A Fundamental Study of the Breakage of Gibbsite and Smelter Grade Alumina. This project aims to develop a fundamental understanding of the cracking of gibbsite and smelter grade alumina, thus providing useful guidance for the alumina refineries to control the particle size distribution of the smelter grade alumina. This addresses an important issue in alumina refineries in terms of providing a high quality product for the downstream aluminium smelter.
The mechanism of scale formation and inhibition in alkaline industrial process streams. Scaling, which reduces flow and heating efficiency, is a serious problem in single stream alumina Bayer plants. This project will potentially save the Australian alumina industry many tens of millions of dollars a year by the development of more effective on-line scale mitigation strategies based on the fundamental understanding of the processes involved.
Designing textured roughness to control turbulent pipe flow. This project will combine a recent theoretical model of turbulent pipe flow with computer simulation to develop methods to control these flows (e.g. to increase mixing, reduce wall drag). Additionally we will extend the model so it can deal with many industrially significant flows of fluids carrying high concentrations of fine particles.