A thermal battery for dish-Stirling concentrated solar power systems. This project will investigate new high temperature (> 600 degrees Celsius) metal hydrides and carbonates suitable for thermochemical energy storage in dish-Stirling Concentrated Solar Power systems. The intended outcome is to discover cost effective, energy dense materials that are capable of operating over a 30 year life span in a solar power plant. This will enable 24/7 electricity production from renewable sources in a disp ....A thermal battery for dish-Stirling concentrated solar power systems. This project will investigate new high temperature (> 600 degrees Celsius) metal hydrides and carbonates suitable for thermochemical energy storage in dish-Stirling Concentrated Solar Power systems. The intended outcome is to discover cost effective, energy dense materials that are capable of operating over a 30 year life span in a solar power plant. This will enable 24/7 electricity production from renewable sources in a dispatchable solar platform, ideal for remote locations. The successful development of high temperature metal hydrides and carbonates will finally provide an energy storage solution to dish-Stirling Concentrated Solar Power systems, which will greatly reduce our reliance on fossil fuels to produce electricity.Read moreRead less
Control of Thermodiffusion in Liquid Multicomponent Alloys. Aims: The project aims to comprehensively study heat and mass coupling in liquid alloys by describing it mathematically, measuring it experimentally and calculating it by simulation. Significance: When a liquid alloy exists at different temperatures, the coupling of heat and mass flows causes rapid segregation of its components. This is a major complication in controlling solidification from liquid alloys in manufacturing and in the des ....Control of Thermodiffusion in Liquid Multicomponent Alloys. Aims: The project aims to comprehensively study heat and mass coupling in liquid alloys by describing it mathematically, measuring it experimentally and calculating it by simulation. Significance: When a liquid alloy exists at different temperatures, the coupling of heat and mass flows causes rapid segregation of its components. This is a major complication in controlling solidification from liquid alloys in manufacturing and in the design of liquid alloy coolants for efficient heat transfer. It has never been addressed. Expected outcomes: This research is expected to be the pioneering foundation of the area. Benefits: It is anticipated that the research would provide the means to properly control the engineering use of liquid alloys. Read moreRead less
Sodium borohydride for solid-state green hydrogen export. This project aims to develop a new method of producing, storing, and exporting green hydrogen using Australian resources. Sodium borohydride will be produced from borax using renewable energy and exported internationally to countries that desire hydrogen from renewable sources to replace fossil fuels. Green hydrogen will be released from sodium borohydride by adding water. The spent material will then be shipped back to Australia for recy ....Sodium borohydride for solid-state green hydrogen export. This project aims to develop a new method of producing, storing, and exporting green hydrogen using Australian resources. Sodium borohydride will be produced from borax using renewable energy and exported internationally to countries that desire hydrogen from renewable sources to replace fossil fuels. Green hydrogen will be released from sodium borohydride by adding water. The spent material will then be shipped back to Australia for recycling back to sodium borohydride, creating a closed-loop energy cycle using renewable energy. This will create a new export industry in Australia by expanding current mining expertise whilst harnessing our wealth of renewable energy to potentially deliver billions of dollars of revenue.Read moreRead less
Embrittlement-tolerant alloys for safe hydrogen transmission and storage. Hydrogen embrittlement in steels is a major impediment to a safe hydrogen economy. This project will determine how hydrogen affects the deformation behaviour of steel, providing the fundamental information that is required to develop alloys that can be safely used in infrastructure for a future Australian hydrogen industry. We will utilise new technologies that allow us, for the first time, to determine the position of hyd ....Embrittlement-tolerant alloys for safe hydrogen transmission and storage. Hydrogen embrittlement in steels is a major impediment to a safe hydrogen economy. This project will determine how hydrogen affects the deformation behaviour of steel, providing the fundamental information that is required to develop alloys that can be safely used in infrastructure for a future Australian hydrogen industry. We will utilise new technologies that allow us, for the first time, to determine the position of hydrogen atoms around micro-scale features and to compare it to local mechanical behaviour, determined by micro-mechanical tests. The systematic investigation of the effect of hydrogen on different micro-components within steel will allow the development of microstructure-guided alloy design principles.Read moreRead less
Mitigating hydrogen embrittlement in high-strength steels. Hydrogen wreaks havoc in many alloys, leading to embrittlement that can cause catastrophic failure. This is a very serious issue for any industry in which structures are exposed to hydrogen and is a limiting factor for the production, transport, storage and use of hydrogen in a potential hydrogen economy. However, understanding the behaviour of hydrogen in alloys is restricted by the difficulty of observing it. In this project we will ob ....Mitigating hydrogen embrittlement in high-strength steels. Hydrogen wreaks havoc in many alloys, leading to embrittlement that can cause catastrophic failure. This is a very serious issue for any industry in which structures are exposed to hydrogen and is a limiting factor for the production, transport, storage and use of hydrogen in a potential hydrogen economy. However, understanding the behaviour of hydrogen in alloys is restricted by the difficulty of observing it. In this project we will obtain accurate 3D maps showing the position of hydrogen atoms in steel by combining deuteration with cryogenic atom probe microscopy. In this way we will will elucidate how a proposed solution, hydrogen trapping, reduces hydrogen embrittlement, contributing to design criteria for hydrogen-resistant steels.Read moreRead less
Cryo atom probe tomography: an atomic-scale view of life. This project aims to develop workflows that allow the microscopy technique of atom-probe tomography to be applied to specimens that have been cryogenically cooled during preparation. The project will open up this powerful method, which has made an enormous impact in materials science over the last few decades, to new disciplines such as chemistry and the life sciences. The new types of specimens that can be analysed include vitrified biol ....Cryo atom probe tomography: an atomic-scale view of life. This project aims to develop workflows that allow the microscopy technique of atom-probe tomography to be applied to specimens that have been cryogenically cooled during preparation. The project will open up this powerful method, which has made an enormous impact in materials science over the last few decades, to new disciplines such as chemistry and the life sciences. The new types of specimens that can be analysed include vitrified biological matter, liquids (solutions), surface molecules (ligands), and hydrogen. In the long term, this project has the potential to lead to radical new discoveries in fields such as health and medicine, chemical processing and agriculture.Read moreRead less
3-D Printed Catalytic Monoliths for Energy Efficient Carbon Conversion. Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) is an essential pathway for reducing carbon in the Earth's atmosphere. However a major hurdle in the carbon utilisation part is that the conversion technologies often rely on energy derived from fossil sources. Electrification of carbon conversion processes can overcome this hurdle by providing this energy via renewables. This project aims to develop an electrically powered energy efficie ....3-D Printed Catalytic Monoliths for Energy Efficient Carbon Conversion. Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) is an essential pathway for reducing carbon in the Earth's atmosphere. However a major hurdle in the carbon utilisation part is that the conversion technologies often rely on energy derived from fossil sources. Electrification of carbon conversion processes can overcome this hurdle by providing this energy via renewables. This project aims to develop an electrically powered energy efficient catalytic process for carbon conversion. A modular 3-D printed monolithic catalytic reactor prototype powered by induction or resistive heating will be developed to minimise energy loss in the carbon conversion process. An expected outcome of this project is translation of this prototype in a CCU pilot scale facility.Read moreRead less
Corrosion of heat resisting alloys in steam/hydrogen-rich environment . Hydrogen is a clean fuel for energy future. Its production and utilisation unavoidably involve water vapour and hydrogen at high temperature which is however corrosive to materials used in the system. This project aims to investigate corrosion behaviour of heat resistant alloys in the presence of both hydrogen and water vapour, mechanisms of water transport in oxide scale, and the effect of hydrogen on water vapour corrosion ....Corrosion of heat resisting alloys in steam/hydrogen-rich environment . Hydrogen is a clean fuel for energy future. Its production and utilisation unavoidably involve water vapour and hydrogen at high temperature which is however corrosive to materials used in the system. This project aims to investigate corrosion behaviour of heat resistant alloys in the presence of both hydrogen and water vapour, mechanisms of water transport in oxide scale, and the effect of hydrogen on water vapour corrosion. Alloying effects on corrosion rates will be defined and methods of slowing or preventing water vapour corrosion in the presence of hydrogen will be devised. The results will provide a basis for improved design/selection of heat resisting alloys for hydrogen production and hydrogen utilisation industries.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101152
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$404,000.00
Summary
Micro/nano-mechanical testing methodologies for interfacial adhesion. This project aims to develop reliable approaches for measuring the toughness of a variety of metal/polymer interfaces integral to contemporary flexible devices. Adhesion between metal thin film conductors and polymer substrates is a critical factor influencing the reliability of the emerging polymer-based flexible electronics. This project will develop new methodologies for understanding the behaviour of these metal/polymer in ....Micro/nano-mechanical testing methodologies for interfacial adhesion. This project aims to develop reliable approaches for measuring the toughness of a variety of metal/polymer interfaces integral to contemporary flexible devices. Adhesion between metal thin film conductors and polymer substrates is a critical factor influencing the reliability of the emerging polymer-based flexible electronics. This project will develop new methodologies for understanding the behaviour of these metal/polymer interfaces. This project will be a crucial enabler to accelerating the development of new flexible microelectronic technologies, from solar panels to electronic skin. This innovation will enable Australia to maintain an important connection to the rapidly-evolving international microelectronic industry and add significant value to Australian manufacturing industries.Read moreRead less
Core loss mechanisms in soft magnetic nanostructures. This project aims to clarify the mechanism of power losses in magnetic cores used in the petrol-electric hybrid cars by investigating the relationship between the core losses and magnetic correlation lengths in iron alloys. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the effect of magneto-mechanical interaction on the anomalous core loss in iron based alloys. The intended outcomes include an experimental confirmation of the random aniso ....Core loss mechanisms in soft magnetic nanostructures. This project aims to clarify the mechanism of power losses in magnetic cores used in the petrol-electric hybrid cars by investigating the relationship between the core losses and magnetic correlation lengths in iron alloys. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the effect of magneto-mechanical interaction on the anomalous core loss in iron based alloys. The intended outcomes include an experimental confirmation of the random anisotropy model, a major theoretical model in nanostructured materials and identification of ideal magnetic domain configurations for lower power losses. These intended outcomes should bring great benefits to the development of low-carbon vehicle technologies for sustainable motorisation in Australia.Read moreRead less