Design guidelines for safety-critical controllers in high-risk environments. This project aims to generate novel product design guidelines for developing safer controllers for use by potentially stressed individuals in high-risk situations. It will do this by generating specific insights and verifying generalisable solutions from the context of total artificial heart recipients –who must engage with critical controllers constantly. This project expects to generate new knowledge in design by esta ....Design guidelines for safety-critical controllers in high-risk environments. This project aims to generate novel product design guidelines for developing safer controllers for use by potentially stressed individuals in high-risk situations. It will do this by generating specific insights and verifying generalisable solutions from the context of total artificial heart recipients –who must engage with critical controllers constantly. This project expects to generate new knowledge in design by establishing a new research topic around an under-examined user cohort. Expected outcomes of this project include interaction design theory developments and improved controller design techniques. This should provide significant benefits and competitive advantages by lowering stress and improving safety across a range of contexts.Read moreRead less
Engineering defect-intensive ozonation catalysts to degrade micropollutants. This project aims to engineer unique particles containing defect-intensive surfaces which are designed to accelerate the catalytic ozonation of waters contaminated with pharmaceuticals and other recalcitrant pollutants. This will enable timely treatment of industrial waste water as well as sewerage treatment plant effluents using simple and cheap catalyst materials. Wet- and flame-based particle fabrication technologies ....Engineering defect-intensive ozonation catalysts to degrade micropollutants. This project aims to engineer unique particles containing defect-intensive surfaces which are designed to accelerate the catalytic ozonation of waters contaminated with pharmaceuticals and other recalcitrant pollutants. This will enable timely treatment of industrial waste water as well as sewerage treatment plant effluents using simple and cheap catalyst materials. Wet- and flame-based particle fabrication technologies paired with unique post-synthesis treatment strategies, including either a coupled hydrogenation-illumination approach or plasma exposure, will be implemented for defect manipulation so as to produce new cheaper, stable, and higher-performing catalysts for activating ozone to treat water containing pharmaceutical and endocrine disrupting micro-pollutants under different process conditions.Read moreRead less
Performance based assessment of building cladding against hailstorms. Hailstorms cause billions of dollars of damage in Australia and hailstorm events are increasing in frequency with climate change. Robust cladding to resist extreme weather events is imperative for new and existing building stock. This project will develop technology to accurately assess the performance of aluminium cladding, glass facades and skylights under severe hailstorm events. The research outcomes will enable cost-effec ....Performance based assessment of building cladding against hailstorms. Hailstorms cause billions of dollars of damage in Australia and hailstorm events are increasing in frequency with climate change. Robust cladding to resist extreme weather events is imperative for new and existing building stock. This project will develop technology to accurately assess the performance of aluminium cladding, glass facades and skylights under severe hailstorm events. The research outcomes will enable cost-effective design of robust cladding solutions and the evaluation of the performance of existing cladding. This will benefit asset managers, homeowners, the insurance industry and the building and construction industry, and help save billions of dollars of economic loss.Read moreRead less
Bayesian back analysis for settlement prediction of soft soils. The settlement of road embankments built on soft soils can take many years which has created additional challenges for road design and construction. Despite many years of experience with the Pacific Highway Upgrade, industry partners have seen many examples where embankments have settled more than expected during construction and after road opening. This causes potential delay delivering projects, ponding, potential aquaplaning and ....Bayesian back analysis for settlement prediction of soft soils. The settlement of road embankments built on soft soils can take many years which has created additional challenges for road design and construction. Despite many years of experience with the Pacific Highway Upgrade, industry partners have seen many examples where embankments have settled more than expected during construction and after road opening. This causes potential delay delivering projects, ponding, potential aquaplaning and unexpected maintenance. This project aims at developing useful tools for industry to better predict the settlement of embankment built on soft soils. The intended outcomes can help to increase the safety level of road transportation system of Australia, reduce construction and maintenance costs.Read moreRead less
Structural Protection of flywheel energy storage system . A flywheel energy storage system stores a large amount of energy in a rotating mass. Compared with other energy storage systems such as large-capacity batteries, the flywheel energy storage system features high power density, long lifespan, high efficiency and is carbon-free. Flywheel energy storage systems are typically constructed underground due to safety concerns from a potential rotor burst. In the present project, a high-performance ....Structural Protection of flywheel energy storage system . A flywheel energy storage system stores a large amount of energy in a rotating mass. Compared with other energy storage systems such as large-capacity batteries, the flywheel energy storage system features high power density, long lifespan, high efficiency and is carbon-free. Flywheel energy storage systems are typically constructed underground due to safety concerns from a potential rotor burst. In the present project, a high-performance confinement system is developed aiming at above-ground construction. The confinement systems which comprise low-carbon, rubberized concrete, energy-absorbing aluminum foam, and ductile steel cladding will allow for high-impact resistance, off-site prefabrication, and easy on-site installation. Read moreRead less
High-resolution optical studies of solids nucleation in cryogenic processes. During liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, low concentration impurities can freeze and block the cryogenic heat exchangers at the heart of the liquefaction process. Substantial knowledge gaps exist regarding the kinetics of these solids (i.e. the rate at which they form), especially at the part per million concentrations relevant to LNG. This project, in partnership with ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, will us ....High-resolution optical studies of solids nucleation in cryogenic processes. During liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, low concentration impurities can freeze and block the cryogenic heat exchangers at the heart of the liquefaction process. Substantial knowledge gaps exist regarding the kinetics of these solids (i.e. the rate at which they form), especially at the part per million concentrations relevant to LNG. This project, in partnership with ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, will use a proven high resolution optical technique to deliver new insight into solid nucleation and growth kinetics in the high-pressure cryogenic fluids that govern industrial blockage risk. The results will enable energy optimisation to increase liquefaction efficiency as well as tests of innovative blockage-remediation methods.Read moreRead less
Play about Place: Expanding the impact of Creative Placemaking after COVID. This project aims to establish a new approach to placemaking through the development of urban play projects. The project expects to generate affordable and engaging experiences that activate existing public spaces, a typology and methodology for analysing the impacts of urban play, and a comparative study of urban play in Melbourne and Christchurch. Expected outcomes include creative placemaking strategies and projects, ....Play about Place: Expanding the impact of Creative Placemaking after COVID. This project aims to establish a new approach to placemaking through the development of urban play projects. The project expects to generate affordable and engaging experiences that activate existing public spaces, a typology and methodology for analysing the impacts of urban play, and a comparative study of urban play in Melbourne and Christchurch. Expected outcomes include creative placemaking strategies and projects, a connected impact study, and an industry resource for local government outlining our approach. This should provide significant benefits, including First Peoples storytelling experiences, city activation post-pandemic, community engagement, the potential to create jobs and provide economic and social benefit for Australia.Read moreRead less
Low emission iron and steelmaking using hydrogen to pre-reduce lump ore. This project aims to develop and apply a new route of lump iron ore pre-reduction with hydrogen or H2-enriched gases for ironmaking to minimise CO2 emission from steel production. The route will be built up on the base of H2 reduction kinetics of iron ore and with novel technologies such as CO2 recycle and H2-heating using hot blast, underpinning the hydrogen economy by addressing the environmental concerns in mineral and s ....Low emission iron and steelmaking using hydrogen to pre-reduce lump ore. This project aims to develop and apply a new route of lump iron ore pre-reduction with hydrogen or H2-enriched gases for ironmaking to minimise CO2 emission from steel production. The route will be built up on the base of H2 reduction kinetics of iron ore and with novel technologies such as CO2 recycle and H2-heating using hot blast, underpinning the hydrogen economy by addressing the environmental concerns in mineral and steel industries. It is not only significant for low-carbon steel production, but also for better fundamental understanding to develop the future zero-emission iron and steelmaking with hydrogen. The project will be very beneficent because it increases the use of lump iron ore and expends Australian export of iron ores.Read moreRead less
A novel design approach for sustainable and resilient railway formations. The project aims to validate a novel design approach for more sustainable and resilient railway formations. The railway network underpins the Australian economy and its maintenance costs tens of millions of dollars every year. This cost will increase with the growing frequency and intensity of climatic events. The research will advance the knowledge on the effect of water on the performance of railway formations and will d ....A novel design approach for sustainable and resilient railway formations. The project aims to validate a novel design approach for more sustainable and resilient railway formations. The railway network underpins the Australian economy and its maintenance costs tens of millions of dollars every year. This cost will increase with the growing frequency and intensity of climatic events. The research will advance the knowledge on the effect of water on the performance of railway formations and will deliver a novel design tool for end-users that will allow engineers to recycle fouled ballast in formations . The project will yield significant financial benefits for Australia, will strengthen links between Academia and industry partners, and will address environmental and sustainability issues linked to fouled ballast.
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A novel method to stabilise expansive soils by alkali-activation . This project aims to address durability and sustainability issues with traditional lime-based methods used to stabilize expansive soils by alternatively advancing an alkali-activation approach. It expects to generate new knowledge in using alkali-activation to suppress the swelling potential of expansive soils which have been deleterious to roads, pavements and overlying structures. Expected outcomes of this project include deve ....A novel method to stabilise expansive soils by alkali-activation . This project aims to address durability and sustainability issues with traditional lime-based methods used to stabilize expansive soils by alternatively advancing an alkali-activation approach. It expects to generate new knowledge in using alkali-activation to suppress the swelling potential of expansive soils which have been deleterious to roads, pavements and overlying structures. Expected outcomes of this project include development of a long-term durable treatment with reduced carbon footprint and use of waste materials. This should provide significant benefits commercially and critical insights to overcome expansive soils which cover approximately one-fifth of Australia’s surface area and six out of eight of its largest cities.Read moreRead less