Robust fluid mixing through topological chaos. The Australian chemicals and plastics industry has an annual turnover of over $20 billion and employs over 77,000 people; fluid mixing is fundamental to this industry, yet the industry is recognised as underinvesting in research and development in this essential area. Furthermore, frontier technologies such as biotechnology and the next generation of smart materials also crucially rely on fluid mixing. This project aims to evaluate a new paradigm ( ....Robust fluid mixing through topological chaos. The Australian chemicals and plastics industry has an annual turnover of over $20 billion and employs over 77,000 people; fluid mixing is fundamental to this industry, yet the industry is recognised as underinvesting in research and development in this essential area. Furthermore, frontier technologies such as biotechnology and the next generation of smart materials also crucially rely on fluid mixing. This project aims to evaluate a new paradigm (topological chaos) for the design of mixers, to provide better and more robust mixers that work from microscopic to industrial scales.Read moreRead less
Photonic Crystal Enhanced Wavelength Selective, Multi-Colour Quantum Dot Infrared Photodetectors. Photonic crystal enhanced quantum dot infrared photodetectors are a new generation of detectors developed from integrating nanotechnology with material science and optics. This would not only enhance the detector performance but the structure will now detect a narrow band around the desired wavelength with multi-colour detectivity. The technology developed in this project is anticipated to attract i ....Photonic Crystal Enhanced Wavelength Selective, Multi-Colour Quantum Dot Infrared Photodetectors. Photonic crystal enhanced quantum dot infrared photodetectors are a new generation of detectors developed from integrating nanotechnology with material science and optics. This would not only enhance the detector performance but the structure will now detect a narrow band around the desired wavelength with multi-colour detectivity. The technology developed in this project is anticipated to attract interest from the industries and government agencies. It will be pervasive for use at home, in the manufacturing and mining industry, environmental and pollution monitoring, defence and national security. Applications include spectral imaging, remote sensing, environmental/pollution monitoring, toxic gas and bio-hazardous material detection.Read moreRead less
Drag Force on Bubbles and Particles in Turbulent Flows. Australian exports are dominated by the minerals, metallurgical and chemicals industries, with minerals exports worth at least $40 billion annually. Many of the production processes are underpinned by the complex interaction between particles, bubbles and liquids. It is important that we understand the complex interactions taking place. This will enable us to improve existing operations and also to design completely new technologies, especi ....Drag Force on Bubbles and Particles in Turbulent Flows. Australian exports are dominated by the minerals, metallurgical and chemicals industries, with minerals exports worth at least $40 billion annually. Many of the production processes are underpinned by the complex interaction between particles, bubbles and liquids. It is important that we understand the complex interactions taking place. This will enable us to improve existing operations and also to design completely new technologies, especially in the emerging fields of nano and biotechnology. This project is important because it adds to our knowledge in the national priority area of Transforming Australian Industries, and its success will ensure that our industries remain at the forefront of innovation and are globally competitive. Read moreRead less
Wireless microvalve for biomedical applications. This program will investigate and perform an in-laboratory proof-of-concept demonstration of a polymer microvalve that can operate by a remote control radio signal. This will be a wireless microvalve that does not require a battery power source. This advance in the technology and scientific knowledge will have important applications for humankind ranging from drug delivery devices to through to valves in chips that can perform microfluidic chemica ....Wireless microvalve for biomedical applications. This program will investigate and perform an in-laboratory proof-of-concept demonstration of a polymer microvalve that can operate by a remote control radio signal. This will be a wireless microvalve that does not require a battery power source. This advance in the technology and scientific knowledge will have important applications for humankind ranging from drug delivery devices to through to valves in chips that can perform microfluidic chemical analysis. A far reaching long-range vision is its use in electronically reversible male fertility control. The community benefit in terms of novel biomedical devices and the resulting large international commercial market is significant.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0214172
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$320,000.00
Summary
Measuring highly resolved flow and sound in Australia's largest wind tunnel. Monash and RMIT Universities have developed an aero-acoustic facility of international standing to study flows around vehicles, buildings and structures. This is based around the largest wind tunnel in the Southern Hemisphere, which provides a National facility crucial to the development of a competitive automotive industry. To achieve the next stage of research development, velocities and acoustic fields need to be mea ....Measuring highly resolved flow and sound in Australia's largest wind tunnel. Monash and RMIT Universities have developed an aero-acoustic facility of international standing to study flows around vehicles, buildings and structures. This is based around the largest wind tunnel in the Southern Hemisphere, which provides a National facility crucial to the development of a competitive automotive industry. To achieve the next stage of research development, velocities and acoustic fields need to be measured with increased accuracy and spatial resolution than currently available. Given the physical scale of the facility, it is proposed to achieve this with an automated measurement system, which will also be integral to future research programs.Read moreRead less
Novel RF Controlled Electromechanical Microvalve. The significance of the proposed microvalve is its potential use in exciting biomedical applications such as in drug delivery and fertility control. For human body implantation, it must be batteryless, wireless and be made of a biofriendly-polymer. We propose to meet all three criteria, based on novel use of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) as the actuation mechanism in a polymer material. Energy for actuation will be supplied by a radio frequency ( ....Novel RF Controlled Electromechanical Microvalve. The significance of the proposed microvalve is its potential use in exciting biomedical applications such as in drug delivery and fertility control. For human body implantation, it must be batteryless, wireless and be made of a biofriendly-polymer. We propose to meet all three criteria, based on novel use of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) as the actuation mechanism in a polymer material. Energy for actuation will be supplied by a radio frequency (RF) signal. We propose to model, design and demonstrate the device in laboratory conditions. This will enable development of application specific designs in future programs, such as ARC linkage.Read moreRead less
High efficiency III-V solar cells based on low-dimensional quantum confined heterostructures. There is no doubt that clean and sustainable solar energy is one of the most viable energy sources to address the issues of climate change, global warming and depletion of conventional energy sources. With the great advantages offered by quantum confined nanostructures and nanotechnology, this project may lead to substantial efficiency improvement of current III-V solar cells (already higher efficiency ....High efficiency III-V solar cells based on low-dimensional quantum confined heterostructures. There is no doubt that clean and sustainable solar energy is one of the most viable energy sources to address the issues of climate change, global warming and depletion of conventional energy sources. With the great advantages offered by quantum confined nanostructures and nanotechnology, this project may lead to substantial efficiency improvement of current III-V solar cells (already higher efficiency than Si solar cells), making great contribution to the society and Nation in the areas of science, technology, environment, and economy.Read moreRead less
High-order conservative multiscale computation of elliptic problems in composite materials and porous media. The proposed technology will improve the design and performance of a wide range of mechanisms and industrial processes involving heterogeneous media, from composite materials to water filtration and recycling. Our researchers in computational mechanics will gain further opportunities to extend the advances this project will make.
Development of constitutive models for concentrated suspensions via particle-level simulations. The outcome of this work will be a comprehensive theoretical framework by which accurate microstructural information is distilled into a macro-scale constitutive model of particulate suspensions, readily useable for modelling of practical industrial applications. This work will have a direct impact on the design capability and performance of a wide range of mechanisms and industrial processes involvin ....Development of constitutive models for concentrated suspensions via particle-level simulations. The outcome of this work will be a comprehensive theoretical framework by which accurate microstructural information is distilled into a macro-scale constitutive model of particulate suspensions, readily useable for modelling of practical industrial applications. This work will have a direct impact on the design capability and performance of a wide range of mechanisms and industrial processes involving suspensions. The development of better models for industrially useful suspensions offers a competitive advantage for a diverse range of Australia industry, from the food preparation sector, to mineral slurry transport, and water filtration and recycling.Read moreRead less
Direct simulation of composite microstructures in fluid and elastic media. The proposed innovative computational methodology will improve the design and performance of a wide range of mechanisms and industrial processes involving particulate inclusions, from engineering to biological applications. The resultant technology will make a contribution to maintain and enhance Australia's role in the development of advanced engineering materials through manipulating their composite microstructures. The ....Direct simulation of composite microstructures in fluid and elastic media. The proposed innovative computational methodology will improve the design and performance of a wide range of mechanisms and industrial processes involving particulate inclusions, from engineering to biological applications. The resultant technology will make a contribution to maintain and enhance Australia's role in the development of advanced engineering materials through manipulating their composite microstructures. The proposed computational method will also lead to new opportunities for Australian companies that develop computer simulation software. Our researchers in computational mechanics will gain further opportunities to extend the advances this project will make.Read moreRead less