Scaling laws for aerodynamics of moving wings in the Martian atmosphere. This project aims to increase understanding of the aerodynamics of bio-inspired flight in the low-density atmosphere of Mars. The significance of flight in planetary exploration is shown by the ongoing success of the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars, and the Dragonfly rotorcraft planned for use on Titan. Expected outcomes of this project will be innovative numerical modelling techniques validated using local specially designed ....Scaling laws for aerodynamics of moving wings in the Martian atmosphere. This project aims to increase understanding of the aerodynamics of bio-inspired flight in the low-density atmosphere of Mars. The significance of flight in planetary exploration is shown by the ongoing success of the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars, and the Dragonfly rotorcraft planned for use on Titan. Expected outcomes of this project will be innovative numerical modelling techniques validated using local specially designed low-pressure experimental facilities. Benefits will be more accurate design guidance for efficient and robust flapping and rotary wing robotic vehicles for Mars and other space exploration that take advantage of the unique atmospheric conditions, and in placing Australia at the forefront of such design technology.Read moreRead less
Novel framework for optimising battery-cooling microchannel heat exchangers. Thermal overheating can affect the capacity, safety and life expectancy of batteries for renewable energy storage and electric vehicles. Microscale heat exchangers are a potential high-efficiency, low-bulk solution. This project aims to develop a novel computational methodology to optimise the design of those heat exchangers in which viscoelastic fluids are used to control flow instabilities and enhance heat transfer at ....Novel framework for optimising battery-cooling microchannel heat exchangers. Thermal overheating can affect the capacity, safety and life expectancy of batteries for renewable energy storage and electric vehicles. Microscale heat exchangers are a potential high-efficiency, low-bulk solution. This project aims to develop a novel computational methodology to optimise the design of those heat exchangers in which viscoelastic fluids are used to control flow instabilities and enhance heat transfer at the microscale. A new microscopic fluid physics model will provide data for an innovative neural network framework to optimise the working fluid conditions and microscale design, which could contribute to increased adoption of renewable energy technologies that are supported by microscale heat exchangers.Read moreRead less
Expanding the scramjet operating envelope through oxygen enrichment. This project aims to investigate the benefits of expanding the operating envelope of scramjets to higher altitudes and speeds by enriching their fuel with oxygen. This is expected to enhance the performance and flexibility of hypersonic air-breathing engines designed to form the core of a more reliable and economical access to space system. Expected outcomes of this project are a validated understanding and mapping of how oxyge ....Expanding the scramjet operating envelope through oxygen enrichment. This project aims to investigate the benefits of expanding the operating envelope of scramjets to higher altitudes and speeds by enriching their fuel with oxygen. This is expected to enhance the performance and flexibility of hypersonic air-breathing engines designed to form the core of a more reliable and economical access to space system. Expected outcomes of this project are a validated understanding and mapping of how oxygen enrichment can augment scramjet thrust at high altitudes and speeds, and a performance evaluation of a launch system optimised for this approach. This could provide significant benefits to the performance of reusable, air-breathing launch technology, where Australia is leading the push towards commercialisation.Read moreRead less
Thermal Optimisation of Gigascale Solar Photovoltaics. Large-scale solar photovoltaics are critical to decarbonising the global economy. Sun Cable is developing the world’s largest solar farm in the Northern Territory, and is considering deploying the 5B MAV solar array. At this scale, temperature-induced panel efficiency losses represent a major challenge that must be overcome through thermal performance optimisation. We will build sophisticated multiscale models to simulate and understand the ....Thermal Optimisation of Gigascale Solar Photovoltaics. Large-scale solar photovoltaics are critical to decarbonising the global economy. Sun Cable is developing the world’s largest solar farm in the Northern Territory, and is considering deploying the 5B MAV solar array. At this scale, temperature-induced panel efficiency losses represent a major challenge that must be overcome through thermal performance optimisation. We will build sophisticated multiscale models to simulate and understand the multiple interacting phenomena that cause panel heating, for the first time. This project will create the tools and know-how to optimise array design and solar farm development, delivering major efficiency gains and enhancing the viability of future gigascale solar projects.Read moreRead less
Precipitation in shallow convection over the Southern Ocean. This project aims to quantify the amount of precipitation over the Southern Ocean and identify the key dynamical and microphysical processes that lead to its development. Large uncertainties exist in the frequency and intensity of precipitation, which limits the ability to model the coupled Southern Ocean climate system. Observations from the RV Investigator, an Australian marine research vessel, have revealed heavy precipitation event ....Precipitation in shallow convection over the Southern Ocean. This project aims to quantify the amount of precipitation over the Southern Ocean and identify the key dynamical and microphysical processes that lead to its development. Large uncertainties exist in the frequency and intensity of precipitation, which limits the ability to model the coupled Southern Ocean climate system. Observations from the RV Investigator, an Australian marine research vessel, have revealed heavy precipitation events within the shallow convection commonly found between fronts that have not been captured by either satellite observations or numerical models. This project will improve weather forecasts, including precipitation, and climate projections over the Southern Ocean and the adjoining Antarctic and the southern part of Australia.Read moreRead less
Towards highly-efficient hydrogen gas turbines. The increasing interest in green hydrogen has led to a need for research and development in combustion systems that can accommodate hydrogen. One promising technology is low-emission gas turbines, which is a key player in the electricity market. However, hydrogen gas turbines are susceptible to a phenomenon called thermoacoustic instability, causing loud noise and can damage equipment. This project represents the first comprehensive study of the ef ....Towards highly-efficient hydrogen gas turbines. The increasing interest in green hydrogen has led to a need for research and development in combustion systems that can accommodate hydrogen. One promising technology is low-emission gas turbines, which is a key player in the electricity market. However, hydrogen gas turbines are susceptible to a phenomenon called thermoacoustic instability, causing loud noise and can damage equipment. This project represents the first comprehensive study of the effects of hydrogen fuel on thermoacoustic instability under conditions relevant to gas turbines. By examining low-order models, commonly used for designing gas turbines, this project can significantly advance the field and facilitate the adoption of green hydrogen as a fuel source.Read moreRead less
Local climate changes caused by large bushfire burnt areas. This project aims to quantify the impact on local climate produced by large burnt areas after extreme bushfires. This project expects to generate new knowledge on these previously unexplored fire-scar induced changes to local climate. It will extend an innovative approach that combines satellite based earth observation with very high resolution regional climate modelling to quantify the impacts on land-atmosphere feedbacks and local cli ....Local climate changes caused by large bushfire burnt areas. This project aims to quantify the impact on local climate produced by large burnt areas after extreme bushfires. This project expects to generate new knowledge on these previously unexplored fire-scar induced changes to local climate. It will extend an innovative approach that combines satellite based earth observation with very high resolution regional climate modelling to quantify the impacts on land-atmosphere feedbacks and local climate. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced methods to quantify local climate changes after extreme fires and their effect on vegetation recovery. This should provide significant benefits to the planning for, and management of, vegetation recovery after extreme fires.Read moreRead less
Role of modulating water wave groups in enhancing air-water fluxes. This project aims to investigate the importance of the group structure and breaking of wind-generated waves of various scales in the air-water exchange of mass, momentum and energy. This project expects to generate new understanding in the area of air-water exchanges using an innovative approach based on direct numerical simulation of wind over unsteady water wave groups for a wide range of wind speed and wave steepness conditi ....Role of modulating water wave groups in enhancing air-water fluxes. This project aims to investigate the importance of the group structure and breaking of wind-generated waves of various scales in the air-water exchange of mass, momentum and energy. This project expects to generate new understanding in the area of air-water exchanges using an innovative approach based on direct numerical simulation of wind over unsteady water wave groups for a wide range of wind speed and wave steepness conditions.
Expected outcomes of this project include generating fundamental knowledge of the unresolved physics and new parameterisations for air-water exchange rates. This will deliver more accurate and more comprehensive forecast models for weather, inland and ocean waterways, and numerous industrial processes.Read moreRead less
The impact of India-Asia tectonics on climate. This interdisciplinary project aims to determine the controls of tectonics on global climate in the last 50 million years. A combination of tectonics, paleogeography, climate modelling and high-performance computing will be applied to test systematically outstanding issues in the reconstruction of the Indo-Asia region and their landmass/seaways configurations and topography, which have bedevilled previous models of paleoclimate evolution. The propos ....The impact of India-Asia tectonics on climate. This interdisciplinary project aims to determine the controls of tectonics on global climate in the last 50 million years. A combination of tectonics, paleogeography, climate modelling and high-performance computing will be applied to test systematically outstanding issues in the reconstruction of the Indo-Asia region and their landmass/seaways configurations and topography, which have bedevilled previous models of paleoclimate evolution. The proposal expects to generate novel knowledge in the area at the boundary between tectonics, paleoclimate modelling and present-day climate. This provides significant benefits to the interpretation of tectonics–climate coupling as current drivers of climate evolution.Read moreRead less