Development of mock circulatory system for complex haemodynamic modelling. This project aims to develop a unique mock experimental system to study blood flow dynamics in anatomically realistic coronary artery phantoms. The field of cardiology involves complex fluid dynamic problems, which require the expertise of the fluid dynamics engineer to understand the hemodynamics. Significant innovation in manufacturing and experimental measurement methodologies will be required to develop accurate model ....Development of mock circulatory system for complex haemodynamic modelling. This project aims to develop a unique mock experimental system to study blood flow dynamics in anatomically realistic coronary artery phantoms. The field of cardiology involves complex fluid dynamic problems, which require the expertise of the fluid dynamics engineer to understand the hemodynamics. Significant innovation in manufacturing and experimental measurement methodologies will be required to develop accurate models, which will be designed to allow the partner organisation to undertake further hemodynamic research.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100085
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$300,000.00
Summary
Micro/Nanofluidic Characterisation Facility. Micro/nanofluidic characterisation facility: Microfluidics promises to enable diagnosis of medical diseases using devices which perform laboratory experiments but on a scale which means the entire system can be hand-held. Whilst the fabrication of miniaturised fluidic channels is well established, the challenge is to bring additional functions onto the chip reducing the reliance on external pumps and electronics. This facility will allow the character ....Micro/Nanofluidic Characterisation Facility. Micro/nanofluidic characterisation facility: Microfluidics promises to enable diagnosis of medical diseases using devices which perform laboratory experiments but on a scale which means the entire system can be hand-held. Whilst the fabrication of miniaturised fluidic channels is well established, the challenge is to bring additional functions onto the chip reducing the reliance on external pumps and electronics. This facility will allow the characterisation of technologies which address on-chip sample preparation using pulsed ultrasonic waves, filtration and pumping using nanofluidic structures, and detection using on-chip circuitry. As such the facility will have the capability to directly address the challenges which must be met to allow diagnosis in rural underprivileged areas. Read moreRead less
Harnessing sperm dynamics in microfluidic sorting technologies. Mammalian reproductive tract is a complex microenvironment that has evolved to select the best sperm for fertilisation using a range of rheological, biochemical and geometrical cues. The project aims to engineer the first multiplexed platform, informed by the natural process, for fully automated and rapid selection of sperm based on all key selection criteria: morphology, swimming behaviour, and DNA integrity. The expected outcome i ....Harnessing sperm dynamics in microfluidic sorting technologies. Mammalian reproductive tract is a complex microenvironment that has evolved to select the best sperm for fertilisation using a range of rheological, biochemical and geometrical cues. The project aims to engineer the first multiplexed platform, informed by the natural process, for fully automated and rapid selection of sperm based on all key selection criteria: morphology, swimming behaviour, and DNA integrity. The expected outcome is the next generation technology for sperm sorting and analysis. This should provide significant benefits, such as new biophysical insights into mammalian reproduction, with potential for future improvement of assisted reproduction technologies – a field in which Australia has a world leading history.Read moreRead less
Acoustic single cell traps: Understanding the woods by examining the trees. This project aims to define the underlying physics behind the manipulation of individual cells in a microfluidic chip using acoustic forces. The technology investigated would offer biomedical researchers a unique capability: that of tracking individual cell responses. It is known for example that drug resistance and latency emerge from small sub-populations of cells, so crucial information is lost when cells are studied ....Acoustic single cell traps: Understanding the woods by examining the trees. This project aims to define the underlying physics behind the manipulation of individual cells in a microfluidic chip using acoustic forces. The technology investigated would offer biomedical researchers a unique capability: that of tracking individual cell responses. It is known for example that drug resistance and latency emerge from small sub-populations of cells, so crucial information is lost when cells are studied at a population level. To trap single cells, the acoustic wavelength excited must be reduced to the order of a cell diameter. By enabling the analysis of different responses due to subtle cell difference, information pertinent to infection pathways and drug response could be gathered.Read moreRead less
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
New generation microfluidic devices using light responsive hydrogels. This project aims to develop a new way of fabricating microfluidic devices using light-degradable hydrogels as its core element. This approach would allow researchers to rapidly construct and modify microfluidic devices within their own laboratories, without the need for specialised clean rooms or expensive equipment. The versatility of the microfluidic device is designed to be demonstrated by the manufacture of mature T cells ....New generation microfluidic devices using light responsive hydrogels. This project aims to develop a new way of fabricating microfluidic devices using light-degradable hydrogels as its core element. This approach would allow researchers to rapidly construct and modify microfluidic devices within their own laboratories, without the need for specialised clean rooms or expensive equipment. The versatility of the microfluidic device is designed to be demonstrated by the manufacture of mature T cells, which continues to be a major challenge in stem cell science and which could have fundamental biological and commercial significance.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