Fundamental study on hydrogen desorption from nanoscale Magnesium (Mg) hydrides. Hydrogen storage is the most challenge in realizing the hydrogen economy, especially for on-board application in hydrogen-driving vehicles. Magnesium is among the few promising candidates of effective, safe, high density and cheap hydrogen storage, which has attracted tremendous interests of research. This project creates an innovative science and technology to solve the critical problem of hydrogen storage that wil ....Fundamental study on hydrogen desorption from nanoscale Magnesium (Mg) hydrides. Hydrogen storage is the most challenge in realizing the hydrogen economy, especially for on-board application in hydrogen-driving vehicles. Magnesium is among the few promising candidates of effective, safe, high density and cheap hydrogen storage, which has attracted tremendous interests of research. This project creates an innovative science and technology to solve the critical problem of hydrogen storage that will enhance the international reputation and impact of Australian research in nanoscience and nanothechnology. Realizing the practical hydrogen storage will also enable hydrogen vehicles soon in Australia that adds Australia great potential to reducing the reliance on fossil fuels and greenhouse emissions.Read moreRead less
Advanced Polymer Electrolytes for Device Applications. The future of an energy sustainable society relies upon the development of a range of technologies that will involve devices such as lithium batteries, supercapacitors, sensors and fuel cells. One of the key challenges is the discovery and development of high performance materials which overcome performance limiting issues such as conductivity, durability and stability in current devices. Our recent discovery of novel successful approaches ....Advanced Polymer Electrolytes for Device Applications. The future of an energy sustainable society relies upon the development of a range of technologies that will involve devices such as lithium batteries, supercapacitors, sensors and fuel cells. One of the key challenges is the discovery and development of high performance materials which overcome performance limiting issues such as conductivity, durability and stability in current devices. Our recent discovery of novel successful approaches to the design of improved electrolyte materials will be systematically exploited to develop materials that will provide the significant advance in device performance that is required.Read moreRead less
Analysis of two-phase effects in sloshing of liquids in marine tanks. One of the winners in the current greenhouse debate is natural gas, and the global market will see the need for transporting large volumes of LNG. Australia's North West Shelf is one of the largest offshore gas reserves in the world. The gas market is one of the biggest contributors for the country's economy. Australia leads the world in the use of tankers for transport of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). However, consistent re ....Analysis of two-phase effects in sloshing of liquids in marine tanks. One of the winners in the current greenhouse debate is natural gas, and the global market will see the need for transporting large volumes of LNG. Australia's North West Shelf is one of the largest offshore gas reserves in the world. The gas market is one of the biggest contributors for the country's economy. Australia leads the world in the use of tankers for transport of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). However, consistent research in LNG is lacking. This research is a fundamental inquiry into the physics of liquid sloshing and the importance of two-phase effects on sloshing. The research can provide answers that ensure safe operation and transport of LNG from Australia.Read moreRead less
Frequency Domain Micro-Reflection Processing for Pipe Condition Assessment. Over the coming years many millions of dollars will be spent on upgrading deteriorated pipeline infrastructure that is part of water distribution systems all over Australia. Determining the condition of buried pipes is very difficult and expensive. This research will solve that problem. We will develop powerful numerical methods for non-invasive pipe condition assessment. Small controlled transients will be input by a ....Frequency Domain Micro-Reflection Processing for Pipe Condition Assessment. Over the coming years many millions of dollars will be spent on upgrading deteriorated pipeline infrastructure that is part of water distribution systems all over Australia. Determining the condition of buried pipes is very difficult and expensive. This research will solve that problem. We will develop powerful numerical methods for non-invasive pipe condition assessment. Small controlled transients will be input by a specially designed signal generation device that can determine the condition of the inside of the pipe. These new techniques will be cost-effective, accurate and able to cover very long distances of pipe. Water authorities will then be able to quickly decide which sections of pipe require further investigation.Read moreRead less
Advanced Nanostructured Ceramic Composites for Ultracapacitors. The global climate changes and the related disastrous events such as heat flows, bushfires, and flooding will endanger the Australian population and our natural environment. The implementation of effective devices and technologies to reduce our carbon footprint is a priority task. The project addresses the issue by development of new ultracapacitor materials for next generation green energy storage devices through engineering and im ....Advanced Nanostructured Ceramic Composites for Ultracapacitors. The global climate changes and the related disastrous events such as heat flows, bushfires, and flooding will endanger the Australian population and our natural environment. The implementation of effective devices and technologies to reduce our carbon footprint is a priority task. The project addresses the issue by development of new ultracapacitor materials for next generation green energy storage devices through engineering and implementation of advanced nanoceramics and nanocomposites created by innovative nanotechnologies. The project will also contribute to other national research priorities such as materials and frontier technologies, reduction of atmospheric pollution, and decrease in the energy dependence of our country on oil.Read moreRead less
Micro-reflections for pipe condition assessment in water networks. Maintaining highly reliable water supply pipeline infrastructure for cities, towns and in rural Australia is extremely important. Our research will develop new non-invasive condition assessment techniques. Transient events will be used to create pressure waves that travel up and down a pipe. Sophisticated analysis of the micro-reflections in the measured pressure traces will be the heart of the new techniques. Water utility manag ....Micro-reflections for pipe condition assessment in water networks. Maintaining highly reliable water supply pipeline infrastructure for cities, towns and in rural Australia is extremely important. Our research will develop new non-invasive condition assessment techniques. Transient events will be used to create pressure waves that travel up and down a pipe. Sophisticated analysis of the micro-reflections in the measured pressure traces will be the heart of the new techniques. Water utility managers will be able to make a detailed assessment of the interior pipe wall to determine if significant corrosion or deterioration of the cement mortar lining has occurred. Rehabilitation strategies can then be determined. These new techniques will replace camera inspections that are extremely invasive and expensive.Read moreRead less
Computational approaches to selection and design of ionic materials. Advanced batteries, fuel cells and solar cell technologies are beginning to use ionic liquids/plastic crystals as electrolytes due to their superb stability and valuable properties. As a broad class these ionic materials have only been known for the last 10 years or so and there is much to learn about their structure and properties. The project will develop and advance quantum chemical techniques for selection and design of ion ....Computational approaches to selection and design of ionic materials. Advanced batteries, fuel cells and solar cell technologies are beginning to use ionic liquids/plastic crystals as electrolytes due to their superb stability and valuable properties. As a broad class these ionic materials have only been known for the last 10 years or so and there is much to learn about their structure and properties. The project will develop and advance quantum chemical techniques for selection and design of ionic materials with the goal of developing electrolytes for a range of applications from advanced metal batteries, solar cells to fuel cells. These applications will have impact on energy efficiency and energy conservation by enabling CO2 replacing technologies. Read moreRead less
Fully ab initio, large-scale calculations of thermodynamic and transport properties of ionic materials. Advanced batteries, fuel cells, and photonic device technologies are beginning to use ionic materials as electrolytes due to their superb stability and technologically valuable properties. As a broad class these materials have only been known for just over a decade and there is still more unknown than known about their structure and properties. The project will develop new advanced computation ....Fully ab initio, large-scale calculations of thermodynamic and transport properties of ionic materials. Advanced batteries, fuel cells, and photonic device technologies are beginning to use ionic materials as electrolytes due to their superb stability and technologically valuable properties. As a broad class these materials have only been known for just over a decade and there is still more unknown than known about their structure and properties. The project will develop new advanced computational methods as a basis for understanding their properties and thereby allowing us to design-in desired features. Ultimately these advances will have support the development of energy efficient CO2 replacement technologies.Read moreRead less
Development of nonvolatile fast proton-transport materials. There are many problems with existing proton-transport materials for emerging fuel cell applications such as electric vehicles. A high proton conductivity and high thermal stability are some of the requirements for fuel cell electrolytes. The aims of this project are to develop nonvolatile proton-transport matrices based on zwitterionic liquids with various acids, develop polymer gel materials based on these, and characterize these ne ....Development of nonvolatile fast proton-transport materials. There are many problems with existing proton-transport materials for emerging fuel cell applications such as electric vehicles. A high proton conductivity and high thermal stability are some of the requirements for fuel cell electrolytes. The aims of this project are to develop nonvolatile proton-transport matrices based on zwitterionic liquids with various acids, develop polymer gel materials based on these, and characterize these new proton-transport materials by analyzing ionic conductivity, viscosity, thermal behaviors, and their interrelationships.Read moreRead less
Multivariate approaches to matching spectra for environmental and forensic purposes. Apart from an increased understanding of these commonly-used analytical methods, and their extension to current problems, the outcome of the project will be programs that can be used by the Environmental Protection Agency to give the probability that an oil spill comes from an alleged source. This evidence may be laid before a court, and is more objective than present methods. The identification of illegal drugs ....Multivariate approaches to matching spectra for environmental and forensic purposes. Apart from an increased understanding of these commonly-used analytical methods, and their extension to current problems, the outcome of the project will be programs that can be used by the Environmental Protection Agency to give the probability that an oil spill comes from an alleged source. This evidence may be laid before a court, and is more objective than present methods. The identification of illegal drugs will also be made possible, including information about the country or region of origin, and the place and processes used to refine the drug.Read moreRead less