Value Adding to Australian Cashmere Fleece. This project will lead to major technical advance in the processing of both cashmere fibres and cashmere guard hair. Reducing the level of breakage in fine cashmere fibres will add significant premium to the price of cashmere fibres and products. In addition, the large amount of coarse guard hair removed from cashmere dehairing process will be converted into quality fine powders, which will add significant value to an otherwise 'waste' product. This pr ....Value Adding to Australian Cashmere Fleece. This project will lead to major technical advance in the processing of both cashmere fibres and cashmere guard hair. Reducing the level of breakage in fine cashmere fibres will add significant premium to the price of cashmere fibres and products. In addition, the large amount of coarse guard hair removed from cashmere dehairing process will be converted into quality fine powders, which will add significant value to an otherwise 'waste' product. This project will benefit the entire animal fibre industry, particularly the rare animal fibre industry.Read moreRead less
Three-Dimensional Polymer Fibre Scaffolds with Functional Nano-structured Surface. The Partner Organisation to this research, CyGenics Ltd, is a world leader in cell biotechnology. A key challenge faced by the CyGenics and other biotech companies is the provision of tissue scaffolding materials that have the right three-dimensional macroscopic structure plus a suitable nano-structured surface micro-environment, similar to the natural extracellular matrix. This joint project combines expertise in ....Three-Dimensional Polymer Fibre Scaffolds with Functional Nano-structured Surface. The Partner Organisation to this research, CyGenics Ltd, is a world leader in cell biotechnology. A key challenge faced by the CyGenics and other biotech companies is the provision of tissue scaffolding materials that have the right three-dimensional macroscopic structure plus a suitable nano-structured surface micro-environment, similar to the natural extracellular matrix. This joint project combines expertise in polymer fibres, surface engineering and cell culture to tackle the key challenge. The outcome will help position the local polymer fibre and cell culture industries at the forefront of tissue scaffolding materials research and development. Read moreRead less
The characterization and pocessing of Australian grown hemp fibres. This project will, for the first time, systematically examine the characteristics and processing behaviour of Australian grown hemp fibres. The hemp industry is an emerging new industry in rural Australia. This research will tackle a number of complex problems concerning characterization, degumming, and processing of Australian grown hemp, and will engineer the finest and softest yarns as well as industrial products from this he ....The characterization and pocessing of Australian grown hemp fibres. This project will, for the first time, systematically examine the characteristics and processing behaviour of Australian grown hemp fibres. The hemp industry is an emerging new industry in rural Australia. This research will tackle a number of complex problems concerning characterization, degumming, and processing of Australian grown hemp, and will engineer the finest and softest yarns as well as industrial products from this hemp. This will position the local hemp industry as well fibre processing industry in a very strong position to meet the growing demand world wide on this "green" fibre.Read moreRead less
Field-Enhanced Electrospinning for Fine and Uniform Nanofibres. This project will result in a new platform technology to produce very fine and uniform nanofibres that can be used in a range of advanced applications. It will further strengthen our leading position in the field of nanofibre technology, and contribute to the National Research Priority area of Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries. Australia already has niche expertise in nanomaterials. This proje ....Field-Enhanced Electrospinning for Fine and Uniform Nanofibres. This project will result in a new platform technology to produce very fine and uniform nanofibres that can be used in a range of advanced applications. It will further strengthen our leading position in the field of nanofibre technology, and contribute to the National Research Priority area of Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries. Australia already has niche expertise in nanomaterials. This project will significantly enhance our international standing in the field. There is a growing list of local companies that are interested in exploring the production and application of nanofibrous materials also.Read moreRead less
Modelling the stability and efficiency of ring spinning. This research will benefit the animal fibre industry, particularly the multi-billion dollar wool industry. Low spinning efficiency adds a significant cost to the conversion of animal fibres into textile products, which reduces the competitive position of these natural fibres. The proposed research will lead to improvement in the efficiency of ring spinning. It has been estimated that a 1% improvement in spinning efficiency will add about $ ....Modelling the stability and efficiency of ring spinning. This research will benefit the animal fibre industry, particularly the multi-billion dollar wool industry. Low spinning efficiency adds a significant cost to the conversion of animal fibres into textile products, which reduces the competitive position of these natural fibres. The proposed research will lead to improvement in the efficiency of ring spinning. It has been estimated that a 1% improvement in spinning efficiency will add about $16 million to the wool industry alone. Read moreRead less
Scouring and Dehairing Australian Cashmere Fibres. The project aims to develop a viable method of dehairing greasy Australian cashmere materials. Traditionally, cashmere materials are scoured or washed first, followed by dehairing to extract the useful fine cashmere fibres. This is expensive and water consumption for scouring is also high. The current project will overcome the difficulties in dehairing greasy cashmere and optimise the process of scouring dehaired cashmere fibres. Technology deve ....Scouring and Dehairing Australian Cashmere Fibres. The project aims to develop a viable method of dehairing greasy Australian cashmere materials. Traditionally, cashmere materials are scoured or washed first, followed by dehairing to extract the useful fine cashmere fibres. This is expensive and water consumption for scouring is also high. The current project will overcome the difficulties in dehairing greasy cashmere and optimise the process of scouring dehaired cashmere fibres. Technology developed in this project will reduce scouring cost and water consumption, improve dehairing yield, and increase the flexibility of cashmere scouring and processing, leading to a more sustainable Australian cashmere industry.Read moreRead less
Modelling and minimising energy consumption in ring spinning. Australia's 4-billion dollar natural fibre production is spun into yarns via ring spinning mainly. A major drawback of this spinning system is its high energy consumption. This project will examine, theoretically and experimentally, the key factors contributing to energy consumption in ring spinning. It will generate new knowledge on the relationship between yarn hairiness and the air drag on a rapidly rotating yarn package and on a b ....Modelling and minimising energy consumption in ring spinning. Australia's 4-billion dollar natural fibre production is spun into yarns via ring spinning mainly. A major drawback of this spinning system is its high energy consumption. This project will examine, theoretically and experimentally, the key factors contributing to energy consumption in ring spinning. It will generate new knowledge on the relationship between yarn hairiness and the air drag on a rapidly rotating yarn package and on a ballooning yarn, and predict how this air drag affects the energy consumption during package build-up in ring spinning. This will lead to ways of minimising energy consumption in this most important spinning process.Read moreRead less
Formation and characterisation of continuous electrospun nanofibre yarns. Australia historically has a strong fibre and textile industry that can be augmented by embracing emerging nanotechnology. The proposed research will develop a technology that can greatly improve the productivity of nanofibres. These fibres can then be spun into continuous yarns and other form of textile products. The nanostructured products offer exceptional functions for biomedical and environmental applications. This ne ....Formation and characterisation of continuous electrospun nanofibre yarns. Australia historically has a strong fibre and textile industry that can be augmented by embracing emerging nanotechnology. The proposed research will develop a technology that can greatly improve the productivity of nanofibres. These fibres can then be spun into continuous yarns and other form of textile products. The nanostructured products offer exceptional functions for biomedical and environmental applications. This new technology has the potential to transform the Australian textile technology and fibre processing industry. Read moreRead less
New hybrid fibres incorporating nano protein materials. This project aims to develop new cellulose fibres incorporating nano protein materials extracted from animal fibres such as wool. The structure and property of the new hybrid fibres will be studied. Combining cellulose and protein materials within a single fibre is a new and original concept. This will lead to the production of new fibres with enhanced attributes and add significant value to the multi-billion dollar animal fibre industry in ....New hybrid fibres incorporating nano protein materials. This project aims to develop new cellulose fibres incorporating nano protein materials extracted from animal fibres such as wool. The structure and property of the new hybrid fibres will be studied. Combining cellulose and protein materials within a single fibre is a new and original concept. This will lead to the production of new fibres with enhanced attributes and add significant value to the multi-billion dollar animal fibre industry in Australia. It will also benefit the collaborating country as the major consumer of animal fibres imported from AustraliaRead moreRead less