Regulation of the Cell Bus Voltages of Large Scale Modular Multilevel Converters: Advanced Energy Converters for Future Electricity Grids. Large scale power electronic converters are essential to the emerging “Smart Grid” electrical distribution networks, using large numbers of cascaded cells to operate at the very high voltages that are required for direct grid connection. At present, the fundamental factors that drive the fluctuations of the cell DC link voltages, including in particular the c ....Regulation of the Cell Bus Voltages of Large Scale Modular Multilevel Converters: Advanced Energy Converters for Future Electricity Grids. Large scale power electronic converters are essential to the emerging “Smart Grid” electrical distribution networks, using large numbers of cascaded cells to operate at the very high voltages that are required for direct grid connection. At present, the fundamental factors that drive the fluctuations of the cell DC link voltages, including in particular the complex non-linear interactions caused by the physical cell switching processes, are very poorly understood. This project will use a new harmonic analysis strategy to investigate the basic engineering science that underpins this voltage fluctuation phenomena, to achieve a quantum step in the understanding of the fundamental operating processes of large scale cascaded converters.Read moreRead less
Advanced analytics utilising conjoint mining of data and content with applications in business, bio-medicine and electrical power systems. This project will provide techniques that enable effective analysis of unstructured content and related information from relational databases in a conjoint manner. These techniques will be applied in the business, bio-medicine and electrical power systems domains.
Using anisotropic thermal expansion in organic semiconductor thin films. This project aims to capitalise upon the recent discovery of negative thermal expansion in high-performance organic semiconductor films. Certain molecules’ chemical structures have a planar conjugated core and flexible sidechains. When highly anisotropic thermal expansion occurs, the sidechains take up most of the thermal expansion. When a negative thermal expansion occurs, the pi-pi stacking distance decreases upon anneali ....Using anisotropic thermal expansion in organic semiconductor thin films. This project aims to capitalise upon the recent discovery of negative thermal expansion in high-performance organic semiconductor films. Certain molecules’ chemical structures have a planar conjugated core and flexible sidechains. When highly anisotropic thermal expansion occurs, the sidechains take up most of the thermal expansion. When a negative thermal expansion occurs, the pi-pi stacking distance decreases upon annealing. This effect has been linked with higher charge mobilities, and a tighter molecular packing is locked in upon cooling. The potential applications of these high performance organic semiconductors includes chemical/biosensors, electronic paper, and radio frequency identification cards.Read moreRead less
Novel fuel-cell structures based on electroactive polymers. This project will tackle some of the challenges currently hindering progression of our society into a post-petroleum era via materials developments that will lead to in-expensive, more efficient fuel cell technologies. Specifically, a new class of organic catalysts and novel ion conducting membranes will be integrated into functional fuel-cells.
Electronically controlled phased array antenna for universal Ultra-High-Frequency (UHF) Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) applications. RFID may potentially replace barcodes allowing automated identification of individual items at multiple points in supply and distribution chains. A smart antenna engineered RFID reader improves efficacy in a host of applications such as logistics and security surveillance and tremendously benefits Australian economy as a key player in the field.
Nanoparticle inks for electronic applications employing nanostructured thin-films. The development of next-generation technologies requires careful engineering of materials at the nanoscale. Using nanoparticle inks, many of the engineering difficulties which exist at these length scales can be overcome, thus allowing for technologies such as thin-film solar cells to become cheaper and more efficient.