Fatigue thresholds, crack initiation and small crack growth phenomenon in uPVC, mPVC and Oriented PVC pipes. Unplasticised polyvinylchloride (uPVC) is currently used for water reticulation pipelines. These are subject to variable pressure which can lead to fatigue failures. Improved materials, modified PVC (mPVC) and oriented PVC (oPVC), are now entering this market. uPVC shows a fatigue threshold when prenotched samples are tested. The fatigue threshold is an important design concept since it r ....Fatigue thresholds, crack initiation and small crack growth phenomenon in uPVC, mPVC and Oriented PVC pipes. Unplasticised polyvinylchloride (uPVC) is currently used for water reticulation pipelines. These are subject to variable pressure which can lead to fatigue failures. Improved materials, modified PVC (mPVC) and oriented PVC (oPVC), are now entering this market. uPVC shows a fatigue threshold when prenotched samples are tested. The fatigue threshold is an important design concept since it represents the stress amplitude below which fatigue failures should not occur. Its existence in unnotched pipes and in the newer PVC materials is uncertain. This project will quantify fatigue thresholds and the mechanisms involved in crack initiation in uPVC , mPVC and oPVC.Read moreRead less
High performance thermoplastic starch polymer films for controlled barrier and delivery. This project will deliver state of the art developments in high performance sustainable plastics. Specifically the project will develop new biopolymers for high-performance applications, such as smart packaging, biomedical materials and drug delivery systems.
Development of PVC-Based Polymer Nanocomposites. The aim of the project is to develop a PVC polymer nanocomposite material to be used in water pipelines. It has been found that the inclusion of a nanoparticle phase, in this case calcium carbonate, leads to increases in strength, stiffness, toughness and abrasion resistance. This proposed project will develop and assess an optimum material in addition to investigating the mechanisms of deformation.
Computational analysis and design of injection stretch blow-moulded polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. There are approximately 2.5 billion containers made each year representing 80,000 tonnes of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in Australia. A weight reduction of each PET container will have a significant economic benefit and an environmental impact. This project aims to develop an integrated and innovative computer-aided design technology for assisting manufacturing of injection stretch ....Computational analysis and design of injection stretch blow-moulded polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. There are approximately 2.5 billion containers made each year representing 80,000 tonnes of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in Australia. A weight reduction of each PET container will have a significant economic benefit and an environmental impact. This project aims to develop an integrated and innovative computer-aided design technology for assisting manufacturing of injection stretch moulded PET bottles by making full use of the up-to-date computational technologies. It is expected that the research will improve the competitiveness of Australian packaging industries by developing leading-edge technology and will enhance living environment in terms of optimally designing lightweight and structurally strong PET bottles.Read moreRead less
Tailored Biodegradable Polymers for Injection Moulding Applications. This project aims to engineer and scale up production of biodegradable injection molded products with tailored properties, processing and biodegradation. Specifically we will focus on novel materials and processing technologies in tandem with biodegradation understandings to expand the utilization of starch-based polymers. We will then combine fundamental rheological and polymer processing skills with and product development ex ....Tailored Biodegradable Polymers for Injection Moulding Applications. This project aims to engineer and scale up production of biodegradable injection molded products with tailored properties, processing and biodegradation. Specifically we will focus on novel materials and processing technologies in tandem with biodegradation understandings to expand the utilization of starch-based polymers. We will then combine fundamental rheological and polymer processing skills with and product development experience from both universities and the industrial partner (Plantic Technologies) to scale up processing and develop successful biodegradable products. This project will also enable an Australian owned start-up company with a broad shareholder base to generate significant export income through key commercialization.Read moreRead less
Development of a novel and practical method for fabricating carbon nanotube reinforced polymer composites for automotive applications. An effective, economical and environmentally friendly technology will be developed by this project to fabricate carbon nanotube reinforced polymer composites. The thus obtained products will be applied as automotive parts.
Modelling for Optimisation and Scale-up of the Multilayer Blown Film Process. Multilayered blown film plastic films play an important role in the food and packaging industry in Australia and SE Asia. This project aims to predict the polymer film properties for a large scale line based on experimental data from the pilot scale studies using limited quantities of polymer. This project will investigate the fundamental rheology of polymer resins and blends used for multilayered films and correlate ....Modelling for Optimisation and Scale-up of the Multilayer Blown Film Process. Multilayered blown film plastic films play an important role in the food and packaging industry in Australia and SE Asia. This project aims to predict the polymer film properties for a large scale line based on experimental data from the pilot scale studies using limited quantities of polymer. This project will investigate the fundamental rheology of polymer resins and blends used for multilayered films and correlate these to the operating parameters in pilot and industrial scales using blown-film models. The interrelationship between the models in two scales will result in reducing trial and error and will optimise production costs.Read moreRead less
Modelling rheology and flow parameters of injection moulding of liquid crystal polymer materials. Australian company Moldflow is a world leader in the modelling and simulation of injection moulding plastic parts, yet its sophisticated software is inadequate for liquid crystalline polymers. This research aims to redress this by appropriate rheological study of these materials, incorporating suitable rheological model in the simulation and by experimental validation. The benefit will be new know ....Modelling rheology and flow parameters of injection moulding of liquid crystal polymer materials. Australian company Moldflow is a world leader in the modelling and simulation of injection moulding plastic parts, yet its sophisticated software is inadequate for liquid crystalline polymers. This research aims to redress this by appropriate rheological study of these materials, incorporating suitable rheological model in the simulation and by experimental validation. The benefit will be new knowledge of the injection moulding process, enhancement of Australia's scientific reputation in this field, extension of the Moldflow software to a wider polymer range, new markets nationally and internationally, competitive edge of the improved software and contribution to national economy due to new business.Read moreRead less
An Intelligent Computer Aided Engineering Environment for Design and Production of Blow Moulded PET Bottles. The aim of this research proposal is to develop an intelligent computer aided engineering environment for design and manufacturing of blow moulded PET bottles. Current techniques involve a mixture of trial and error leading to high costs in time and money. The proposed research will adopt a concurrent engineering approach and integrating intelligent knowledge based systems for optimum p ....An Intelligent Computer Aided Engineering Environment for Design and Production of Blow Moulded PET Bottles. The aim of this research proposal is to develop an intelligent computer aided engineering environment for design and manufacturing of blow moulded PET bottles. Current techniques involve a mixture of trial and error leading to high costs in time and money. The proposed research will adopt a concurrent engineering approach and integrating intelligent knowledge based systems for optimum part design of PET bottles, PET preform and moulds based on user specific requirements. The work is expected to provide a highly efficient environment able to design and produce a new PET bottle economically and quickly with maximum functional performance.Read moreRead less
Novel Waterborne Multifunctional Sealer for Asphalt Pavement. One of the long-term challenges and most serious problems faced by the asphalt surfacing and road construction industry is the rapid deterioration of asphaltic surfaces to the extent that they become unfit/unsafe for use in short time. The length of the Australian local government road system is approximately 810,000 kilometres and currently approximately $2,460 million/year is spent on road maintenance; the replacement value of ....Novel Waterborne Multifunctional Sealer for Asphalt Pavement. One of the long-term challenges and most serious problems faced by the asphalt surfacing and road construction industry is the rapid deterioration of asphaltic surfaces to the extent that they become unfit/unsafe for use in short time. The length of the Australian local government road system is approximately 810,000 kilometres and currently approximately $2,460 million/year is spent on road maintenance; the replacement value of the road asset exceeds $106,000 million. Thus providing satisfactory tough protective shield on asphalt pavements that locks out destructive elements and provide long-term protection is of enormous economic importance and national/community benefit.Read moreRead less