Damage-Free Surfacing of Large Brittle Wafers with On-Machine Flatness Control. The knowledge gained from this research project will be of great value to the development of new generations of high-integrity semiconductor systems for high-speed telecommunication, large-scale computation, transport, biomedicine, agriculture, mining and security. The outcomes will have significant impact on the ultra-precision discipline scientifically and will sharpen the competitive edge of the Australian fabrica ....Damage-Free Surfacing of Large Brittle Wafers with On-Machine Flatness Control. The knowledge gained from this research project will be of great value to the development of new generations of high-integrity semiconductor systems for high-speed telecommunication, large-scale computation, transport, biomedicine, agriculture, mining and security. The outcomes will have significant impact on the ultra-precision discipline scientifically and will sharpen the competitive edge of the Australian fabrication industry. The research will open up remarkable opportunities for young researchers to work in one of the most frontier fields in the 21st century.Read moreRead less
Ductile grinding mechanism and technology of brittle single crystals. This project aims to develop a fundamental understanding of the removal mechanics of emerging brittle single crystals under grinding-induced loading. A successful outcome will not only develop a new theoretical model for predicting the ductile removal regime of this class of difficult-to-machine materials, but their cost-effective ductile grinding processes will also be generated. It will address a longstanding bottleneck prod ....Ductile grinding mechanism and technology of brittle single crystals. This project aims to develop a fundamental understanding of the removal mechanics of emerging brittle single crystals under grinding-induced loading. A successful outcome will not only develop a new theoretical model for predicting the ductile removal regime of this class of difficult-to-machine materials, but their cost-effective ductile grinding processes will also be generated. It will address a longstanding bottleneck productivity issue in advanced manufacturing. The breakthrough technology developed in the project is expected to significantly benefit a number of industrial sectors for the fabrication of more affordable high-performance devices including mobile phones, light-emitting diodes, solar cells, sensors, and laser systems.Read moreRead less
A new lapping process for difficult-to-machine brittle materials. This project aims to address a timely bottleneck issue in the conventional lapping of difficult-to-machine optoelectronic brittle materials. An innovative chemically enhanced lapping technology for fabricating such materials is expected to reduce machined subsurface damage. This is significant because it would shorten the subsequent finishing process and minimise the manufacturing cost. Intended outcomes from this project also inc ....A new lapping process for difficult-to-machine brittle materials. This project aims to address a timely bottleneck issue in the conventional lapping of difficult-to-machine optoelectronic brittle materials. An innovative chemically enhanced lapping technology for fabricating such materials is expected to reduce machined subsurface damage. This is significant because it would shorten the subsequent finishing process and minimise the manufacturing cost. Intended outcomes from this project also include an advanced machining theory and innovations in material removal characterisation. This breakthrough technology should benefit the design and fabrication of high performance electronic devices for energy, medicine and communication sectors with considerable impact on the Australian economy.Read moreRead less
Developing machining technologies for single crystal gallium oxide. Gallium oxide is a new semiconductor material that can be used to make diodes and transistors with lower loss than silicon (Si), and power electronic devices with lower cost and better performance than silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN). This project aims to understand the nature of deformation and removal of this unique class of materials during machining. A successful outcome will not only develop an enabling mach ....Developing machining technologies for single crystal gallium oxide. Gallium oxide is a new semiconductor material that can be used to make diodes and transistors with lower loss than silicon (Si), and power electronic devices with lower cost and better performance than silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN). This project aims to understand the nature of deformation and removal of this unique class of materials during machining. A successful outcome will not only develop an enabling machining technology for this next generation power semiconductor, but new understanding of machining and materials science will be generated.Read moreRead less
Modelling the cutting process and cutting performance in contour and multipass abrasive waterjet machining. This project will develop important new cutting techniques to increase the cutting capability and application domain of the abrasive waterjet (AWJ) cutting technology. It will gain a fundamental understanding of the cutting phenomenon and develop new mathematical models for predicting the cutting performance in AWJ contouring and multipass cutting. This project will further develop into a ....Modelling the cutting process and cutting performance in contour and multipass abrasive waterjet machining. This project will develop important new cutting techniques to increase the cutting capability and application domain of the abrasive waterjet (AWJ) cutting technology. It will gain a fundamental understanding of the cutting phenomenon and develop new mathematical models for predicting the cutting performance in AWJ contouring and multipass cutting. This project will further develop into a new branch of manufacturing science by uncovering the cutting mechanisms in AWJ machining with and without nozzle oscillation, and have significant impact to the manufacturing industry by providing machining information and cutting performance models to increase the technological and economic performance of AWJ machining.Read moreRead less
A novel multiscale model to investigate mechanical properties of cartilage. This project aims to develop a new multiscale model to investigate anisotropic and inhomogeneous mechanical properties of cartilage. It has been found that the mechanical properties of cartilage highly depend on its microstructures and components. The new model is proposed based on a new constitutive relation in the macroscale and a novel algorithm to obtain local stress distributions in the microscale as well as through ....A novel multiscale model to investigate mechanical properties of cartilage. This project aims to develop a new multiscale model to investigate anisotropic and inhomogeneous mechanical properties of cartilage. It has been found that the mechanical properties of cartilage highly depend on its microstructures and components. The new model is proposed based on a new constitutive relation in the macroscale and a novel algorithm to obtain local stress distributions in the microscale as well as through rigorous experimental validations. This model will be a powerful tool to understand cartilage mechanical properties. It will accelerate the design of mechanically viable artificial cartilage biomaterial, which will provide significant economic benefits and place Australia in the forefront of modelling and biomaterials.Read moreRead less
A Multiscale Modelling Framework for Mechanical Properties of ECM. This project aims to develop a novel hierarchical multi-scale modelling framework to understand factors that influence the mechanical deformation behaviour of the extracellular matrix (ECM) such as cartilage, whose mechanical performance is critical to human wellbeing. Modelling ECM presents significant challenges due to the need to incorporate effects at scales from atomic interactions up to the fibre network in a continuum mode ....A Multiscale Modelling Framework for Mechanical Properties of ECM. This project aims to develop a novel hierarchical multi-scale modelling framework to understand factors that influence the mechanical deformation behaviour of the extracellular matrix (ECM) such as cartilage, whose mechanical performance is critical to human wellbeing. Modelling ECM presents significant challenges due to the need to incorporate effects at scales from atomic interactions up to the fibre network in a continuum model. The proposed framework follows ECM's natural hierarchical structure and integrates efficient models for each key structural scale based on rigorous experimental validations. It is expected to provide a powerful tool for designing successful artificial ECM materials and understanding the mechanisms of the ECM degradation.Read moreRead less
Improvement of Additive Manufacturing Processability of Alloys and Ceramics. As the current materials that can be additively processed are still very limited, this project aims to increase the additive manufacturing processability of commercial engineering materials through developing effective and practical grain refinement technology so that more engineering parts can be additively fabricated. The project expects to widen the applications of this advanced manufacturing technology in industry p ....Improvement of Additive Manufacturing Processability of Alloys and Ceramics. As the current materials that can be additively processed are still very limited, this project aims to increase the additive manufacturing processability of commercial engineering materials through developing effective and practical grain refinement technology so that more engineering parts can be additively fabricated. The project expects to widen the applications of this advanced manufacturing technology in industry productions. Expected outcomes include commercialisation ready grain refinement technologies and breakthrough fundamental understanding of the physical metallurgy of melt pools. This should enhance Australia’s capability to establish world-leading additive manufacturing activities serving to various other industry sectors. Read moreRead less
Design of tuneable microstructures for additive manufacturing. The project intends to develop methods to tune the microstructure of materials in additive manufacturing so that components can be manufactured with maximum productivity and properties. Additive manufacturing is leading the mass customisation of manufacturing. Designed tunable microstructures enable structure and properties to be tailored for specific applications. One of the greatest challenges, however, is how to control the scale ....Design of tuneable microstructures for additive manufacturing. The project intends to develop methods to tune the microstructure of materials in additive manufacturing so that components can be manufactured with maximum productivity and properties. Additive manufacturing is leading the mass customisation of manufacturing. Designed tunable microstructures enable structure and properties to be tailored for specific applications. One of the greatest challenges, however, is how to control the scale and morphology of the microstructure. This project aims to use the interdependence model of grain refinement to control and design grain sizes. The project first plans to investigate the near-rapid solidification conditions in aluminium alloys. It then plans to re-design the harder-to-manufacture titanium alloys to improve grain size control.Read moreRead less
Antibacterial impact assessment of nanopillar surfaces on titanium implants. This project aims to further understand the bactericidal properties of nano-pillared/textured surfaces, onto orthopaedic implants. It will do so by mimicking the nano-pillar structures derived from cicada wings by using Helium ion microscopy (HIM) and also Hydro Thermal techniques. The project also aims to study the physical mechanisms of the fracture of bacteria using numerical modelling. This project will result in ne ....Antibacterial impact assessment of nanopillar surfaces on titanium implants. This project aims to further understand the bactericidal properties of nano-pillared/textured surfaces, onto orthopaedic implants. It will do so by mimicking the nano-pillar structures derived from cicada wings by using Helium ion microscopy (HIM) and also Hydro Thermal techniques. The project also aims to study the physical mechanisms of the fracture of bacteria using numerical modelling. This project will result in new generation implants with minimal bacterial infection that could result in cost savings to the Australian healthcare, improved quality of life in aged population, and may lead to the establishment of new implant industry sector in Australia.Read moreRead less