Robotic microsurgery: intra-operative measurement, modelling and micromanipulation control. This research will significantly improve microsurgery and minimally invasive surgery techniques, and further produce important benefits to medicine and healthcare. The project will also open new domains in the capabilities of modelling and control of complex systems with significant impact and benefits to numerous science and engineering practices.
Development of nanoporous materials for capture and release of oxygen. This project aims to develop new materials to make lighter, more efficient oxygen concentrators. The project will combine materials that can capture oxygen with particles that can be magnetically heated, making it possible to release the oxygen rapidly and efficiently when needed. Expected outcomes from this project include new composite materials and better understanding of how gases are trapped and released within composite ....Development of nanoporous materials for capture and release of oxygen. This project aims to develop new materials to make lighter, more efficient oxygen concentrators. The project will combine materials that can capture oxygen with particles that can be magnetically heated, making it possible to release the oxygen rapidly and efficiently when needed. Expected outcomes from this project include new composite materials and better understanding of how gases are trapped and released within composite materials. Benefits from this project may include oxygen concentrators that are more portable and have longer battery life, both with industrial and medical applications.Read moreRead less
Composites for thermal expansion matched oxygen electrodes. This project aims to develop high performance composite oxygen electrodes by using both negative thermal expansion materials and electrolyte materials to tailor the thermal expansion and activities of the perovskite-based electrodes for use in reduced temperature solid oxide cells. Such composite electrodes will show highly matched thermal expansion with electrolyte without sacrificing high activity at reduced temperatures. This project ....Composites for thermal expansion matched oxygen electrodes. This project aims to develop high performance composite oxygen electrodes by using both negative thermal expansion materials and electrolyte materials to tailor the thermal expansion and activities of the perovskite-based electrodes for use in reduced temperature solid oxide cells. Such composite electrodes will show highly matched thermal expansion with electrolyte without sacrificing high activity at reduced temperatures. This project seeks to address an important practical issue in the operation of solid oxide power cells - thermal expansion compatibility, which causes poor efficiency outside a narrow temperature band.Read moreRead less
Fires of halogenated industrial chemicals and their impact on the Australian environment. Recent large fires of industrial chemicals in Australia led to significant environmental pollution. In this project, we will develop sophisticated techniques to assess pollutants formed in fires of commonly used industrial chemicals. The results will find immediate applications in training fire brigades in their response to chemical fires.
Nano/micro grinding mechanisms and technologies for brittle materials. The successful completion of the project will solve a long standing problem, that is, the ductile removal mechanism in the machining of brittle materials and create a strong knowledge base for the development of technology and characterization techniques for nano/micro mechanical machining of such materials. This will strengthen UWA's research capability and international competitiveness in the field of nano/micro manufacturi ....Nano/micro grinding mechanisms and technologies for brittle materials. The successful completion of the project will solve a long standing problem, that is, the ductile removal mechanism in the machining of brittle materials and create a strong knowledge base for the development of technology and characterization techniques for nano/micro mechanical machining of such materials. This will strengthen UWA's research capability and international competitiveness in the field of nano/micro manufacturing. The pragmatic grinding technology developed for fabricating micro aspherical mould inserts and lenses will directly benefit the optics/photonics, microelectronics and biomedical industries in Australia. This will help to position Australia in the forefront of emerging industries in the new millenniumRead moreRead less
Selective laser melting of bulk metallic glasses. The application of metallic glasses is limited due to their difficulty in producing normal sized, complex components. This project will use the unique benefits of an advance manufacturing technology called Selective Laser Melting and the theories of polymer processing, to overcome the inherent difficulties in manufacturing these materials.
Three-dimensional solar-energy-driven hydrogen generation from ammonia. This project aims to address the challenges of hydrogen generation, transportation and storage by conceptualising a novel three-dimensional, solar-driven system for ammonia splitting on ultralight catalyst materials. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of advanced materials enabled hydrogen technologies through interdisciplinary approaches involving materials science, novel catalysis, and nanotechnology ....Three-dimensional solar-energy-driven hydrogen generation from ammonia. This project aims to address the challenges of hydrogen generation, transportation and storage by conceptualising a novel three-dimensional, solar-driven system for ammonia splitting on ultralight catalyst materials. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of advanced materials enabled hydrogen technologies through interdisciplinary approaches involving materials science, novel catalysis, and nanotechnology. Expected outcomes include new catalyst materials, design strategies, and advanced ammonia splitting technologies. This should provide significant benefits, such as newly created knowledge, technological innovation, research training, contributing to hydrogen economy and net zero for a greener environment.Read moreRead less
Carbon-Supported Iron Catalysts for Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO. Nitric oxide (NO) is a major pollutant from combustion systems. This project aims to develop cost-effective and environmentally benign zerovalent iron catalysts supported on carbon material for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO using CO and unburned hydrocarbons as in-situ reductants. By applying differential reactor experimentation, kinetic modelling and advanced material characterisation techniques, the research w ....Carbon-Supported Iron Catalysts for Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO. Nitric oxide (NO) is a major pollutant from combustion systems. This project aims to develop cost-effective and environmentally benign zerovalent iron catalysts supported on carbon material for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO using CO and unburned hydrocarbons as in-situ reductants. By applying differential reactor experimentation, kinetic modelling and advanced material characterisation techniques, the research will unravel complex relationships among catalyst structural features and activity, NO reduction mechanisms, and catalyst performance under practically relevant combustion conditions that underpin the development of an effective yet affordable SCR technology to control NO emission from industrial utilities and automobiles.Read moreRead less
Numerical prediction of train and vehicle induced ground vibrations and their effects on structures. This project will develop an innovative new method based on coupled finite element and scaled boundary finite-element analysis for predicting the ground vibrations induced by road traffic and underground or surface trains. The method will have immediate application in transportation engineering to predict traffic-induced ground vibrations, in geotechnical engineering to design isolation trenches ....Numerical prediction of train and vehicle induced ground vibrations and their effects on structures. This project will develop an innovative new method based on coupled finite element and scaled boundary finite-element analysis for predicting the ground vibrations induced by road traffic and underground or surface trains. The method will have immediate application in transportation engineering to predict traffic-induced ground vibrations, in geotechnical engineering to design isolation trenches and wave barriers to dissipate wave propagation, and in structural engineering to estimate in-structure vibration level and design isolators for sensitive equipment housed within. The technique will involve fundamental advances in the scaled boundary finite-element method, as calculations will be performed in a moving reference frame.Read moreRead less
Future Proofing Transportation Infrastructure Assets. This project seeks to develop a model to predict construction project overruns. Transportation infrastructure assets are prone to cost and schedule overruns during their construction, which have negative impacts on asset owners and users. This project aims to develop a systemic model that can be used to determine the causal nature of cost and schedule overruns and their probability of occurrence. By enabling the predication of overruns, the p ....Future Proofing Transportation Infrastructure Assets. This project seeks to develop a model to predict construction project overruns. Transportation infrastructure assets are prone to cost and schedule overruns during their construction, which have negative impacts on asset owners and users. This project aims to develop a systemic model that can be used to determine the causal nature of cost and schedule overruns and their probability of occurrence. By enabling the predication of overruns, the project aims to ensure that the public and private sector are able to put in place mitigation strategies to reduce the impact of the economic and productivity issues that arise due to overruns.Read moreRead less