Electrohydrodynamically-Driven Microcentrifugation for Microfluidic Applications. Microfluidics has the potential to revolutionise the way we live. Imagine portable pocket sized devices for cheap and rapid medical diagnostics and drug delivery. Or miniaturised chemical/biological sensors as early warning detection systems against terrorist threats. The research is thus intended to not only commercially benefit various industries, but also to improve the quality of life as a whole by making medic ....Electrohydrodynamically-Driven Microcentrifugation for Microfluidic Applications. Microfluidics has the potential to revolutionise the way we live. Imagine portable pocket sized devices for cheap and rapid medical diagnostics and drug delivery. Or miniaturised chemical/biological sensors as early warning detection systems against terrorist threats. The research is thus intended to not only commercially benefit various industries, but also to improve the quality of life as a whole by making medical diagnosis or chemical/biological detection more readily accessible, portable and more efficient. Moreover, the fundamental studies, aimed at generating an understanding of the complex physics involved, has generic benefits to researchers in applied physics as well as providing practical protocols for microdevice development.Read moreRead less
Control of Transitions in Wakes and Swirling Flows. We will attack industrially-important problems in fluid mechanics by building new, and substantially enhancing existing, international collaborations between key complementary teams of internationally-recognised French and Australian researchers. Funding will support the exchange of 6 senior staff and 3 graduate students, which, in turn, will measurably benefit the research output of a further 20 graduate students and 7 post-doctoral fellows as ....Control of Transitions in Wakes and Swirling Flows. We will attack industrially-important problems in fluid mechanics by building new, and substantially enhancing existing, international collaborations between key complementary teams of internationally-recognised French and Australian researchers. Funding will support the exchange of 6 senior staff and 3 graduate students, which, in turn, will measurably benefit the research output of a further 20 graduate students and 7 post-doctoral fellows associated with closely-related projects. From the Australian perspective, the planned exchanges will bring new research expertise, knowledge and skills, which will be focussed on a diverse range of applications. Target industries (with existing collaborations) include Airbus and Dassault Aviation in Europe, and Aerosonde and Warman pumps in Australia. Read moreRead less
Numerical simulation of the fish-like swimming of linked bodies. Although Zoologists have made detailed observations of swimming fish there are still many unanswered questions about how they swim. We do not know how the fins and undulating body work together to produce the high speed of the tuna, or the fast turns of a fish escaping danger. We see dolphins swim through the sea's surface but we don't know if they do that because it is much more efficient. This project is designed to simulate arb ....Numerical simulation of the fish-like swimming of linked bodies. Although Zoologists have made detailed observations of swimming fish there are still many unanswered questions about how they swim. We do not know how the fins and undulating body work together to produce the high speed of the tuna, or the fast turns of a fish escaping danger. We see dolphins swim through the sea's surface but we don't know if they do that because it is much more efficient. This project is designed to simulate arbitrary fish motion and give answers to these and other questions concerning swimming. It may also help humans to swim more efficiently and provide simulation tools for the design of robotic undersea vehicles.Read moreRead less
Unravelling the scale interactions of wall turbulence: experiment, physical modelling, next-generation numerical simulation. Turbulent fluid flows near solid surfaces are present in many areas of everyday life: from the drag experienced on air, sea and road vehicles, to governing the mixing processes in combustion chambers, and in the transport of pollutants and particulates in our cities and towns. Unfortunately our understanding of these complex flows is limited, and hence so to is our ability ....Unravelling the scale interactions of wall turbulence: experiment, physical modelling, next-generation numerical simulation. Turbulent fluid flows near solid surfaces are present in many areas of everyday life: from the drag experienced on air, sea and road vehicles, to governing the mixing processes in combustion chambers, and in the transport of pollutants and particulates in our cities and towns. Unfortunately our understanding of these complex flows is limited, and hence so to is our ability to model or control them. This project addresses this problem with the goal of providing new physical insights and models that can be used for efficient and accurate numerical simulations. The simulations will not only compute the average statistics but also the time-varying properties, which are crucial in many engineering and environmental processes.Read moreRead less
Practical wall-turbulence drag reduction through adaptive control. Long term increases in the price of aviation fuel disproportionately impacts on Australian carriers, given our geographic isolation and the resulting greater percentage of long-haul flights. The resulting higher fares will also have a direct impact on international tourism to Australia. One way to reduce the impact of rising fuel cost, and to reduce CO2 and other emissions at the same time, is to decrease drag on aircraft. This ....Practical wall-turbulence drag reduction through adaptive control. Long term increases in the price of aviation fuel disproportionately impacts on Australian carriers, given our geographic isolation and the resulting greater percentage of long-haul flights. The resulting higher fares will also have a direct impact on international tourism to Australia. One way to reduce the impact of rising fuel cost, and to reduce CO2 and other emissions at the same time, is to decrease drag on aircraft. This project will develop understanding in wall turbulence and adaptive control, and use this to experimentally demonstrate active reductions in skin friction drag. The results are equally applicable to a range of other applications including sea transport, pipe flows and combustor designs.Read moreRead less
The Mechanics of Nanoscale Devices. Australian developments in biosensing, medical diagnostics, clean energy, communication and security technologies, are rapidly growing due to our mounting capacity in nanoscale fabrication. Vital for evolution of next-generation nanodevices is an understanding of how mechanical processes operate at such small scales. This application will contribute to this scientific knowledge base. This will in turn assist Australian industries to progress these applications ....The Mechanics of Nanoscale Devices. Australian developments in biosensing, medical diagnostics, clean energy, communication and security technologies, are rapidly growing due to our mounting capacity in nanoscale fabrication. Vital for evolution of next-generation nanodevices is an understanding of how mechanical processes operate at such small scales. This application will contribute to this scientific knowledge base. This will in turn assist Australian industries to progress these applications and devices, leading to economic, social and technological gains for the Australian community.Read moreRead less
Opto-Microfluidics: A Rapid and Sensitive Platform for Biological Diagnostics. One in four people above 25 years suffer from diabetes-related diseases in Australia, with an associated economic cost exceeding $3 billion a year. A microdevice for continuous glucose monitoring would help patients to manage the disease, leading to huge individual, clinical and societal benefits. Life expectancy is expected to increase along with quality of life. Integration of the microdevice with insulin delivery w ....Opto-Microfluidics: A Rapid and Sensitive Platform for Biological Diagnostics. One in four people above 25 years suffer from diabetes-related diseases in Australia, with an associated economic cost exceeding $3 billion a year. A microdevice for continuous glucose monitoring would help patients to manage the disease, leading to huge individual, clinical and societal benefits. Life expectancy is expected to increase along with quality of life. Integration of the microdevice with insulin delivery would realise an 'artificial pancreas', revolutionising the management and treatment of the disease. The technology will also provide a platform for other point-of-care medical diagnostic devices, which will allow early participation in this emerging market and cement Australia's position in bionanotechnology.Read moreRead less
The next generation of stellar models: incorporating the results of multidimensional hydrodynamics. This project involves the use of computer codes designed for massively-parallel computing, thousands of computers tied together into one cluster, to tackle difficult hydrodynamic problems that occur in stars. We will train PhD students in this area of cutting-edge computation, with applications in areas such as meteorology, aero-space and defence. The skills gained by the participants in this proj ....The next generation of stellar models: incorporating the results of multidimensional hydrodynamics. This project involves the use of computer codes designed for massively-parallel computing, thousands of computers tied together into one cluster, to tackle difficult hydrodynamic problems that occur in stars. We will train PhD students in this area of cutting-edge computation, with applications in areas such as meteorology, aero-space and defence. The skills gained by the participants in this project will be useful over a wide range of areas in the modern economy of the nation.Read moreRead less
A new angle on the coalescence of drops. Many processes depend on what happens when drops and/or bubbles collide with each other, or with the surfaces of other materials. Examples include inkjet printing, agricultural spraying, spray coating of paints, pharmaceutical formulation, stability of cosmetics and foodstuffs, formation of froths and foams, and flow of bubbly liquids. To control these processes, we need to understand how and why drops sometimes do and sometimes do not coalesce with each ....A new angle on the coalescence of drops. Many processes depend on what happens when drops and/or bubbles collide with each other, or with the surfaces of other materials. Examples include inkjet printing, agricultural spraying, spray coating of paints, pharmaceutical formulation, stability of cosmetics and foodstuffs, formation of froths and foams, and flow of bubbly liquids. To control these processes, we need to understand how and why drops sometimes do and sometimes do not coalesce with each other or adhere to surfaces. The knowledge gained in this project will enable improvements to be made in the efficiency of processes such as those listed above.Read moreRead less
Spectroscopy of Complex Fluids in Flow. Complex fluids are composed of polymers and nano-particles in solution. Under flow these fluids may undergo dramatic molecular and nano-particle orientational and spatial ordering that give rise to a fascinating range of rheological behaviour. This project will use state of the art fluorescence spectroscopy which is able to resolve the orientation of single molecules combined with novel rheo-optic methods to characterise flow induced ordering in these flui ....Spectroscopy of Complex Fluids in Flow. Complex fluids are composed of polymers and nano-particles in solution. Under flow these fluids may undergo dramatic molecular and nano-particle orientational and spatial ordering that give rise to a fascinating range of rheological behaviour. This project will use state of the art fluorescence spectroscopy which is able to resolve the orientation of single molecules combined with novel rheo-optic methods to characterise flow induced ordering in these fluids. The flow induced orientation, spatial distribution and nano-particle/macromolecule interactions will be quantified. Theoretical deficiencies in describing complex fluid flow will be reconciled. The experimental insight gained will be exploited to produce novel molecularly ordered materials.
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