Viscous extensional flow and drop breakoff. Honey falling from a spoon is an everyday example of a viscous fluid in a free extensional flow which may eventually break up into drops. Such flows are important in modern technologies including ink-jet printing, welding, soldering and molten metal processing, polymer and glass fibre spinning, and for rheological measurement. We seek to increase understanding of the mechanisms governing such flows, particularly the role of initial conditions and the ....Viscous extensional flow and drop breakoff. Honey falling from a spoon is an everyday example of a viscous fluid in a free extensional flow which may eventually break up into drops. Such flows are important in modern technologies including ink-jet printing, welding, soldering and molten metal processing, polymer and glass fibre spinning, and for rheological measurement. We seek to increase understanding of the mechanisms governing such flows, particularly the role of initial conditions and the geometry of the original containing vessel, together with balances between forces such as inertia, gravity, viscosity, viscoelasticity, and surface tension, through a theoretical, computational and experimental study of the fluid mechanics.Read moreRead less
Multiphase flows in microchannels. This project will improve our understanding of how multiphase fluids (such as a gas and a liquid or two liquids) flow in very small passages. Such flows are at the heart of almost all chemical processing and miniaturisation of chemical processes depends on our ability to design for and control them. There is a worldwide interest in microplant for chemicals manufacture and the international partner investigators are leaders in this field. The particular benefit ....Multiphase flows in microchannels. This project will improve our understanding of how multiphase fluids (such as a gas and a liquid or two liquids) flow in very small passages. Such flows are at the heart of almost all chemical processing and miniaturisation of chemical processes depends on our ability to design for and control them. There is a worldwide interest in microplant for chemicals manufacture and the international partner investigators are leaders in this field. The particular benefit to Australia lies in the possibility that miniaturised, microsctructured chemical plant could become the basis for remote, distributed manufacture that could, for example, allow natural gas processing on ocean platforms directly located at the point of production. Read moreRead less
Stability, transition and heat transfer in thermally coupled natural convection boundary layers. Thermally coupled natural convection systems occur when a conducting vertical wall separates two fluids at different temperatures. Such configurations occur, for example, at a window separating the interior of a room from the outside or when a container of fluid is placed in a refrigerator. Improved building heating/cooling and ventilation, and more efficient refrigeration systems, require a thoroug ....Stability, transition and heat transfer in thermally coupled natural convection boundary layers. Thermally coupled natural convection systems occur when a conducting vertical wall separates two fluids at different temperatures. Such configurations occur, for example, at a window separating the interior of a room from the outside or when a container of fluid is placed in a refrigerator. Improved building heating/cooling and ventilation, and more efficient refrigeration systems, require a thorough understanding and predictive capability for these flows. This project will develop experimental, numerical and analytic tools to predict these flows and provide simple scaling relations for bulk flow parameters such as the heat transfer across the wall, which will be of immediate use in the associated industries.Read moreRead less
Enhancement of Heat Transfer by Stimulated Transition to Turbulence in Natural Convection Boundary Layers on Heated Walls. The aim of this project is to increase the heat transfer from heated vertical surfaces to an ambient fluid by stimulating an early transition to turbulence. Such passive heat transfer occurs in heat transfer devices, natural ventilation systems and in many environmental settings. Enhanced heat transfer will greatly improve the performance of these systems. The project will ....Enhancement of Heat Transfer by Stimulated Transition to Turbulence in Natural Convection Boundary Layers on Heated Walls. The aim of this project is to increase the heat transfer from heated vertical surfaces to an ambient fluid by stimulating an early transition to turbulence. Such passive heat transfer occurs in heat transfer devices, natural ventilation systems and in many environmental settings. Enhanced heat transfer will greatly improve the performance of these systems. The project will provide the length scales, frequency and amplification rate for the occurence of the secondary spanwise mode that is the primary mechanism for turbulent transition. This will provide guidance for the development of appropriate roughness elements and heating length and time scales.Read moreRead less
Fluid Transport in Materials of Nanoscale Dimensions. This project aims to transform the modelling of fluid transport in materials of nanoscale dimension by determining the coupled interfacial heat and mass-transfer barriers, which critically influence the transport. The outcome will not only be new knowledge on the effects of inherent structural distortion and of the barriers on the fluid flow, but also cutting-edge techniques to estimate system size-dependent transport coefficients in nanoscal ....Fluid Transport in Materials of Nanoscale Dimensions. This project aims to transform the modelling of fluid transport in materials of nanoscale dimension by determining the coupled interfacial heat and mass-transfer barriers, which critically influence the transport. The outcome will not only be new knowledge on the effects of inherent structural distortion and of the barriers on the fluid flow, but also cutting-edge techniques to estimate system size-dependent transport coefficients in nanoscale systems. These will be achieved through a combination of targeted molecular dynamics simulations and experiment, and will have far-reaching implications for nanotechnology and emerging processes in catalysis, gas separation, human health and nanofluidics, and enable design of more efficient systems.Read moreRead less
Lattice Boltzmann method based simulation of complex microchannels and mixing at micro-scales. The proposed study explores fundamental aspects of microfluidics using new tools, which will enhance the country's database of knowledge. It will lead to the development of a low-cost versatile software package, an important tool for solving microfluidics problems of interest to industries and academics, and will facilitate development and optimization of future microdevices. Further, it will improve A ....Lattice Boltzmann method based simulation of complex microchannels and mixing at micro-scales. The proposed study explores fundamental aspects of microfluidics using new tools, which will enhance the country's database of knowledge. It will lead to the development of a low-cost versatile software package, an important tool for solving microfluidics problems of interest to industries and academics, and will facilitate development and optimization of future microdevices. Further, it will improve Australia's competitiveness in the areas of LBM and MEMS both of which are new techniques with promising applications in their respective areas. The project falls under the National Research Priorities areas of Breakthrough Science and Frontier Technology. The potential applications of the technology encompass several key areas.Read moreRead less
Research into techniques for enhancing the heat transfer performance of finned-tube heat exchangers. This project explores several methods for enhancing the heat transfer performance of mechanically bonded finned tube heat exchangers. The methods would be analysed experimentally, and using finite elements, numerically. Any increase in heat transfer efficiency would contribute to the conservation of energy, and therefore, of natural resources. An improved design of heat exchangers would give a de ....Research into techniques for enhancing the heat transfer performance of finned-tube heat exchangers. This project explores several methods for enhancing the heat transfer performance of mechanically bonded finned tube heat exchangers. The methods would be analysed experimentally, and using finite elements, numerically. Any increase in heat transfer efficiency would contribute to the conservation of energy, and therefore, of natural resources. An improved design of heat exchangers would give a definite competitive edge to the Australian manufacturer. An equally significant outcome would be the training of a research person in industry-related research and skilled both in experimental and numerical procedures.Read moreRead less
Geometry of wall-turbulence and its potential to advance scalable models. This project aims to unravel the connections between the statistical geometry of wall-turbulence and the dynamical interactions of its instantaneous motions. Predicting the complex behaviour of turbulent fluid flow over surfaces in relative motion is central to atmospheric modelling for climate and agriculture, and reducing the environmental effect of fossil fuel usage. Wall-turbulence statistics organise according to a pr ....Geometry of wall-turbulence and its potential to advance scalable models. This project aims to unravel the connections between the statistical geometry of wall-turbulence and the dynamical interactions of its instantaneous motions. Predicting the complex behaviour of turbulent fluid flow over surfaces in relative motion is central to atmospheric modelling for climate and agriculture, and reducing the environmental effect of fossil fuel usage. Wall-turbulence statistics organise according to a predictable geometric structure, and the notorious complexity of turbulent wall-flow dynamics could be clarified through its inherent geometry. This project expects to construct a basis for predicting engineering and atmospheric wall-flows, which would enhance atmospheric flow prediction, reduce energy consumption and further environmental sustainability.Read moreRead less
Micro Process Plants - Non-Newtonian flow and particle synthesis in confined geometries. Understanding the flow behaviour of well characterised non-Newtonian fluids within microfluidic and nanofluidic devices is of vital importance to development of novel high-value added services, products and devices within Australia's burgeoning biotechnology, environmental technology, communications and information technology industries. The outcomes of this project will provide new 'systematic' design stand ....Micro Process Plants - Non-Newtonian flow and particle synthesis in confined geometries. Understanding the flow behaviour of well characterised non-Newtonian fluids within microfluidic and nanofluidic devices is of vital importance to development of novel high-value added services, products and devices within Australia's burgeoning biotechnology, environmental technology, communications and information technology industries. The outcomes of this project will provide new 'systematic' design standards for microdevice manufacture for these industries, ultimately leading to the creation of new, exciting avenues for tailoring novel biotechnology and 'point-of-care' products for Australia.Read moreRead less
Self-similar scale interactions in turbulent boundary layers. Predicting and controlling turbulent fluid flow next to a solid surface (the turbulent boundary layer) is of critical importance to ensuring a sustainable energy and environmental future. While recent research has yielded a clearer physical understanding of these flows, converting this understanding into tools useful to engineering practice remains a central obstacle. The proposed research directly addresses this fundamental challenge ....Self-similar scale interactions in turbulent boundary layers. Predicting and controlling turbulent fluid flow next to a solid surface (the turbulent boundary layer) is of critical importance to ensuring a sustainable energy and environmental future. While recent research has yielded a clearer physical understanding of these flows, converting this understanding into tools useful to engineering practice remains a central obstacle. The proposed research directly addresses this fundamental challenge by precisely connecting the eddy interactions of the turbulence to the mathematical equations that rigorously describe these flows. As such it holds breakthrough potential toward the development of turbulent boundary layer prediction and control schemes that do not rely on ad hoc models or assumptions.Read moreRead less