A 60% efficient solar microconcentrator for electricity and hot water. The aim of this project is to develop a microconcentrator for deployment on house roofs that will produce both solar hot water and solar electricity with a combined efficiency above 60%. The system will have a low profile and will be nearly invisible from the street. The system will track the sun. Concentration will be accomplished by a mixture of refraction and reflection. About 20% of the sunlight will be converted to elect ....A 60% efficient solar microconcentrator for electricity and hot water. The aim of this project is to develop a microconcentrator for deployment on house roofs that will produce both solar hot water and solar electricity with a combined efficiency above 60%. The system will have a low profile and will be nearly invisible from the street. The system will track the sun. Concentration will be accomplished by a mixture of refraction and reflection. About 20% of the sunlight will be converted to electricity using lines of tiny solar cells, with the balance being converted to heat which is removed by cooling fluid and stored in hot water tanks.Read moreRead less
Biological pattern generator for control and optimization of locomotion systems. This proposal exploits the interdisciplinary nature of systems and control area and incorporates biology science. It is expected to generate a synergy between biology science and control engineering and to advance scientific understanding in both fields. The proposed research will have impact on new innovations in a variety of fields. This will bring economic benefits for Australia. It will help to develop engineers ....Biological pattern generator for control and optimization of locomotion systems. This proposal exploits the interdisciplinary nature of systems and control area and incorporates biology science. It is expected to generate a synergy between biology science and control engineering and to advance scientific understanding in both fields. The proposed research will have impact on new innovations in a variety of fields. This will bring economic benefits for Australia. It will help to develop engineers for industry who have team-oriented problem-solving skills in a multidisciplinary working environment. It will also stimulate students' intellectual curiosity into engineering and science through a series of innovative interdisciplinary research/educational activities.Read moreRead less
Virtual acoustic sensors for active noise control systems. Traditional active noise control systems achieve the greatest noise reduction at the microphone error sensor(s). It is often desirable to achieve the maximum noise reduction remote from such sensors. Virtual sensing technology, the focus of this application, has the promise to replace traditional microphone sensing by projecting the zone of quiet away from the sensor microphones and directly into the ear of the user of the active noise c ....Virtual acoustic sensors for active noise control systems. Traditional active noise control systems achieve the greatest noise reduction at the microphone error sensor(s). It is often desirable to achieve the maximum noise reduction remote from such sensors. Virtual sensing technology, the focus of this application, has the promise to replace traditional microphone sensing by projecting the zone of quiet away from the sensor microphones and directly into the ear of the user of the active noise control system. This will revolutionise the sensing used in active noise control systems, and in doing so allow the realisation of active noise control in applications that have previously been infeasible.Read moreRead less
Properties and Characterisation of Magneto-Rheological Materials under Rotating Magnetic Field Excitation. Through the proposed theoretical and experimental studies, new electro-magneto-mechanical phenomena of the MR materials under various vectorial magnetisations will be observed. Based on the in-depth understanding of the complex vectorial magneto-rheological mechanisms, an accurate coupled model will be developed for design and analysis of novel dampers. These outcomes will greatly enhance t ....Properties and Characterisation of Magneto-Rheological Materials under Rotating Magnetic Field Excitation. Through the proposed theoretical and experimental studies, new electro-magneto-mechanical phenomena of the MR materials under various vectorial magnetisations will be observed. Based on the in-depth understanding of the complex vectorial magneto-rheological mechanisms, an accurate coupled model will be developed for design and analysis of novel dampers. These outcomes will greatly enhance the design capacity of Australian industry in smart structures, i.e. using novel dampers to reduce harmful vibrations and protect people in vehicles, buildings, and bridges. This will help Australians to live in a safer and healthier environment, and could save billions of dollars per year nationwide for treatment, recovery, and insurance claims.Read moreRead less
Self-Powered Wireless Sensor Networks, Enabling an Intelligent Agricultural Environment. Most animal production enterprises could be considerably more productive if the physiological status of each animal were to be continuously monitored, and the appropriate adjustments were made in real time. The proposed project will develop technologies that will enable continuous, real-time monitoring resulting in more efficient use of Australia's resources. Furthermore, research on wireless sensor network ....Self-Powered Wireless Sensor Networks, Enabling an Intelligent Agricultural Environment. Most animal production enterprises could be considerably more productive if the physiological status of each animal were to be continuously monitored, and the appropriate adjustments were made in real time. The proposed project will develop technologies that will enable continuous, real-time monitoring resulting in more efficient use of Australia's resources. Furthermore, research on wireless sensor networks, or ambient intelligence as it is sometimes called, is at the forefront of wireless communications and indeed ICT technology. This project will benefit Australia's ICT community both by training new professional and research leaders in this area, and by developing technologies that will further enable this rapidly growing field.Read moreRead less
Hydrodynamic Stability of the VentrAssist Blood Pump, an Experimental and Numerical Investigation. This project will investigate, both numerically and experimentally, the stability of the impeller-bearing system of a rotary blood pump and will make recommendations about the optimum bearing configurations. Findings from this project will contribute to the commercialisation of the blood pump undertaken by the research Group formed by the staff from UTS, UNSW and VentrAssist Pty Ltd - the first of ....Hydrodynamic Stability of the VentrAssist Blood Pump, an Experimental and Numerical Investigation. This project will investigate, both numerically and experimentally, the stability of the impeller-bearing system of a rotary blood pump and will make recommendations about the optimum bearing configurations. Findings from this project will contribute to the commercialisation of the blood pump undertaken by the research Group formed by the staff from UTS, UNSW and VentrAssist Pty Ltd - the first of its kind in Australia. Rotary blood pumps are at the leading edge of cardiac assist technology worldwide and an investigation of the impeller dynamics will add greatly to the understanding of the related important factors in blood pump design.Read moreRead less
Reducing Blackout Risk through Live Modelling and Monitoring. This project aims to reduce the risk of blackouts through the development of on-line systems for modelling and monitoring of loads and power system controllers. This project is a collaboration with Transgrid, Powerlink, Vencorp and ElectraNetSA, four Transmission companies renowned for innovation in the area of system stability. The project proposes to develop innovative algorithms and to implement these algorithms using advanced hard ....Reducing Blackout Risk through Live Modelling and Monitoring. This project aims to reduce the risk of blackouts through the development of on-line systems for modelling and monitoring of loads and power system controllers. This project is a collaboration with Transgrid, Powerlink, Vencorp and ElectraNetSA, four Transmission companies renowned for innovation in the area of system stability. The project proposes to develop innovative algorithms and to implement these algorithms using advanced hardware, software and communication systems to dynamically generate decision tools for safe and efficient power system operating conditions. These systems will also generate alarms if any risky operational situations arise.Read moreRead less
Hot-swappable and High-efficient Grid-connected Power Electronics System For Photovoltaic Modules with Direct Power Transfer Technique. The project aims to increase the amount of available energy intake from photovoltaic panels, lengthen lifetime of power DC/AC inverter, reduce the amount of energy waste due to inefficient inverter by introducing new switching power converters with direct power transfer technique - bypassing part of the input power without repeatedly processing it, and using lon ....Hot-swappable and High-efficient Grid-connected Power Electronics System For Photovoltaic Modules with Direct Power Transfer Technique. The project aims to increase the amount of available energy intake from photovoltaic panels, lengthen lifetime of power DC/AC inverter, reduce the amount of energy waste due to inefficient inverter by introducing new switching power converters with direct power transfer technique - bypassing part of the input power without repeatedly processing it, and using long-life ceramic type capacitors. Development of this technology will mean reduced total cost, improved product lifetime and reduced global warming. It will lead to a reliable product that will help to put the Australian switching power converter industry into a leading position internationally in the design and manufacture of DC/AC inverters.Read moreRead less
Theoretical study and experimental verification of low cost, integrated and efficient AC/DC power supplies using time-multiplexing control. The project aims to reduce the amount of energy waste and cost due to inefficient AC/DC power supplies by introducing a novel power supply technique - combining conventional two-stage power circuits and using time-multiplexing control. Improvements in power supply efficiency and size will mean reduced total cost, improved product lifetime and reduced heating ....Theoretical study and experimental verification of low cost, integrated and efficient AC/DC power supplies using time-multiplexing control. The project aims to reduce the amount of energy waste and cost due to inefficient AC/DC power supplies by introducing a novel power supply technique - combining conventional two-stage power circuits and using time-multiplexing control. Improvements in power supply efficiency and size will mean reduced total cost, improved product lifetime and reduced heating up of the environment, leading to a reliable product that is particularly relevant to the Australian switching power supply industry. The development of this technology will help to put Australia into a leading position internationally in the design and manufacturing of AC/DC power supply.Read moreRead less
Advanced Future Automotive Electrical Machines based on Amorphous Iron. Electric machines consume about 70% of all electrical energy generated. Electric machines constructed from a promising magnetic material called amorphous iron can be much more efficient than conventional designs, hence saving energy. Amorphous iron is normally difficult to cut accurately into the shapes required in electric machines. We propose to design and construct high-efficiency permanent magnet machines based on amorp ....Advanced Future Automotive Electrical Machines based on Amorphous Iron. Electric machines consume about 70% of all electrical energy generated. Electric machines constructed from a promising magnetic material called amorphous iron can be much more efficient than conventional designs, hence saving energy. Amorphous iron is normally difficult to cut accurately into the shapes required in electric machines. We propose to design and construct high-efficiency permanent magnet machines based on amorphous iron for automotive applications, which will be cut using an innovative Australian waterjet cutting technique. The key challenges are to optimise the machine design for commercial production given the capabilities and limitations of the material and the new cutting process.Read moreRead less