Frequency Domain Micro-Reflection Processing for Pipe Condition Assessment. Over the coming years many millions of dollars will be spent on upgrading deteriorated pipeline infrastructure that is part of water distribution systems all over Australia. Determining the condition of buried pipes is very difficult and expensive. This research will solve that problem. We will develop powerful numerical methods for non-invasive pipe condition assessment. Small controlled transients will be input by a ....Frequency Domain Micro-Reflection Processing for Pipe Condition Assessment. Over the coming years many millions of dollars will be spent on upgrading deteriorated pipeline infrastructure that is part of water distribution systems all over Australia. Determining the condition of buried pipes is very difficult and expensive. This research will solve that problem. We will develop powerful numerical methods for non-invasive pipe condition assessment. Small controlled transients will be input by a specially designed signal generation device that can determine the condition of the inside of the pipe. These new techniques will be cost-effective, accurate and able to cover very long distances of pipe. Water authorities will then be able to quickly decide which sections of pipe require further investigation.Read moreRead less
Micro-reflections for pipe condition assessment in water networks. Maintaining highly reliable water supply pipeline infrastructure for cities, towns and in rural Australia is extremely important. Our research will develop new non-invasive condition assessment techniques. Transient events will be used to create pressure waves that travel up and down a pipe. Sophisticated analysis of the micro-reflections in the measured pressure traces will be the heart of the new techniques. Water utility manag ....Micro-reflections for pipe condition assessment in water networks. Maintaining highly reliable water supply pipeline infrastructure for cities, towns and in rural Australia is extremely important. Our research will develop new non-invasive condition assessment techniques. Transient events will be used to create pressure waves that travel up and down a pipe. Sophisticated analysis of the micro-reflections in the measured pressure traces will be the heart of the new techniques. Water utility managers will be able to make a detailed assessment of the interior pipe wall to determine if significant corrosion or deterioration of the cement mortar lining has occurred. Rehabilitation strategies can then be determined. These new techniques will replace camera inspections that are extremely invasive and expensive.Read moreRead less
A theoretical understanding of galaxy assembly and black hole evolution across cosmic time. This research will establish Australia as a centre for cutting edge galaxy formation modelling. To achieve its science goals, we will make publicly available the world's largest cosmological simulation of dark matter and galaxy evolution. We will design and deploy an online web portal within which custom galaxy formation models can be constructed by anyone in the community for their own work. Support fo ....A theoretical understanding of galaxy assembly and black hole evolution across cosmic time. This research will establish Australia as a centre for cutting edge galaxy formation modelling. To achieve its science goals, we will make publicly available the world's largest cosmological simulation of dark matter and galaxy evolution. We will design and deploy an online web portal within which custom galaxy formation models can be constructed by anyone in the community for their own work. Support for this proposal will strengthen theoretical astronomy in Australia at a time when increased theoretical infrastructure is needed to fully capitalise on Australia's significant observational investments.
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Nonlinear nanophotonics. This project will support world-leading research in nonlinear nanophotonics. It will develop theoretically and demonstrate experimentally novel concepts for confining and manipulating light in specially designed structures, making an essential step towards the creation of nanoscaled optical devices for storage, memory, and sensing. These developments will underpin the next generation of high-performance optical networks promising to revolutionize global communications. T ....Nonlinear nanophotonics. This project will support world-leading research in nonlinear nanophotonics. It will develop theoretically and demonstrate experimentally novel concepts for confining and manipulating light in specially designed structures, making an essential step towards the creation of nanoscaled optical devices for storage, memory, and sensing. These developments will underpin the next generation of high-performance optical networks promising to revolutionize global communications. This research program will keep Australia at the forefront of international research and provide training for students in breakthrough applications of nanophotonics and nanotechnology, contributing to the uptake of frontier technologies by Australian industries.Read moreRead less
A deep survey for compact structure in the nearby universe: key science for the upgraded Australian Long Baseline Array. This project uses advances in ICT to build a national and international network of facilities that includes existing telescopes primarily on the east coast of Australia, as well as planned facilities in Western Australia and New Zealand. One of these facilities, the New Technology Demonstrator, is a crucial part of Australia's roadmap to the Square Kilometre Array. The SKA-r ....A deep survey for compact structure in the nearby universe: key science for the upgraded Australian Long Baseline Array. This project uses advances in ICT to build a national and international network of facilities that includes existing telescopes primarily on the east coast of Australia, as well as planned facilities in Western Australia and New Zealand. One of these facilities, the New Technology Demonstrator, is a crucial part of Australia's roadmap to the Square Kilometre Array. The SKA-related science and technology demonstrations we will undertake as part of this project will contribute to Australia's bid to host this $US1b instrument. This project cements a significant Trans-Tasman collaboration and brings together researchers in astrophysics and ICT to give Australia a leading position in the field of eVLBI.Read moreRead less
High-performance computational data-mining techniques for feature detection in complex time series from large-scale, networked plasma experiments. Terabytes of data are gathered from large experimental facilities as complex time-series. Analysis of these data is daunting, especially when they involve high-dimensional spectral or image arrays. We will develop high-performance computational techniques for dimension reduction, efficient data-mining, and experimental control, using as an initial ta ....High-performance computational data-mining techniques for feature detection in complex time series from large-scale, networked plasma experiments. Terabytes of data are gathered from large experimental facilities as complex time-series. Analysis of these data is daunting, especially when they involve high-dimensional spectral or image arrays. We will develop high-performance computational techniques for dimension reduction, efficient data-mining, and experimental control, using as an initial target the H-1NF plasma fusion MNRF at the ANU and its >100 GB/year data stream. The techniques will immediately provide Australian researchers with unique tools for collaboration in international research to develop fusion as a low-emissions source of electricity, and will be applicable to complex time-series analysis in other areas of science, medicine, and defence.Read moreRead less
Synthesis of Unique Mesoporous Graphitic Carbons and their Application to Fundamental Problems in Adsorption Science. The development of synthesis techniques to create porous graphitic carbons with highly ordered pore structures, easily accessible pore volume and good electrical conductivity can underpin technological advancements in many industrial applications such as energy storage, removal of pollutants from exhaust streams, direct-methanol fuel cells and lithium ion batteries. Techniques de ....Synthesis of Unique Mesoporous Graphitic Carbons and their Application to Fundamental Problems in Adsorption Science. The development of synthesis techniques to create porous graphitic carbons with highly ordered pore structures, easily accessible pore volume and good electrical conductivity can underpin technological advancements in many industrial applications such as energy storage, removal of pollutants from exhaust streams, direct-methanol fuel cells and lithium ion batteries. Techniques developed in this project are also applicable to creating other materials important to advanced sensors and optoelectronics. The fundamental study of water adsorption and hysteresis using these carbons will help us create better models for adsorption. This will underpin theoretical studies, characterisation and optimisation of carbon materials into the future. Read moreRead less
Hydrogen Absorption by Nanostructured Carbons. Carbon-based materials show great promise for clean energy storage through the absorption and desorption of hydrogen. The project aims to use powerful theoretical and experimental methods to resolve the controversy that surrounds reports of massive hydrogen absorption by nanostructured carbons, by understanding why particular structures should or should not absorb hydrogen atoms or molecules. We will particularly study and model intercalated graphit ....Hydrogen Absorption by Nanostructured Carbons. Carbon-based materials show great promise for clean energy storage through the absorption and desorption of hydrogen. The project aims to use powerful theoretical and experimental methods to resolve the controversy that surrounds reports of massive hydrogen absorption by nanostructured carbons, by understanding why particular structures should or should not absorb hydrogen atoms or molecules. We will particularly study and model intercalated graphite and nanotubes made in Australia. Their hydrogen capacity will be compared to the US DOE target of 6.5 weight percent for viable automotive hydrogen fuel storage. Reproducibly exceeding this target would constitute a great advance in the field.Read moreRead less
Snap, Crackle, Pop: Opening the Window on the Variable Radio Universe. Time variability is a frontier of discovery in astronomy. We will conduct a comprehensive set of surveys with new radio telescopes and instruments in order to build a full census of bursts, pulses, and flickers in the radio sky. Coupled with rapid follow up observations in the optical, X-ray and gamma-ray bands, these surveys will allow us to probe fundamental physics behind violent and unpredictable behaviour in the Universe ....Snap, Crackle, Pop: Opening the Window on the Variable Radio Universe. Time variability is a frontier of discovery in astronomy. We will conduct a comprehensive set of surveys with new radio telescopes and instruments in order to build a full census of bursts, pulses, and flickers in the radio sky. Coupled with rapid follow up observations in the optical, X-ray and gamma-ray bands, these surveys will allow us to probe fundamental physics behind violent and unpredictable behaviour in the Universe. Our techniques, pipelines, and algorithms will serve as stepping stones for future experiments, and will also have wide applicability to searches for weak signals in noisy data in areas including physics, ecology, medical science, and economics.Read moreRead less
CP Symmetry Violation in Strange B Meson decays at the Belle Experiment. This research exploits very recent development in high energy physics to formulate new tests on the limits of our understanding of matter-antimatter symmetry violation in our universe. The researchers have internationally recognised expertise in distributed Grid computing, which has been pioneered by the high energy physics community, and is now finding wide deployment in other scientific fields. Deployment of a Belle Data ....CP Symmetry Violation in Strange B Meson decays at the Belle Experiment. This research exploits very recent development in high energy physics to formulate new tests on the limits of our understanding of matter-antimatter symmetry violation in our universe. The researchers have internationally recognised expertise in distributed Grid computing, which has been pioneered by the high energy physics community, and is now finding wide deployment in other scientific fields. Deployment of a Belle Data Grid will provide true international interoperability with national Grid infrastructure, and substantial opportunity for expanded international collaboration on eresearch infrastructure. High Energy Physics also provides post-graduate students with the best possible exposure to leading international researchers.Read moreRead less