishingly small influences. The purpose of these techniques is to permit the asymptotic study of discrete problems in which significant effects originate due to subtle causes that are invisible to existing asymptotic methods. Discrete systems play a significant role in modern applied mathematics, and it is v ....A new asymptotic toolbox for nonlinear discrete systems and particle chains. This project aims to pioneer a mathematical toolbox of new asymptotic techniques for discrete systems driven by vanishingly small influences. The purpose of these techniques is to permit the asymptotic study of discrete problems in which significant effects originate due to subtle causes that are invisible to existing asymptotic methods. Discrete systems play a significant role in modern applied mathematics, and it is vital that mathematical tools be designed in order to explore their behaviour. The aim of this project is to open new pathways for resolving open scientific problems, providing benefits such as understanding the energy dissipation of particle chains and granular lattices contained in small-scale technological components.Read moreRead less
Prediction of inertial particle focusing in curved microfluidic ducts. This project aims to develop mathematical models to predict migration of particles suspended in flow through curved microfluidic ducts and their focusing by size to different regions in the cross-section of the duct. New knowledge in mathematics and engineering will be generated through models that capture the two-way force balance between fluid and particles and by a novel use of asymptotics for computational efficiency. Exp ....Prediction of inertial particle focusing in curved microfluidic ducts. This project aims to develop mathematical models to predict migration of particles suspended in flow through curved microfluidic ducts and their focusing by size to different regions in the cross-section of the duct. New knowledge in mathematics and engineering will be generated through models that capture the two-way force balance between fluid and particles and by a novel use of asymptotics for computational efficiency. Expected outcomes are understanding of the physics that drives particle migration and the parameters that may be used to control particle focusing. This will benefit design and operation of microfluidic devices for particle sorting as required for "liquid biopsy", the isolation of cancer cells in a routine blood sample.Read moreRead less
Integrating rifts and swell in the mathematics of ice shelf disintegration. Antarctic ice-shelf disintegrations have the alarming potential to cause rapid sea level rise, through accelerated discharge of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and initiating runaway Ice Sheet destabilisations. The project aims to develop a mathematical model of swell-induced ice-shelf vibrations in a coupled ocean–shelf 3D framework, focusing on interactions between vibrations and the rift networks that characterise outer shelf ....Integrating rifts and swell in the mathematics of ice shelf disintegration. Antarctic ice-shelf disintegrations have the alarming potential to cause rapid sea level rise, through accelerated discharge of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and initiating runaway Ice Sheet destabilisations. The project aims to develop a mathematical model of swell-induced ice-shelf vibrations in a coupled ocean–shelf 3D framework, focusing on interactions between vibrations and the rift networks that characterise outer shelf margins before disintegration. Accurate, efficient solutions will be developed by fusing powerful approximation theories, and validated by numerical solutions. The model will be combined with state-of-the-art data to predict trends in Antarctica’s remaining ice shelves and indicate potential future disintegrations.Read moreRead less