Gravity Current Driven Smoke Dispersion In a Stratified Ambient. Smoke from bushfires transported by gravity currents, and known to occur nationwide, caused the shutdown of businesses, education and events in Canberra in 2019. Recent scientific investigations have shown that the speed of propagation and concentration of smoke in these three-dimensional gravity currents have a long term ‘memory’ of their initial configuration. In this project, high-fidelity computational and experimental techniq ....Gravity Current Driven Smoke Dispersion In a Stratified Ambient. Smoke from bushfires transported by gravity currents, and known to occur nationwide, caused the shutdown of businesses, education and events in Canberra in 2019. Recent scientific investigations have shown that the speed of propagation and concentration of smoke in these three-dimensional gravity currents have a long term ‘memory’ of their initial configuration. In this project, high-fidelity computational and experimental techniques will be used to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms of gravity current entrainment and propagation. This knowledge will set a strong foundation to improve operational forecasts of smoke transport that will allow government agencies to better respond to the negative impact of these complicated flows.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100755
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$462,948.00
Summary
Developing phytosystems for the biofiltration of air pollutants . This project aims to develop, evaluate and apply a range of biotechnology driven solutions for the use of phytosystem biofilters designed for air purification. The findings of the project will demonstrate the fundamental mechanisms behind botanical air pollutant biofiltration, apply systematic technological development against a range of air pollutants, and provide strategies to deploy the technology. With a transdisciplinary appr ....Developing phytosystems for the biofiltration of air pollutants . This project aims to develop, evaluate and apply a range of biotechnology driven solutions for the use of phytosystem biofilters designed for air purification. The findings of the project will demonstrate the fundamental mechanisms behind botanical air pollutant biofiltration, apply systematic technological development against a range of air pollutants, and provide strategies to deploy the technology. With a transdisciplinary approach utilising techniques new to this discipline, the project will substantially advance the fundamental science underlying this novel and highly valuable area of air-bioremediation technology, and will create a much stronger economic driver for this Australia-led innovation.Read moreRead less
Decarbonising built environments with hempcrete and green wall technology. This project aims to develop an integrated prefabricated building panel solution combining green wall and hempcrete technology to address environmental problems associated with the usage of carbon intensive construction materials, dense urbanisation, climate change and biodiversity. Innovation in hempcrete technology consist in using low carbon options including alkali-activated binders and biomineralization technology, g ....Decarbonising built environments with hempcrete and green wall technology. This project aims to develop an integrated prefabricated building panel solution combining green wall and hempcrete technology to address environmental problems associated with the usage of carbon intensive construction materials, dense urbanisation, climate change and biodiversity. Innovation in hempcrete technology consist in using low carbon options including alkali-activated binders and biomineralization technology, glass waste replacing natural sand. Hempcrete green wall panels will be design to be carbon positive, improve the thermal performance of buildings, provide better acoustic insolation, reduce the risk of mould proliferation, control indoor humidity and air quality and improve indoor thermal comfort.
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Equipping VIKiNG: mid-infrared technology for exoplanet characterisation. This project aims to develop thermal infrared technologies for the Very large telescope interferometer Infrared Kernel-NullinG instrument (VIKiNG), making it the most capable direct exoplanet detection instrument on any existing, or under construction, facility. Australia is currently world leading in innovative photonics technologies, and these are currently the limiting factor in producing a manufacturable design for VIK ....Equipping VIKiNG: mid-infrared technology for exoplanet characterisation. This project aims to develop thermal infrared technologies for the Very large telescope interferometer Infrared Kernel-NullinG instrument (VIKiNG), making it the most capable direct exoplanet detection instrument on any existing, or under construction, facility. Australia is currently world leading in innovative photonics technologies, and these are currently the limiting factor in producing a manufacturable design for VIKiNG. This project provides a clear pathway for laboratory development of high-efficiency, active mid-infrared photonic circuits in the thermal infrared. Beyond benefits to astronomy, these circuits are the first step in developing remote molecule detectors for environmental monitoring and security.Read moreRead less
Aerosol glassy states promote global warming, airborne toxins and pathogens. This project will improve our understanding of the role played by airborne particles in global climate, pollution and the transmission of influenza, corona virus and the common cold. It will do so by revealing the wider importance of "glassy states" of matter recently revealed in atmospheric aerosols. Glassy states are highly unpredictable quasi solids that abruptly form, interrupting the transition of a liquid to a sol ....Aerosol glassy states promote global warming, airborne toxins and pathogens. This project will improve our understanding of the role played by airborne particles in global climate, pollution and the transmission of influenza, corona virus and the common cold. It will do so by revealing the wider importance of "glassy states" of matter recently revealed in atmospheric aerosols. Glassy states are highly unpredictable quasi solids that abruptly form, interrupting the transition of a liquid to a solid. This interruption invalidates equilibrium assumptions of models of droplets as cloud nuclei and infection vectors. We will develop and validate a numerical tool for predicting glassy state formation and its impact in broad classes of aerosol that include particles critical to cloud formation and infection transmission.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100552
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$428,025.00
Summary
Improving pollutants dispersion in street canyons for better urban living. Urban street canyons formed by tall buildings restrict dispersion of vehicle emissions. This poses severe health risks to the public by aggravating roadside air pollution, but is often overlooked in city planning. This project aims to uncover the mechanisms controlling vehicle emissions dispersion processes in urban street canyons by combining novel field experiments and numerical simulations. Expected outcomes include a ....Improving pollutants dispersion in street canyons for better urban living. Urban street canyons formed by tall buildings restrict dispersion of vehicle emissions. This poses severe health risks to the public by aggravating roadside air pollution, but is often overlooked in city planning. This project aims to uncover the mechanisms controlling vehicle emissions dispersion processes in urban street canyons by combining novel field experiments and numerical simulations. Expected outcomes include a validated tool for predicting roadside air quality, control measures for reducing air pollution and guidelines for better future urban planning. This project expects to critically assist policy makers and urban planners to effectively manage city development projects and safeguard a high air quality standard in our cities.Read moreRead less