Origami structures and materials: energy absorption and impact mechanics. This project will devise novel structures and advanced metamaterials to mitigate injury and death from impact or blast loading, using traditional origami folding concepts of design. This technology will have applications to many industries and occupations including vehicle manufacture and the military, as well as personal and public safety. Experiments and advanced numerical simulations will be performed and then analytica ....Origami structures and materials: energy absorption and impact mechanics. This project will devise novel structures and advanced metamaterials to mitigate injury and death from impact or blast loading, using traditional origami folding concepts of design. This technology will have applications to many industries and occupations including vehicle manufacture and the military, as well as personal and public safety. Experiments and advanced numerical simulations will be performed and then analytical models of structural plasticity and impact dynamics will be established to capture the physics involved. The findings will provide an insight into the fundamental mechanics of structures and metamaterials, as well as guidelines for their optimum design.Read moreRead less
Prediction of mixed mode fracture failures of metal pipelines. This project aims to create a theory for failure mechanisms of metal pipes and solve their service life prediction, thereby preventing catastrophic failures of metal pipes. This project integrates corrosion science, fracture mechanics and time-dependent reliability theory into a methodology to accurately predict pipe failures. The project is expected to advance failure theory, fracture mechanics and reliability theory, and solve the ....Prediction of mixed mode fracture failures of metal pipelines. This project aims to create a theory for failure mechanisms of metal pipes and solve their service life prediction, thereby preventing catastrophic failures of metal pipes. This project integrates corrosion science, fracture mechanics and time-dependent reliability theory into a methodology to accurately predict pipe failures. The project is expected to advance failure theory, fracture mechanics and reliability theory, and solve the intelligent management of the vast asset of pipelines in the world. The outcomes should maximise economic, commercial, environmental and social benefits both nationally and internationally.Read moreRead less
Sandwich Structures with Folded Core under Impact and Blast Loading. This project aims to support the development of new materials resistant to impacts. Novel sandwich panels making use of Miura-ori folded cores have superior performance relative to monolithic solid plates, in terms of stiffness and strength. They have great potential to be used in commercial and military vehicles as well as protective structures, which can be subjected to impact and blast loading. This project aims to systemat ....Sandwich Structures with Folded Core under Impact and Blast Loading. This project aims to support the development of new materials resistant to impacts. Novel sandwich panels making use of Miura-ori folded cores have superior performance relative to monolithic solid plates, in terms of stiffness and strength. They have great potential to be used in commercial and military vehicles as well as protective structures, which can be subjected to impact and blast loading. This project aims to systematically investigate the impact and blast response of such sandwich panels by establishing theoretical models and conducting experiments and advanced simulations. The findings may provide an insight into the fundamental mechanics of sandwich panels with folded cores under impact and blast loading, as well as guidelines for optimum design of these novel structures.Read moreRead less
Functionally Graded Ultra High Perfomance Concete Structure under Flexure. This project aims to develop a novel multilayer functionally graded concrete structure that is a mixture of normal strength concrete and ultra high performance concrete with the mixing ratio varying in a layer-wise manner, offering a highly cost-effective structural design solution with significantly improved safety and durability over conventional concrete structures. The expected outcomes include the innovative design, ....Functionally Graded Ultra High Perfomance Concete Structure under Flexure. This project aims to develop a novel multilayer functionally graded concrete structure that is a mixture of normal strength concrete and ultra high performance concrete with the mixing ratio varying in a layer-wise manner, offering a highly cost-effective structural design solution with significantly improved safety and durability over conventional concrete structures. The expected outcomes include the innovative design, experimental data on the static and dynamic structural behaviour, development of reliable simulation techniques and optimal design procedures for the proposed structure with greatly reduced material costs. The project will have huge benefits to Australian civil engineering industry and national economy.
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A new energy absorption system for brain injury mitigation. This research aims to propose and investigate a next generation high-energy absorbing helmet pad that will protect the Australian Defence Force soldiers against both ballistic and blast threats. New fundamental knowledge in the area of high-energy absorbing metamaterials will be obtained by using numerical modelling and experimental studies. The expected outcomes of the project include the development of a new wearable energy absorbing ....A new energy absorption system for brain injury mitigation. This research aims to propose and investigate a next generation high-energy absorbing helmet pad that will protect the Australian Defence Force soldiers against both ballistic and blast threats. New fundamental knowledge in the area of high-energy absorbing metamaterials will be obtained by using numerical modelling and experimental studies. The expected outcomes of the project include the development of a new wearable energy absorbing pad which can be used as the next generation combat helmet liners and accessories. The novel high-performance energy absorption system will have a wide range of direct applications in future personal armour, as well as sports gears and elderly healthcare products.Read moreRead less
Buckling of Functionally Graded Multilayer Graphene Nanocomposites. This project aims to contribute to the development of novel lightweight structural members made of graphene nanocomposites with greatly enhanced resistance to abrupt or progressive buckling failure. Abrupt or progressive buckling failure under excessive compressive loads is a common and often catastrophic problem in engineering structures. The project intends to develop a functionally graded multilayer graphene nanocomposite str ....Buckling of Functionally Graded Multilayer Graphene Nanocomposites. This project aims to contribute to the development of novel lightweight structural members made of graphene nanocomposites with greatly enhanced resistance to abrupt or progressive buckling failure. Abrupt or progressive buckling failure under excessive compressive loads is a common and often catastrophic problem in engineering structures. The project intends to develop a functionally graded multilayer graphene nanocomposite structure and to conduct a combined theoretical, numerical and experimental investigation into its buckling and postbuckling behaviours, taking into account the effect of initial imperfection. The project aims to advance the knowledge base of the mechanical behaviour of lightweight nanocomposite structures with improved structural reliability.Read moreRead less
Modelling surface stresses in crystalline plates. This project intends to improve our understanding of the influence of surface stress on bending in anisotropic crystalline plates. Micro/nanoelectro-mechanical systems as transducers, switches, logic gates, actuators and sensors are widely used in fields of biotechnology, medicine, automotive, civionics, avionics and defence. A key issue that affects the accuracy and reliability of these systems is how to correctly predict the size-dependent surf ....Modelling surface stresses in crystalline plates. This project intends to improve our understanding of the influence of surface stress on bending in anisotropic crystalline plates. Micro/nanoelectro-mechanical systems as transducers, switches, logic gates, actuators and sensors are widely used in fields of biotechnology, medicine, automotive, civionics, avionics and defence. A key issue that affects the accuracy and reliability of these systems is how to correctly predict the size-dependent surface stress of the structural components in the systems. The project aims to quantify the relations between the change in surface stress and the bending of structures with micro/nanoscale thickness and arbitrary crystallographic symmetry. Expected project outcomes may lead to significant advancement in overcoming the current shortcomings in designing micro/nanoelectro-mechanical devices.Read moreRead less
Achieving structural morphing via functionalising nonlinear buckling. This project aims to develop a general framework to analyse and design functional components of buildings and structures, where they change shapes (morphing) by buckling. Australian buildings consume 20% of the nation’s total energy production on heating and cooling, and projected population increases are likely to increase energy demands. The shape changes are optimised, e.g. to reduce energy consumption by minimising solar r ....Achieving structural morphing via functionalising nonlinear buckling. This project aims to develop a general framework to analyse and design functional components of buildings and structures, where they change shapes (morphing) by buckling. Australian buildings consume 20% of the nation’s total energy production on heating and cooling, and projected population increases are likely to increase energy demands. The shape changes are optimised, e.g. to reduce energy consumption by minimising solar radiation loads or maximising natural air ventilation. The project expects to develop building technology solutions to reduce Australia's energy consumption, and provide domestic and global market opportunities in the high-tech manufacturing sector.Read moreRead less