Heat Transfer Mechanisms in an Indirectly Fired Rotary Kiln with Lifters and Its Role in Scaling. This project will apply heat transfer principles to improve and optimise the design and performance of ANSAC's innovative kiln technology for a wide range of process applications. By understanding the mechanisms of heat transfer involved in the working of the proprietary technology, major factors limiting the performance of the kiln can be identified, resulting in design criteria that link key opera ....Heat Transfer Mechanisms in an Indirectly Fired Rotary Kiln with Lifters and Its Role in Scaling. This project will apply heat transfer principles to improve and optimise the design and performance of ANSAC's innovative kiln technology for a wide range of process applications. By understanding the mechanisms of heat transfer involved in the working of the proprietary technology, major factors limiting the performance of the kiln can be identified, resulting in design criteria that link key operating parameters for the kiln scaling and performance forecast. The research outcomes will provide a scientific basis that underpins the development of an Australian technology and supports the growth of a new Australian small business, creating employment opportunities within Australia.Read moreRead less
Free Surface Instability and Gas Entrainment during Blast Furnace Drainage. Iron and Steelmaking operations have underpinned Australia's industry base for many years. To remain competitive in a global market BHP has undertaken considerable research and development to constantly improve process performance. An area of on-going concern is the unexpected release of gas during Blast Furnace drainage resulting in hazardous conditions for the operators and overall loss of production. This project aims ....Free Surface Instability and Gas Entrainment during Blast Furnace Drainage. Iron and Steelmaking operations have underpinned Australia's industry base for many years. To remain competitive in a global market BHP has undertaken considerable research and development to constantly improve process performance. An area of on-going concern is the unexpected release of gas during Blast Furnace drainage resulting in hazardous conditions for the operators and overall loss of production. This project aims to identify the causes of gas release and to devise operational strategies and design modifications to prevent this occurrence. Once implemented the outcomes of the research will be a more stable operation leading to increased production and less environmental emissions.Read moreRead less
The Fundamentals of Liquid Flow Through A Reactive Packed Bed. A new and improved understanding of reactions that occur between liquids and coke in the lower zone of the blast furnace will enable ironmaking process optimization, and result in a significant reduction in carbon usage. This will decrease the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. The results will benefit metal refiners and associated support industries that utilize coal or coke in their process. Process optimization also helps to ensu ....The Fundamentals of Liquid Flow Through A Reactive Packed Bed. A new and improved understanding of reactions that occur between liquids and coke in the lower zone of the blast furnace will enable ironmaking process optimization, and result in a significant reduction in carbon usage. This will decrease the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. The results will benefit metal refiners and associated support industries that utilize coal or coke in their process. Process optimization also helps to ensure that Australia's vitally important steel industry remains internationally competitive, able to provide both quality steel for domestic and export markets and employment for thousands of Australians.Read moreRead less
OPTIMISATION OF COMPACT BOILING HEAT EXCHANGERS USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK. Compact heat exchangers are increasingly considered for duties in many industrial applications, involving phase change processes of boiling and condensation. In many cases such applications are completely new and no previous experience or information is available for constructive design of compact heat exchangers. This project aims to develop a commercially-viable design methodology that will be innovative and novel ....OPTIMISATION OF COMPACT BOILING HEAT EXCHANGERS USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK. Compact heat exchangers are increasingly considered for duties in many industrial applications, involving phase change processes of boiling and condensation. In many cases such applications are completely new and no previous experience or information is available for constructive design of compact heat exchangers. This project aims to develop a commercially-viable design methodology that will be innovative and novel with in mind of robust and speedy computations of key design parameters of compact boiling heat exchangers through the artificial neural networks (ANN) model and maintaining the inherent accuracy associated with the solutions of the boiling flow and heat transfer processes from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and validated using experimental data. It will provide a cutting edge to the Industry Partner to compete successfully on the local and global market fronts in designing and manufacturing compact boiling heat exchangers.Read moreRead less
Novel methods for enhancing room temperature figure of merit of thermoelectric/thermionic materials for refrigeration applications. With global warming and an increased awareness of climate change, devices such as thermoelectric modules can be part of the solution, particularly if their relative power and efficiency can be increased. The aim of this project is to bring together theoreticians, experimentalists, materials scientists, and industrial partners with complementary expertise to develop ....Novel methods for enhancing room temperature figure of merit of thermoelectric/thermionic materials for refrigeration applications. With global warming and an increased awareness of climate change, devices such as thermoelectric modules can be part of the solution, particularly if their relative power and efficiency can be increased. The aim of this project is to bring together theoreticians, experimentalists, materials scientists, and industrial partners with complementary expertise to develop new techniques and methods for fabricating novel thermoelectric/thermionic materials with high figure of merit, ZT, for solid state refrigeration applications. The success of the project will lead to a 3 to 5 fold increase in the market share of thermoelectric cooler and will have a significant impact on the Australian economy and reduce greenhouse emissions and global warming. Read moreRead less
Near zero-emission hydrogen and carbon production from natural gas and bio-methane. Hydrogen is envisaged as a clean fuel for power generation particularly for the transportation sector. In the short- and mid-term future, hydrogen will be derived from fossil fuels. Based on the conventional processes, the route from fossil fuels to hydrogen invariably produces greenhouse gases. Geosequestration is a viable technique of storing carbon dioxide but has an uncertain long-term environmental ramifi ....Near zero-emission hydrogen and carbon production from natural gas and bio-methane. Hydrogen is envisaged as a clean fuel for power generation particularly for the transportation sector. In the short- and mid-term future, hydrogen will be derived from fossil fuels. Based on the conventional processes, the route from fossil fuels to hydrogen invariably produces greenhouse gases. Geosequestration is a viable technique of storing carbon dioxide but has an uncertain long-term environmental ramification. In contrast, our proposed technique avoids the production of greenhouse gases and, instead, engenders high value added graphitized carbon as a by-product. Given the relative stability and value of graphitized carbon, our catalytic cracking process provides another option to geosequestration.Read moreRead less
Research into techniques for enhancing the heat transfer performance of finned-tube heat exchangers. This project explores several methods for enhancing the heat transfer performance of mechanically bonded finned tube heat exchangers. The methods would be analysed experimentally, and using finite elements, numerically. Any increase in heat transfer efficiency would contribute to the conservation of energy, and therefore, of natural resources. An improved design of heat exchangers would give a de ....Research into techniques for enhancing the heat transfer performance of finned-tube heat exchangers. This project explores several methods for enhancing the heat transfer performance of mechanically bonded finned tube heat exchangers. The methods would be analysed experimentally, and using finite elements, numerically. Any increase in heat transfer efficiency would contribute to the conservation of energy, and therefore, of natural resources. An improved design of heat exchangers would give a definite competitive edge to the Australian manufacturer. An equally significant outcome would be the training of a research person in industry-related research and skilled both in experimental and numerical procedures.Read moreRead less
Multiscale modelling of the transport phenomena of liquid iron and slag in ironmaking blast furnace. Blast furnace ironmaking is a key operation in the steel industry which, with an annual turnover around $11 billion, is a significant manufacturing sector in Australia. This project, focused on the behaviour of liquid iron and slag, can generate computer models that can reliably describe the complicated multiphase flow and thermochemical processes in the furnace. The implementation of the resulta ....Multiscale modelling of the transport phenomena of liquid iron and slag in ironmaking blast furnace. Blast furnace ironmaking is a key operation in the steel industry which, with an annual turnover around $11 billion, is a significant manufacturing sector in Australia. This project, focused on the behaviour of liquid iron and slag, can generate computer models that can reliably describe the complicated multiphase flow and thermochemical processes in the furnace. The implementation of the resultant models and the new understanding should lead to long life campaigns, better operational control, decreased fuel consumption, improved productivity and reduced environmental impact. This, together with the proposed research training, is important to the development of Australia's competitive steel industry.Read moreRead less
Multi Tower Solar Array (MTSA) for combined heat and power applications in urban areas. The MTSA is a highly compact, middle-scale (0.5 - 10 MW) solar power concept designed for urban areas. It comprises an array of small towers with high mounted receivers which collect sunlight from a very densely packed reflector field below. Reflectors can be aimed at different towers during the day to minimise blocking and shading losses. A prototype MTSA system to be constructed will test new reflector modu ....Multi Tower Solar Array (MTSA) for combined heat and power applications in urban areas. The MTSA is a highly compact, middle-scale (0.5 - 10 MW) solar power concept designed for urban areas. It comprises an array of small towers with high mounted receivers which collect sunlight from a very densely packed reflector field below. Reflectors can be aimed at different towers during the day to minimise blocking and shading losses. A prototype MTSA system to be constructed will test new reflector modules developed in conjunction with Solahart Industries (Perth). Innovative receivers incorporating spectral control, and both photovoltaic and thermal electricity generation paths will also be developed.Read moreRead less
Investigation of a Novel Fan. Fans are very widely used for cooling and heating, thrust and mass transport and are one of the most common fluid mechanical devices. An optimal fan design will maximise flow velocity and pressure rise for minimum energy requirements and noise production. De Rolfe has recently developed a new fan that shows considerable promise in comparison to conventional designs on single point tests.
In this project experimental and computional fluid dynamics investigations o ....Investigation of a Novel Fan. Fans are very widely used for cooling and heating, thrust and mass transport and are one of the most common fluid mechanical devices. An optimal fan design will maximise flow velocity and pressure rise for minimum energy requirements and noise production. De Rolfe has recently developed a new fan that shows considerable promise in comparison to conventional designs on single point tests.
In this project experimental and computional fluid dynamics investigations of the new fan will be carried out to determine the basic fluid mechanics and to obtain performance curves. Scaling laws will be obtained and, if possible, the fan will be further optimised.Read moreRead less