Control of Hydrophobic Interactions between Gas Bubbles in Water and Their Role in Gas Hydrate Formation and Dissociation. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and its release in deep oceans and permafrost regions due to decomposition of methane hydrate, an ice-like crystalline, could potentially pose devastating threat to mankind. On the other hand, methane hydrate represents a vast energy potential to Australia and the remainder of the world. Understanding the mechanism of gas hydrate formati ....Control of Hydrophobic Interactions between Gas Bubbles in Water and Their Role in Gas Hydrate Formation and Dissociation. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and its release in deep oceans and permafrost regions due to decomposition of methane hydrate, an ice-like crystalline, could potentially pose devastating threat to mankind. On the other hand, methane hydrate represents a vast energy potential to Australia and the remainder of the world. Understanding the mechanism of gas hydrate formation and dissociation is of fundamental importance to methane extraction and capture. This project employs state-of-the-art surface analytical tools to explore the mechanism of gas hydrate formation. The outcomes will strengthen Australia's leading role in scientific and technological development in this field. Read moreRead less
Characterization and design of new soft electrolyte materials. The use of fossil fuels for energy generation contributes heavily to global warming. The development of new types of energy sources (e.g. fuel cells) and energy storage devices (e.g. batteries) is of crucial importance to ease this pressure on the environment. The search for new, high energy-density electrolyte materials for these applications is intense. Recently, plastic crystal materials have been identified as potential electroly ....Characterization and design of new soft electrolyte materials. The use of fossil fuels for energy generation contributes heavily to global warming. The development of new types of energy sources (e.g. fuel cells) and energy storage devices (e.g. batteries) is of crucial importance to ease this pressure on the environment. The search for new, high energy-density electrolyte materials for these applications is intense. Recently, plastic crystal materials have been identified as potential electrolytes in a variety of electrochemical devices. These materials show high conductivity at ambient temperatures in their plastic (or soft) phase. This project aims to further investigate and develop these novel materials.Read moreRead less
Ionic Liquids and Solids - New Designs, Insights and Applications. Ionic Materials in the form of liquid salts and plastic crystals are of interest in a wide range of applications including environmentally benign synthesis of chemicals and high stability electrolytes for batteries, capacitors and other devices. These materials represent some of the most stable chemicals known, making them attractive for any application where complete stability and recycling are issues. Building on our recent wor ....Ionic Liquids and Solids - New Designs, Insights and Applications. Ionic Materials in the form of liquid salts and plastic crystals are of interest in a wide range of applications including environmentally benign synthesis of chemicals and high stability electrolytes for batteries, capacitors and other devices. These materials represent some of the most stable chemicals known, making them attractive for any application where complete stability and recycling are issues. Building on our recent work, this project will design, prepare and characterize novel materials of this type for a number of target applications. Collaborators in Europe and USA will be involved in the analysis and testing of the materials.Read moreRead less
An Innovative Powertrain Architecture and Optimal Energy Management for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle technologies will significantly reduce the dependence of vehicles on fossil fuels, thereby reducing their emissions of carbon and other pollutants. The project will produce new knowledge in automotive engineering, software tools for vehicle design and a novel powertrain architecture with key components almost ready for commercial application. The research will ....An Innovative Powertrain Architecture and Optimal Energy Management for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle technologies will significantly reduce the dependence of vehicles on fossil fuels, thereby reducing their emissions of carbon and other pollutants. The project will produce new knowledge in automotive engineering, software tools for vehicle design and a novel powertrain architecture with key components almost ready for commercial application. The research will directly contribute to the use of green energy and the reduction of vehicles' harmful environmental impacts. The nation will benefit from new economic activity, such as increased exports of automotive parts and components, and from strengthening its position as a world leader in reducing carbon emissions.Read moreRead less
Wide Speed Range, Inverterless, Constant Current Mode Alternator. Increasing auxiliary electric power demands in cars due to proposed new features such as electromechanical valves and active suspension has created a pressing need for a higher power car alternator. There has also been a continuing need for improved alternators for small-scale renewable energy generation such as wind turbines. These applications require the lowest possible cost solution which meets the challenging technical spec ....Wide Speed Range, Inverterless, Constant Current Mode Alternator. Increasing auxiliary electric power demands in cars due to proposed new features such as electromechanical valves and active suspension has created a pressing need for a higher power car alternator. There has also been a continuing need for improved alternators for small-scale renewable energy generation such as wind turbines. These applications require the lowest possible cost solution which meets the challenging technical specifications. Present research in this area is focussed on expensive inverter-based methods. We propose a low-cost, "inverterless" alternator configuration based on a specially-designed interior permanent magnet machine operating in a new current source mode.Read moreRead less
Prediction and control of fluid-structure interactions. Fluid-flows create a pressure that can deform the surface of a structure or cause it to vibrate; an extreme example is the fluttering of a flag. Flow-induced vibration of the external panels of vehicles causes damage, noise and can adversely affect performance. This project will develop a wholly new approach for the analysis of these interactions. The versatility and completeness of the approach permits a step-change in the design of panels ....Prediction and control of fluid-structure interactions. Fluid-flows create a pressure that can deform the surface of a structure or cause it to vibrate; an extreme example is the fluttering of a flag. Flow-induced vibration of the external panels of vehicles causes damage, noise and can adversely affect performance. This project will develop a wholly new approach for the analysis of these interactions. The versatility and completeness of the approach permits a step-change in the design of panels, reducing material and manufacturing costs without compromise to safety and performance - an immense benefit for the myriad engineered products or structures that feature flow over a deformable surface. Read moreRead less
Quantitative analysis of dynamic performance of vehicles with uncertain system parameters and road inputs. Ride comfort, road holding and stability of on-road vehicles are not only important quality indicators but major public health and safety issues. To accurately predict and prevent unsafe motions of a vehicle under all circumstances is still a major technological challenge. The research, which aims to develop a novel design theory, presents a significant step forward in tackling the challeng ....Quantitative analysis of dynamic performance of vehicles with uncertain system parameters and road inputs. Ride comfort, road holding and stability of on-road vehicles are not only important quality indicators but major public health and safety issues. To accurately predict and prevent unsafe motions of a vehicle under all circumstances is still a major technological challenge. The research, which aims to develop a novel design theory, presents a significant step forward in tackling the challenge in the quantitative performance analysis of vehicles with various uncertainties. The acquired knowledge will assist engineers in developing safer vehicles and also benefit the aeronautical, military and other transportation industries. The wider community would benefit by potentially reduced death rates and fatal injuries caused by car crashes.Read moreRead less
Perturbation and approximation methods for linear operators with applications to train control, water resource management and evolution of physical systems. Linear equations are used to solve practical problems. In realistic problems the equations and their solutions depend on parameters obtained by measurement of physical quantities and on data derived from observations and experiments. Changes to the values of the key parameters will lead to changes in the solutions. This project will devel ....Perturbation and approximation methods for linear operators with applications to train control, water resource management and evolution of physical systems. Linear equations are used to solve practical problems. In realistic problems the equations and their solutions depend on parameters obtained by measurement of physical quantities and on data derived from observations and experiments. Changes to the values of the key parameters will lead to changes in the solutions. This project will develop methods to better understand the relationships between the key parameters and the solutions and will apply the new insights to practical problems such as the minimization of fuel consumption in trains, optimal resource management in water supply systems and the evolution of physical systems.Read moreRead less
A novel approach to controlling boundary-layer separation. This project will involve fundamental research into the control of the fluid dynamical phenomena of boundary-layer separation and transition to turbulence. The project will be built upon a firm foundation of mathematical modelling of the complex behaviour of fluid flows that are near the onset of flow separation or turbulence. The project will produce results that will permit the development of control strategies that can be implemented ....A novel approach to controlling boundary-layer separation. This project will involve fundamental research into the control of the fluid dynamical phenomena of boundary-layer separation and transition to turbulence. The project will be built upon a firm foundation of mathematical modelling of the complex behaviour of fluid flows that are near the onset of flow separation or turbulence. The project will produce results that will permit the development of control strategies that can be implemented in a wide variety of important technological applications, such as drag reduction in the aerospace and ship industries as well as the control of stall (or loss of lift) in modern aircraft.Read moreRead less
Electrochemical Applications of Plastic Crystalline Electrolytes. A number of new and emerging electrochemical device applications such as lithium batteries, dye-sensitized solar cells, electrochemical capacitors, actuators and bio-sensors are limited by their need for a liquid electrolyte. Many of these devices are considered vital to energy efficiency and the lowering of greenhouse gas emissions. The recent discovery of ambient temperature plastic crystalline electrolyte materials by the Monas ....Electrochemical Applications of Plastic Crystalline Electrolytes. A number of new and emerging electrochemical device applications such as lithium batteries, dye-sensitized solar cells, electrochemical capacitors, actuators and bio-sensors are limited by their need for a liquid electrolyte. Many of these devices are considered vital to energy efficiency and the lowering of greenhouse gas emissions. The recent discovery of ambient temperature plastic crystalline electrolyte materials by the Monash Electrolytes group has raised the possibility of solving this problem. In this project new plastic crystalline electrolyte materials will be developed to suit these applications and their electrochemical properties investigated. Laboratory prototype devices will be prepared and tested and via collaborations with appropriate device developers, their performance evaluted.Read moreRead less