Next-generation technology for determining fitness-for-use of starches in cereal grains. The project will deliver a new methodology to characterize starch-containing materials such as grains. This will provide the first tools to readily measure the full size distribution of starch in industry laboratories, giving far more information than is currently accessible. The data will be extremely sensitive to structural characteristics associated with desirable end-use properties. The new process will ....Next-generation technology for determining fitness-for-use of starches in cereal grains. The project will deliver a new methodology to characterize starch-containing materials such as grains. This will provide the first tools to readily measure the full size distribution of starch in industry laboratories, giving far more information than is currently accessible. The data will be extremely sensitive to structural characteristics associated with desirable end-use properties. The new process will enable conventional instrumentation methodology to be re-engineered to better select starch-containing materials. This will enable superior targeting and processing of materials for improved products in human nutrition, animal feed and manufactured goods such as biodegradable plastics.Read moreRead less
Modelling soft filled viscoelastic solids. Wheat flour doughs are made in vast quantities daily, and improvements in processing, especially in sheeting (rolling) and extrusion are needed. To enable this we will create a novel mathematical description of the material which will be useful for predicting the shapes of processed products. Wheat breeding cycles can be shortened by using the model rheological parameters, since baking quality is closely linked to dough rheology. A number of Australian ....Modelling soft filled viscoelastic solids. Wheat flour doughs are made in vast quantities daily, and improvements in processing, especially in sheeting (rolling) and extrusion are needed. To enable this we will create a novel mathematical description of the material which will be useful for predicting the shapes of processed products. Wheat breeding cycles can be shortened by using the model rheological parameters, since baking quality is closely linked to dough rheology. A number of Australian wheats will be considered and their rheologies will be compared.Read moreRead less
Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Granular Flow in Hoppers. Handling and processing of bulk solids such as coal and metal ores perform a key function in many industries, and hoppers are the most common devices for storage and discharge of granular materials in this field. The proper design of this equipment is very important. This project provides a systematic investigation of granular flow in hoppers, which is essential in order to avoid structure failures and associated costs. It wil ....Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Granular Flow in Hoppers. Handling and processing of bulk solids such as coal and metal ores perform a key function in many industries, and hoppers are the most common devices for storage and discharge of granular materials in this field. The proper design of this equipment is very important. This project provides a systematic investigation of granular flow in hoppers, which is essential in order to avoid structure failures and associated costs. It will lead to a fundamental understanding of relevant industrial processes, improvement of their efficiency, and hence improved competitiveness of Australian mining/mineral/metallurgical industries.Read moreRead less
Establishing the relations between starch nano- and mesostructure and macroscopic physical properties. Starch is the major energy component within human diets, and the most abundant polymer that can be readily extracted from annual crop plants, leading to many actual and potential industrial applications. There are major opportunities to optimise the nutritional value of starches in the human diet, and to enhance the properties of extracted starches as renewable alternatives to petrochemical pol ....Establishing the relations between starch nano- and mesostructure and macroscopic physical properties. Starch is the major energy component within human diets, and the most abundant polymer that can be readily extracted from annual crop plants, leading to many actual and potential industrial applications. There are major opportunities to optimise the nutritional value of starches in the human diet, and to enhance the properties of extracted starches as renewable alternatives to petrochemical polymers. This project will open up our understanding of the structure of starch polymers and show how this relates to important properties such as enzyme digestibility rates, leading to new opportunities for public health and commercial benefits.Read moreRead less
Application of a Novel Reflux Classifier for Separating Nut Shell Fragments from Powdered Food Mixtures. An important operation in the food industry is the physical separation of valuable particles from a mixture containing waste materials, such as shell fragments. The purpose of this study is to investigate the application of a novel gas-solid fluidised bed system, utilising parallel inclined plates to radically amplify the differential segregation rates to produce separations based on particle ....Application of a Novel Reflux Classifier for Separating Nut Shell Fragments from Powdered Food Mixtures. An important operation in the food industry is the physical separation of valuable particles from a mixture containing waste materials, such as shell fragments. The purpose of this study is to investigate the application of a novel gas-solid fluidised bed system, utilising parallel inclined plates to radically amplify the differential segregation rates to produce separations based on particle size. Our aim is to develop a fundamental understanding of the principles governing the nature of this system. The project should result in considerable technological and economic benefits for the food industry, a well trained and educated person at the postgraduate level, and a stronger collaborative link between the University and Sanitarium.Read moreRead less
Mullins-type effects in soft filled viscoelastic solids. Bread dough is made in vast quantities daily, and improvements in processing,especially sheet rolling,are needed,and to enable this we propose to create a novel mathematical description of the material. Also, wheat breeding cycles can be drastically shortened by using knowledge of dough rheology, since baking quality is closely linked to rheology. The mathematical framework can then be applied to other filled viscoelastic systems, and work ....Mullins-type effects in soft filled viscoelastic solids. Bread dough is made in vast quantities daily, and improvements in processing,especially sheet rolling,are needed,and to enable this we propose to create a novel mathematical description of the material. Also, wheat breeding cycles can be drastically shortened by using knowledge of dough rheology, since baking quality is closely linked to rheology. The mathematical framework can then be applied to other filled viscoelastic systems, and work on liquid crystals may be used to develop artificial muscle material, once their rheological description and behaviour are known.Read moreRead less
Microstructure and Rheology of Starch-Gelatine confectionery products as a function of manufacturing process. We propose to develop a novel continuous extrusion process for manufacturing confectionery jellies. Jellies are traditionally manufactured in a multi-step labour and capital-intensive batch process with inter-batch variability and difficult to automate. Continuous processes offer many advantages including high throughput, efficiency, straightforward automation including quality monitorin ....Microstructure and Rheology of Starch-Gelatine confectionery products as a function of manufacturing process. We propose to develop a novel continuous extrusion process for manufacturing confectionery jellies. Jellies are traditionally manufactured in a multi-step labour and capital-intensive batch process with inter-batch variability and difficult to automate. Continuous processes offer many advantages including high throughput, efficiency, straightforward automation including quality monitoring and control. They are little used in this industry because of the inability to relate product requirements through fundamental microstructural properties to processing conditions. This project addresses these key technical obstacles to gain the competitive advantage of continuous extrusion processing, through advanced mathematical modelling informed by experimentation. The proposed techniques derive from advanced polymer processing and characterisation capabilities.Read moreRead less
In vitro evolution of more thermostable dextranases for the Australian sugar industry. Dextrans are polysaccharides that adversely affect the productivity of sugarcane mills. The Australian sugar industry currently imports dextranases to deal with this problem but they are not heat stable so the mills have run at lower temperatures than optimal. We have isolated dextranases from thermophilic microorganisms and aim to improve their performance by generating superior heat-stable dextranases using ....In vitro evolution of more thermostable dextranases for the Australian sugar industry. Dextrans are polysaccharides that adversely affect the productivity of sugarcane mills. The Australian sugar industry currently imports dextranases to deal with this problem but they are not heat stable so the mills have run at lower temperatures than optimal. We have isolated dextranases from thermophilic microorganisms and aim to improve their performance by generating superior heat-stable dextranases using in vitro evolution, creating new activity levels by random mutation and recombination. The research will be significant in providing novel enzymes for domestic use, allowing import substitution and an outcome will be the development of a product with export potential.
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Seeing the discrete in a continuum: an integrated numerical-rheological-experimental approach towards high resolution micromechanical continuum models of granular media. Processes involving granular materials are complex and rarely reach more than 60% of the design capacity, due to inadequate understanding of granular rheology. The short term benefits of the proposed project are: improved insights on the rheology of granular media; experimentally validated micromechanical constitutive models ....Seeing the discrete in a continuum: an integrated numerical-rheological-experimental approach towards high resolution micromechanical continuum models of granular media. Processes involving granular materials are complex and rarely reach more than 60% of the design capacity, due to inadequate understanding of granular rheology. The short term benefits of the proposed project are: improved insights on the rheology of granular media; experimentally validated micromechanical constitutive models with unmatched predictive capabilities; modelling techniques in the analysis of multiscale processes, germane to the Science of Complex Materials. The long term benefits are models of the required reliability for computer-aided design, production and management of particulate systems. These simulation tools will enhance Australia's competitive edge in the multi-billion dollar particulate and geotechnical industries.Read moreRead less
Modelling and simulation of emergent behaviour in particulate assemblies under terrestrial and microgravity conditions: a focus on force propagation. Systems and processes involving particulate matter are complex, and due to inadequate understanding and modelling capabilities, rarely reach more than 60% of the design capacity. Given the prominence of these materials in Australia's leading export industries, the potential economic and social impact of this research program is significant. For exa ....Modelling and simulation of emergent behaviour in particulate assemblies under terrestrial and microgravity conditions: a focus on force propagation. Systems and processes involving particulate matter are complex, and due to inadequate understanding and modelling capabilities, rarely reach more than 60% of the design capacity. Given the prominence of these materials in Australia's leading export industries, the potential economic and social impact of this research program is significant. For example, Australia holds the largest known resources of iron ore with annual exports exceeding $3.8 billion; annual wheat exports exceed $3.4 billion and 90% of Australia's sealed roads (granular paved) cost $1 billion per year to maintain. This research will advance knowledge of fundamental behaviour and deliver predictive tools to control and optimise processes involving particulate matter.Read moreRead less