Modelling and Optimisation of Belt Conveyor Systems. Belt conveyors are the arteries of Australia's heavy industries. Their efficiency and cost are critical to the productivity of our major export markets. A current trend in this area is the introduction of high-speed and long distance conveying. This has placed tremendous pressure on the current design standards which are in drastic need of re-evaluation. This project will address these deficiencies and build a strong foundation for future conv ....Modelling and Optimisation of Belt Conveyor Systems. Belt conveyors are the arteries of Australia's heavy industries. Their efficiency and cost are critical to the productivity of our major export markets. A current trend in this area is the introduction of high-speed and long distance conveying. This has placed tremendous pressure on the current design standards which are in drastic need of re-evaluation. This project will address these deficiencies and build a strong foundation for future conveyor design. This will be achieved by developing rigorous mechanical models for conveyor mechanics and the application of state-of-the-art optimisation methods based on Darwinian natural selection. This will lead to significant improvements in the efficiency and running costs of belt conveyor systems.Read moreRead less
Passive Control of Dust Emissions from Belt Conveyor Systems. Belt conveyor systems are employed extensively to transport bulk materials in a great many industries, particularly those associated with mining and mineral processing. Belt conveyor installations are becoming longer and belt speeds significantly faster, resulting in increased dust emissions. An estimated 16 billion litres of water per annum is used by the Australian Black Coal Industry alone on dust suppression. This project will dev ....Passive Control of Dust Emissions from Belt Conveyor Systems. Belt conveyor systems are employed extensively to transport bulk materials in a great many industries, particularly those associated with mining and mineral processing. Belt conveyor installations are becoming longer and belt speeds significantly faster, resulting in increased dust emissions. An estimated 16 billion litres of water per annum is used by the Australian Black Coal Industry alone on dust suppression. This project will develop passive dust control technology, requiring no external energy or suppressants. This will be achieved through the development of numerical methods verified by rigorous experimental work. This will lead to significant cost savings, improved employee health and safety and reduced environmental impact.Read moreRead less
Analytical, Numerical and Testing Procedures for Improved Design and Performance of Bulk Solids Systems. Mining and minerals production is Australia's most important export industry. Despite the global financial crisis, the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resources Economics (Australian Commodities, December Quarter 2008) has forecast that earnings from Australia's energy and minerals exports will increase by 37% during 2008-09 to A$160 billion. Bulk materials handling operations constitute ....Analytical, Numerical and Testing Procedures for Improved Design and Performance of Bulk Solids Systems. Mining and minerals production is Australia's most important export industry. Despite the global financial crisis, the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resources Economics (Australian Commodities, December Quarter 2008) has forecast that earnings from Australia's energy and minerals exports will increase by 37% during 2008-09 to A$160 billion. Bulk materials handling operations constitute a major component of the minerals production and transportation costs. Through the research conducted in this project, greater efficiencies with reduced operating costs will be achieved while, at the same time, meeting the stringent environmental controls in accordance with the National priority goal of 'An Environmentally Sustainable Australia'.Read moreRead less
Preventing extreme granular wear of geotechnical machinery. This project will investigate the mechanisms controlling the mechanical wear that is incurred while handling geomaterials such as sand, ore, coal and fragmented rock. The overarching aim is to help forecast and mitigate extreme wear conditions by analysing the microscopic forces that granular materials produce when in contact with moving metallic surfaces. The intended outcomes include a thorough understanding of these interfacial inter ....Preventing extreme granular wear of geotechnical machinery. This project will investigate the mechanisms controlling the mechanical wear that is incurred while handling geomaterials such as sand, ore, coal and fragmented rock. The overarching aim is to help forecast and mitigate extreme wear conditions by analysing the microscopic forces that granular materials produce when in contact with moving metallic surfaces. The intended outcomes include a thorough understanding of these interfacial interactions and an experimentally validated theory predicting wear rates for a range of materials and handling processes. The expected benefit of this project is to enhance the productivity and reliability of the mining and construction sectors by reducing wear-related machinery failures.Read moreRead less
A novel whole-process analysis method for fractured rock slopes . Aims: The project aims to develop a discontinuous deformation and displacement analysis method to study the jointed rock slope instability.
Significance: The proposed method verified by experimental tests will be inherit the advantages of finite element method and discontinuous deformation analysis and is able to provide an entire and unified description of rock deformation and failure.
Expected Outcomes: The results of this integ ....A novel whole-process analysis method for fractured rock slopes . Aims: The project aims to develop a discontinuous deformation and displacement analysis method to study the jointed rock slope instability.
Significance: The proposed method verified by experimental tests will be inherit the advantages of finite element method and discontinuous deformation analysis and is able to provide an entire and unified description of rock deformation and failure.
Expected Outcomes: The results of this integrated study will provide a new method for engineers who wish to characterise and predict the stability of rock/tunnel slopes in Australia and worldwide.
Benefits: Australian society will benefit from new tools to facilitate more reliable assessment of risks associated with instability in rock slopes.
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Geomechanics of multiple seam mining interactions. This project will address a highly significant and timely problem that has arisen in the coal mining industry. Through the application of scientific principles and advanced methods of engineering analysis, this research will develop practical guidelines that in turn will provide the means for rational planning of multi-seam mining operations.
The micro-thermo-mechanics of sand crushing in geotechnical collapse problems. Oil and gas exploration is a major industry in Australia. Collapse problems in the soil to which structures such as oil rigs are anchored are a major challenge, involving issues of safety, longevity and maintenance. Research on this topic has been devoted to non-crushable sands, but Australia's offshore seabed is rich in breakable calcareous sediments. We will create a novel theory and visualisation techniques that wi ....The micro-thermo-mechanics of sand crushing in geotechnical collapse problems. Oil and gas exploration is a major industry in Australia. Collapse problems in the soil to which structures such as oil rigs are anchored are a major challenge, involving issues of safety, longevity and maintenance. Research on this topic has been devoted to non-crushable sands, but Australia's offshore seabed is rich in breakable calcareous sediments. We will create a novel theory and visualisation techniques that will allow us to gain a deep understanding of sand crushing and will be a major step towards minimising the occurrence of catastrophic failures in the offshore oil and gas industry. Read moreRead less
Dynamic Simulation of Gear and Bearing Interactions in Gearboxes for Improved Diagnostics and Prognostics of Faults. The techniques to be developed in this project should become the international standard for diagnostic and prognostic techniques for high speed gearboxes, and improve the performance of Australian industry. Australia being a major supplier of natural resources, with many mines in remote locations, it is heavily dependent on machine condition monitoring techniques, such as those be ....Dynamic Simulation of Gear and Bearing Interactions in Gearboxes for Improved Diagnostics and Prognostics of Faults. The techniques to be developed in this project should become the international standard for diagnostic and prognostic techniques for high speed gearboxes, and improve the performance of Australian industry. Australia being a major supplier of natural resources, with many mines in remote locations, it is heavily dependent on machine condition monitoring techniques, such as those being developed in the project, to maximise output and minimise the likelihood of catastrophic failure. The techniques also give improved safety, for example of helicopters, which are suspended from the gearbox, making it a very critical component. This will be of considerable benefit to both civil and military operators of helicopters, both important to Australia.Read moreRead less
Energy dissipation characterisation in dynamic brittle fracture. Energy dissipation in dynamic fracture of brittle materials is pivotal in mining, civil engineering and defence. The project aims to develop a novel experimentally-validated multiscale theory, with associated models, for characterising and predicting the complete dynamic fracture process of brittle materials. This theory is expected to generate close-to-reality simulations critical for understanding fundamental aspects of energy di ....Energy dissipation characterisation in dynamic brittle fracture. Energy dissipation in dynamic fracture of brittle materials is pivotal in mining, civil engineering and defence. The project aims to develop a novel experimentally-validated multiscale theory, with associated models, for characterising and predicting the complete dynamic fracture process of brittle materials. This theory is expected to generate close-to-reality simulations critical for understanding fundamental aspects of energy dissipation in dynamic fracture. The outcomes will enable an optimised control of the fragment size in block cave mining and mineral processing, forecast and prevent fatal rock bursts in underground mines, and minimise catastrophic failures in critical infrastructures challenged by extreme loading, e.g. explosions.Read moreRead less
A novel quantitative risk assessment framework for fractured rock slopes. Rock slope instabilities present grave risks to life and to the serviceability of major Australian infrastructure such as mines, roads and railways, and to coastal recreation areas. This project aims at developing tools for the quantitative risk assessment of fractured rock slopes based on rigorous rock mechanics, numerical methods and probabilistic methods.
The research outcomes will improve our understanding of natural ....A novel quantitative risk assessment framework for fractured rock slopes. Rock slope instabilities present grave risks to life and to the serviceability of major Australian infrastructure such as mines, roads and railways, and to coastal recreation areas. This project aims at developing tools for the quantitative risk assessment of fractured rock slopes based on rigorous rock mechanics, numerical methods and probabilistic methods.
The research outcomes will improve our understanding of natural and engineering rock slopes, reduce the uncertainties in the prediction of the safety of infrastructures, and thus minimize the loss and damage. The research outcomes can also be used to maintain workplace safety in mining environments and avoid disruptions to production.
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