Robust Control and System Identification of Highly Resonant Systems. The modelling and control of complex and highly resonant systems is of increasing engineering importance due to their occurence in a wide variety of emerging areas in aerospace, acoustics, robotics and ``smart'' structures. At the same time, effective tools tailored towards identifying the necessary models, and synthesising the necessary controllers for these systems are in their infancy. This arises from special difficulties ....Robust Control and System Identification of Highly Resonant Systems. The modelling and control of complex and highly resonant systems is of increasing engineering importance due to their occurence in a wide variety of emerging areas in aerospace, acoustics, robotics and ``smart'' structures. At the same time, effective tools tailored towards identifying the necessary models, and synthesising the necessary controllers for these systems are in their infancy. This arises from special difficulties encountered via the high dimensionality of the structures involved. This research project will employ new methods from the fields of robust control and multivariable system identification theory to lead to new and high performance solutions in this area.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668446
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$530,000.00
Summary
Nano-positioning facility for nano-scale measurement and manipulation. Nanotechnology is the science of understanding and control of matter at dimensions of 100 nanometers or less. Encompassing nanoscale science, engineering, and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modeling, and manipulation of matter at this level of precision. An important aspect of research in nanotechnology involves precision control and manipulation of devices and materials at a nanoscale, i.e. nanoposi ....Nano-positioning facility for nano-scale measurement and manipulation. Nanotechnology is the science of understanding and control of matter at dimensions of 100 nanometers or less. Encompassing nanoscale science, engineering, and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modeling, and manipulation of matter at this level of precision. An important aspect of research in nanotechnology involves precision control and manipulation of devices and materials at a nanoscale, i.e. nanopositioning. The primary goal of this proposal is the establishment of an experimental nanopositioning research facility to enable the development of a new generation of nanopositioners. Establishment of the facility will give Australia's nanotechnology researchers a unique enabling facility in this high-tech field.Read moreRead less
Advanced model-based control for ultra-fast and ultra-high-precision nanoscale positioning. Australia faces unique challenges due to its small population and distance from international markets. To maintain a high standard of living Australia needs to further develop its high-tech base particularly in emerging fields such as nanotechnology. This research program is aimed at placing Australia at the forefront of international research in nanoscale positioning systems by building a world-class tea ....Advanced model-based control for ultra-fast and ultra-high-precision nanoscale positioning. Australia faces unique challenges due to its small population and distance from international markets. To maintain a high standard of living Australia needs to further develop its high-tech base particularly in emerging fields such as nanotechnology. This research program is aimed at placing Australia at the forefront of international research in nanoscale positioning systems by building a world-class team of talented researchers and equipping them with world-class research infrastructure. The global market for nanotechnology is projected to be in the tens of billions of dollars by 2020. The proposed research will enhance Australia's competitive advantage through high-impact scientific and technological innovations in nanotechnology.Read moreRead less
Development of an integrated methodology to assess dewatering system performance in solid-liquid separation. 3D visualisations of microstructures are possible with techniques such as confocal laser microscopy and high resolution X-ray microtomography. Data obtained in-situ enable direct computation of solids assembly properties and their permeability to fluids. A specific application involving aggregate formation and sediment networks could be evaluated through micro-scale analysis combined with ....Development of an integrated methodology to assess dewatering system performance in solid-liquid separation. 3D visualisations of microstructures are possible with techniques such as confocal laser microscopy and high resolution X-ray microtomography. Data obtained in-situ enable direct computation of solids assembly properties and their permeability to fluids. A specific application involving aggregate formation and sediment networks could be evaluated through micro-scale analysis combined with robust fluid flow simulations. The method can potentially be utilized to predict trends such as filtration behaviour of materials under different states of compression. This offers significant benefits in formulating the design of flocculated systems pertinent to a number of industrial sectors wishing to design optimum solid-liquid separation processes.Read moreRead less
New drives and control techniques for high performance piezoelectric actuation. Piezoelectric actuators are made from a ceramic material that expands in response to an applied voltage. Although these actuators develop the greatest forces and most precise motion of any actuator, a number of performance limitations exist. This proposal aims to overcome these limitations and greatly increase the performance of piezoelectric actuators.
Improved piezoelectric actuators will result in a parallel i ....New drives and control techniques for high performance piezoelectric actuation. Piezoelectric actuators are made from a ceramic material that expands in response to an applied voltage. Although these actuators develop the greatest forces and most precise motion of any actuator, a number of performance limitations exist. This proposal aims to overcome these limitations and greatly increase the performance of piezoelectric actuators.
Improved piezoelectric actuators will result in a parallel improvement of analytic and process machines throughout the scientific and industrial community. Examples include: improved atomic scale microscopes, finer tolerance steel rolling mills, more accurate micro-surgical tools, and automated manipulation of sperm and egg cells in IVF therapy.Read moreRead less
Geotechnical and soil-structure interaction properties of soils in Perth CBD. A new underground railway (City Project) will shortly begin construction in Perth CBD. This construction, and its associated high level of monitoring instrumentation, offers a unique opportunity for an extensive and thorough examination of the mechanical properties of Perths soils. The research results emanating from the proposed combination of field monitoring, laboratory investigation and numerical analysis, will gre ....Geotechnical and soil-structure interaction properties of soils in Perth CBD. A new underground railway (City Project) will shortly begin construction in Perth CBD. This construction, and its associated high level of monitoring instrumentation, offers a unique opportunity for an extensive and thorough examination of the mechanical properties of Perths soils. The research results emanating from the proposed combination of field monitoring, laboratory investigation and numerical analysis, will greatly improve the reliability (and hence cost) of future foundation and basement designs in Perth and elsewhere.Read moreRead less
Inhomogeneous tissue conductivity influence on the forward and inverse electroencephalogram problems in realistic head models. The brain dysfunction indicators have been extremely difficult to obtain, largely because many disorders of higher brain function reflect abnormalities of brain function rather than apparent brain structure. The neuronal generator localization and identification in this project will provide complementary information about source and timing of neural activities sub-servin ....Inhomogeneous tissue conductivity influence on the forward and inverse electroencephalogram problems in realistic head models. The brain dysfunction indicators have been extremely difficult to obtain, largely because many disorders of higher brain function reflect abnormalities of brain function rather than apparent brain structure. The neuronal generator localization and identification in this project will provide complementary information about source and timing of neural activities sub-serving higher brain function and form sequences of spatial-temporal brain activity image. That will enable the information from MRI, which has a good spatial but poor temporal resolution, and the information from EEG, which has a high temporal resolution on the scalp, to be combined to provide clinical psychologists and brain researchers a more efficient diagnostic tool.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms controlling displacement pile behaviour in sands. The project will exploit the potential of the drum centrifuge and recent innovations in earth pressure cell design to provide a uniquely comprehensive investigation into the factors controlling the performance of displacement piles in sand. A wide range of factors affecting the stresses that develop at the pile-soil interface will be examined in a systematic fashion to facilitate the derivation of more reliable and efficient design app ....Mechanisms controlling displacement pile behaviour in sands. The project will exploit the potential of the drum centrifuge and recent innovations in earth pressure cell design to provide a uniquely comprehensive investigation into the factors controlling the performance of displacement piles in sand. A wide range of factors affecting the stresses that develop at the pile-soil interface will be examined in a systematic fashion to facilitate the derivation of more reliable and efficient design approaches for piles.Read moreRead less
Plate Wave Tomography for Reconstruction of Laminar Defects. The proposed project promotes a conceptual advance in the application of plate waves for the quantitative reconstruction of laminar defects by investigating fundamental experimental and analytical aspects of a novel approach in plate wave ultrasonic tomography. A successful development will have a comparable significance in the area of health monitoring of thin structures as computer tomography had in medical imaging. Previous attempts ....Plate Wave Tomography for Reconstruction of Laminar Defects. The proposed project promotes a conceptual advance in the application of plate waves for the quantitative reconstruction of laminar defects by investigating fundamental experimental and analytical aspects of a novel approach in plate wave ultrasonic tomography. A successful development will have a comparable significance in the area of health monitoring of thin structures as computer tomography had in medical imaging. Previous attempts have ignored wave scattering effects, and therefore do not describe the correct physics of the problem. With its combined experimental-numerical approach, the proposed fundamental studies will help to identify the potential of plate wave ultrasonic tomography for in-situ health monitoring of realistic structures and smart materials design.Read moreRead less
Tomographic Imaging of Structural Damage in Plates. The potential benefit of structural health monitoring is highlighted by the socio-economic impact of structural failure, which may result in loss of lives, infrastructure disruptions and loss of productivity. This proposal promotes a fundamental advance in the novel concept of ultrasonic diffraction tomography for imaging early stage structural damage in plates. The successful development will represent an essential advance in quantitative non- ....Tomographic Imaging of Structural Damage in Plates. The potential benefit of structural health monitoring is highlighted by the socio-economic impact of structural failure, which may result in loss of lives, infrastructure disruptions and loss of productivity. This proposal promotes a fundamental advance in the novel concept of ultrasonic diffraction tomography for imaging early stage structural damage in plates. The successful development will represent an essential advance in quantitative non-destructive evaluation of thin structures and enable the transition of the technique to realistic structures with all the potential benefits in mechanical and civil infrastructure management resulting in improved safety, reduced maintenance costs and the use of more efficient structural designs.Read moreRead less