Nano-engineered catalysts for sustainable fuel production from waste . This project aims to address two major problems simultaneously-reducing the burden of non-recyclable waste currently going to landfill in Australia, and offsetting Australia’s reliance on imported diesel to support industry and transport needs. While approximately 95% of diesel consumed in Australia is imported, vast quantities of carbon-based waste ends up in landfill. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a mixture of plant-based ....Nano-engineered catalysts for sustainable fuel production from waste . This project aims to address two major problems simultaneously-reducing the burden of non-recyclable waste currently going to landfill in Australia, and offsetting Australia’s reliance on imported diesel to support industry and transport needs. While approximately 95% of diesel consumed in Australia is imported, vast quantities of carbon-based waste ends up in landfill. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a mixture of plant-based waste (including food, garden, paper, and wood) and fossil-fuel derived materials (plastics). Using an innovative and environmentally-sustainable catalytic process, the outcomes of this project are aimed alleviating Australia’s dependence on diesel fuel imports and better waste management solutions in Australia.Read moreRead less
A high speed, high fidelity 3D printer for fabricating microfluidic devices. This project aims to develop a novel 3D printer offering the highest resolution available and fastest printing speed for the single-step manufacturing of complex microfluidic devices. New resins developed to exploit the inert liquid interface layer printing approach will provide unprecedented capability to create micron sized channels interconnected in 3D space and fabricate Lab-on-a-Chip systems that cannot be generate ....A high speed, high fidelity 3D printer for fabricating microfluidic devices. This project aims to develop a novel 3D printer offering the highest resolution available and fastest printing speed for the single-step manufacturing of complex microfluidic devices. New resins developed to exploit the inert liquid interface layer printing approach will provide unprecedented capability to create micron sized channels interconnected in 3D space and fabricate Lab-on-a-Chip systems that cannot be generated by any current fabrication approach. This novel high speed, high fidelity 3D printer and the new resins to be developed are expected to lead to more effective manufacturing approaches for portable chemical devices and to promote complex chemical analysis into the knowledge immediacy culture of today.Read moreRead less
Controlling and Predicting the Pilling Propensity of Fabrics. Pilling adversely affects the appearance of fabrics and garments. It is one of the most serious quality problems for the textile industry, particularly the wool industry. This project will examine and control the key factors that contribute to fabric pilling in the fibre-to-fabric conversion processes. It also aims to predict fabric pilling performance from these factors. This will help the industry, along the fibre to fabric chain, t ....Controlling and Predicting the Pilling Propensity of Fabrics. Pilling adversely affects the appearance of fabrics and garments. It is one of the most serious quality problems for the textile industry, particularly the wool industry. This project will examine and control the key factors that contribute to fabric pilling in the fibre-to-fabric conversion processes. It also aims to predict fabric pilling performance from these factors. This will help the industry, along the fibre to fabric chain, to understand the mechanism of pilling and to work together to manage and control this long-standing problem for the benefit of the textile industry as well as textile consumers.Read moreRead less
Wearable thermoelectric textiles for portable microelectronics. Wearable thermoelectrics enable the power generation from the temperature difference between human body and ambient temperature by using thermoelectric effect. This project aims to design eco-friendly wearable thermoelectric textiles to realize high-efficiency solid-state power generation and meet individual needs with human comfort and health. The target is to achieve a power density in the as-designed thermoelectric textiles by th ....Wearable thermoelectric textiles for portable microelectronics. Wearable thermoelectrics enable the power generation from the temperature difference between human body and ambient temperature by using thermoelectric effect. This project aims to design eco-friendly wearable thermoelectric textiles to realize high-efficiency solid-state power generation and meet individual needs with human comfort and health. The target is to achieve a power density in the as-designed thermoelectric textiles by the optimization of materials and device design. The outcome will open up a new platform for the green and sustainable charge for portable microelectronics, which will lead to an innovative technology for energy management, which will place Australia at the forefront of wearable electronics and textile industry.Read moreRead less
Hybrid additive manufacturing of critical metallic components. This project aims to combine world-class expertise and facilities to deliver on-demand and advanced alloy components produced by revolutionary hybrid additive manufacturing technology, along with applicable processing parameters and post-process schemes for fabricating high-performance metal products for space and aerospace applications. The intended outcomes of this project include the delivery of a knowledge platform for fabricatin ....Hybrid additive manufacturing of critical metallic components. This project aims to combine world-class expertise and facilities to deliver on-demand and advanced alloy components produced by revolutionary hybrid additive manufacturing technology, along with applicable processing parameters and post-process schemes for fabricating high-performance metal products for space and aerospace applications. The intended outcomes of this project include the delivery of a knowledge platform for fabricating alloy parts that have unprecedented high-temperature mechanical properties and environmental performance and providing significant benefits for the industry partner to establish its international portfolio of high-profit products.Read moreRead less
Development of High Performance Mechanical Sorting of Plastics for Recycling. This research program aims to develop and test a range of high performance, mechanical in-process plastics sorting technologies in conjunction with Australia's lead recycling company. Currently, recycling techniques result in an insufficient purity and quality level, thus limiting the extent of recycling and opportunity for end product applications. Increasing the purity of recycled plastics and economics of recyclin ....Development of High Performance Mechanical Sorting of Plastics for Recycling. This research program aims to develop and test a range of high performance, mechanical in-process plastics sorting technologies in conjunction with Australia's lead recycling company. Currently, recycling techniques result in an insufficient purity and quality level, thus limiting the extent of recycling and opportunity for end product applications. Increasing the purity of recycled plastics and economics of recycling, without compromising throughput levels, will result in an increase in recycling rates and the range of applications of recycled plastics.Read moreRead less
Reinforced crumbed rubber concrete for residential construction. Reinforced crumbed rubber concrete for residential construction. This project aims to use crumb rubber from used tyres to replace natural sand aggregate in concrete used in housing construction. Globally, very few of the millions of tyres discarded annually are recycled, while natural sand used in concrete is being depleted. This project intends to provide the tyre industry with a viable market for end of life tyres, and the premix ....Reinforced crumbed rubber concrete for residential construction. Reinforced crumbed rubber concrete for residential construction. This project aims to use crumb rubber from used tyres to replace natural sand aggregate in concrete used in housing construction. Globally, very few of the millions of tyres discarded annually are recycled, while natural sand used in concrete is being depleted. This project intends to provide the tyre industry with a viable market for end of life tyres, and the premix concrete industry with a “green” product for the residential construction market. Expected benefits include the increased use of a waste resource (used tyres), reduced use of a scarce natural resource (sand), and the development of an economic but green alternative concrete option for residential builders and owners.Read moreRead less
A Framework for Software Component Conformance Testing. This research aims to establish a framework - a method, set of tools and business process - within which Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software components can be tested for conformance to client user requirements. There currently exists no general method for validating COTS components without access to source code. We will ?wrap? components in human readable and executable requirements specifications that will be the basis for: client/s ....A Framework for Software Component Conformance Testing. This research aims to establish a framework - a method, set of tools and business process - within which Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software components can be tested for conformance to client user requirements. There currently exists no general method for validating COTS components without access to source code. We will ?wrap? components in human readable and executable requirements specifications that will be the basis for: client/supplier negotiation about component functionality; generating conformance test cases; documentation for integration testing; advertising component capabilities. Outcome: a universally applicable component conformance framework directly beneficial to SMEs, and supporting the development of a robust component marketplace.Read moreRead less
Identifying the risks and assessing the impacts of marine debris on sea turtles in Australian waters. Marine debris is a significant global issue, with the amount of waste released into our oceans growing exponentially each year. Preliminary work in Australia has shown that entanglement and ingestion of debris is a serious threat to endangered sea turtles. The project aims to determine the impact debris is having and provide ways to reduce this impact.
Laser Assisted Machining of Hard-to-wear Materials for Slurry Pump and Mineral Processing Equipment. The project aims to develop techniques for commercially applicable machining of very hard-to-wear materials using high power laser beams. Traditional techniques of machining such components using cubic boron nitride (CBN) based cutting tools are highly time consuming and expensive both in terms of labour costs and inserts costs. The laser assisted machining of these materials is expected to redu ....Laser Assisted Machining of Hard-to-wear Materials for Slurry Pump and Mineral Processing Equipment. The project aims to develop techniques for commercially applicable machining of very hard-to-wear materials using high power laser beams. Traditional techniques of machining such components using cubic boron nitride (CBN) based cutting tools are highly time consuming and expensive both in terms of labour costs and inserts costs. The laser assisted machining of these materials is expected to reduce the cost and lead time of manufacturing, provide improved tool wear life, and improved on time delivery of products. The technology will have application to the manufacture and use of slurry pumps associated with the mineral processing and mining industries.Read moreRead less