Microbiologically Induced Stress Corrosion Cracking in Underground Mines. Premature brittle failure of rock & cable bolts due to stress corrosion cracking can cause fatalities and serious damage, and has been reported in several mining operations across Australia and world-wide. The evidence suggests that microbial activity is a contributing factor. The project aims to implement experimental methodologies to determine the specific conditions responsible for bolt failure and develop novel prevent ....Microbiologically Induced Stress Corrosion Cracking in Underground Mines. Premature brittle failure of rock & cable bolts due to stress corrosion cracking can cause fatalities and serious damage, and has been reported in several mining operations across Australia and world-wide. The evidence suggests that microbial activity is a contributing factor. The project aims to implement experimental methodologies to determine the specific conditions responsible for bolt failure and develop novel prevention techniques applicable in underground mines. The benefits of this research will be improved understanding of the environment causing catastrophic failure of bolts and avoidance of potential hazards & economic loss in mining projects. This will lead to improved safety & increased productivity in mining operations.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC160100036
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,881,754.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre in Alloy Innovation for Mining Efficiency. ARC Training Centre in Alloy Innovation for Mining Efficiency. This centre aims to make Australian manufacturers dominant in the multi-billion dollar mining equipment sector by training innovators to design the world’s best highly customized long-life, wear resistant components. It intends to rapidly develop customized alloys that excel in severe mining conditions, using three-dimensional printing, novel characterisation and its netw ....ARC Training Centre in Alloy Innovation for Mining Efficiency. ARC Training Centre in Alloy Innovation for Mining Efficiency. This centre aims to make Australian manufacturers dominant in the multi-billion dollar mining equipment sector by training innovators to design the world’s best highly customized long-life, wear resistant components. It intends to rapidly develop customized alloys that excel in severe mining conditions, using three-dimensional printing, novel characterisation and its networked training environment. It expects these innovations will enable much needed efficiencies after the end of the mining super-cycle. Anticipated outcomes are the design of products with superior alloy design and material selection; jobs growth and security in the mining component production sector; and increased mining efficiency and cost reduction.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE240100068
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$931,950.00
Summary
Australian Advanced Metabolic Signal Discovery, and Imaging Platform. This proposal aims to establish an Australian Advanced Metabolic Signal Discovery and Imaging platform. The platform consists of an ultra-high resolution gas chromatography mass spectrometer and an imaging mass spectrometry upgrade for a second existing high resolution mass spectrometer. The facility will break barriers currently limiting discovery and localisation of metabolic changes during plant and animal development under ....Australian Advanced Metabolic Signal Discovery, and Imaging Platform. This proposal aims to establish an Australian Advanced Metabolic Signal Discovery and Imaging platform. The platform consists of an ultra-high resolution gas chromatography mass spectrometer and an imaging mass spectrometry upgrade for a second existing high resolution mass spectrometer. The facility will break barriers currently limiting discovery and localisation of metabolic changes during plant and animal development under environmental stress; integral chemical signals exchanged in host-microbe interactions; and volatile signatures linked to ecosystem health and developmental anomalies in animals. Results will inform innovative strategies to enhance biological adaptation, climate resilience and plant, animal, and ecosystem health.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR180100005
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,225,000.00
Summary
Remediation of PFAS contaminated soil using soil washing and immobilisation. This project aims to assess the applicability of soil washing and immobilisation as cost-effective techniques for the remediation of per- and poly-fluroalkyl substance (PFAS) contaminated Australian soils. The project expects to establish the efficacy of the remediation of a range of PFASs, including many polyfluorinated precursors of perfluorinated, chemically-persistent legacy pollutants which are of concern. The proj ....Remediation of PFAS contaminated soil using soil washing and immobilisation. This project aims to assess the applicability of soil washing and immobilisation as cost-effective techniques for the remediation of per- and poly-fluroalkyl substance (PFAS) contaminated Australian soils. The project expects to establish the efficacy of the remediation of a range of PFASs, including many polyfluorinated precursors of perfluorinated, chemically-persistent legacy pollutants which are of concern. The project will provide a scientific basis for understanding the benefits and limitations associated with soil washing and immobilisation techniques and a more comprehensive understanding of future liabilities associated with formation of PFASs from precursors remaining in remediated soils. Collaboration with stakeholders will ensure benefits are captured both commercially and environmentally, as well as removing a potential and on-going health threat to communities exposed to these contaminants.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH200100023
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,950,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub for Innovative Nitrogen Fertilisers and Inhibitors. This Hub aims to transform agriculture by delivering a new class of nitrogen (N) fertilisers and inhibitors designed to stem the 50-80% losses to the environment in current products. It is intended to generate new knowledge and valuable intellectual property in controlled released and coated N fertiliser products using a novel co-design process involving representatives of the whole value chain from product design through to va ....ARC Research Hub for Innovative Nitrogen Fertilisers and Inhibitors. This Hub aims to transform agriculture by delivering a new class of nitrogen (N) fertilisers and inhibitors designed to stem the 50-80% losses to the environment in current products. It is intended to generate new knowledge and valuable intellectual property in controlled released and coated N fertiliser products using a novel co-design process involving representatives of the whole value chain from product design through to validation and adoption. The project estimates possible 20% gains in efficiency of N use, delivering large costs savings, improved productivity, increased profitability and decreased environmental impacts, helping the Australian food and agribusiness sector to reach its 2030 target of $100B value added.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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Unravelling soil carbon response to warming in fire-affected ecosystems. This project aims to reveal the continental pattern of soil carbon (C) response to warming in fire-affected ecosystems across Australia and to unravel the biogeochemical mechanisms underlying fire’s role in shaping the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration. Fire has modified over 40% of the Earth’s land surface and wildfire frequency is predicted to increase under global warming. This project expects to generate new k ....Unravelling soil carbon response to warming in fire-affected ecosystems. This project aims to reveal the continental pattern of soil carbon (C) response to warming in fire-affected ecosystems across Australia and to unravel the biogeochemical mechanisms underlying fire’s role in shaping the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration. Fire has modified over 40% of the Earth’s land surface and wildfire frequency is predicted to increase under global warming. This project expects to generate new knowledge on how fire influences soil-to-atmosphere C fluxes in a warmer climate using a multi-disciplinary approach. Expected outcomes include an enhanced capacity to predict the terrestrial ecosystem-to-atmosphere C fluxes and their feedbacks to climate under increasing frequency of fire using Earth-system models. Read moreRead less
Learning to Pinpoint Emerging Software Vulnerabilities. This project aims to develop learning-based software vulnerability detection techniques to improve the reliability and security of modern software systems. The existing techniques relying on conventional yet rigid software analysis and testing techniques are ineffective and/or inefficient when detecting a wide variety of emerging software vulnerabilities. The outcomes of this project will be a deep-learning-based detection approach and an ....Learning to Pinpoint Emerging Software Vulnerabilities. This project aims to develop learning-based software vulnerability detection techniques to improve the reliability and security of modern software systems. The existing techniques relying on conventional yet rigid software analysis and testing techniques are ineffective and/or inefficient when detecting a wide variety of emerging software vulnerabilities. The outcomes of this project will be a deep-learning-based detection approach and an open-source tool that can capture precision correlations between deep code features and diverse vulnerabilities to pinpoint emerging vulnerabilities without the need for bug specifications. Significant benefits include greatly improved quality, reliability and security for modern software systems.Read moreRead less
Building resilient alpine environments with less snow. In this project, we aim to build resilience into alpine National Parks and Alpine Resorts to counter the effects of ongoing declines in snow. Alpine environments depend on snow to regulate water flows, insulate vegetation, control soil erosion and promote proper ecosystem functioning. How these processes will operate in a snow-free future is unknown. We will determine how and where snow characteristics drive soil water availability for plant ....Building resilient alpine environments with less snow. In this project, we aim to build resilience into alpine National Parks and Alpine Resorts to counter the effects of ongoing declines in snow. Alpine environments depend on snow to regulate water flows, insulate vegetation, control soil erosion and promote proper ecosystem functioning. How these processes will operate in a snow-free future is unknown. We will determine how and where snow characteristics drive soil water availability for plants and which plant species have the best adaptation and regeneration potential under extreme conditions such as heat, frost and drought. Benefits of the project include innovative land management and rehabilitation solutions, to safeguard Australia's alpine areas under changing environmental conditions.Read moreRead less
DeepHoney: Automatic Honey Data Generation for Active Cyber Defence . This project aims to enhance the security of networks and information systems by empowering them with intelligent deception techniques to achieve proactive attack detection and defence. In recent times, the fictitious environment – honeypot designed by human experience becomes popular to attract attackers and capture their interactions. However, rules-based construction of honeypots fails in preserving the privacy, boosting th ....DeepHoney: Automatic Honey Data Generation for Active Cyber Defence . This project aims to enhance the security of networks and information systems by empowering them with intelligent deception techniques to achieve proactive attack detection and defence. In recent times, the fictitious environment – honeypot designed by human experience becomes popular to attract attackers and capture their interactions. However, rules-based construction of honeypots fails in preserving the privacy, boosting the attractiveness and evolving the system. The project expects to advance deep learning and yield novel DeepHoney technologies with associated publications and open-source software. This should benefit science, society, and the economy by building the next generation of active cyber defence systems. Read moreRead less