Light steel roof and wall systems under combined wind and bushfire actions. The project aims to investigate the complex behaviour of light cold-formed-steel roof and wall systems involving localized failures under the combined action of wind and bushfire using wind suction tests at elevated temperatures combined with advanced numerical modelling. It will generate new knowledge of the behaviour and strength of cold-formed-steel roof and wall systems under bushfire conditions. Expected outcomes in ....Light steel roof and wall systems under combined wind and bushfire actions. The project aims to investigate the complex behaviour of light cold-formed-steel roof and wall systems involving localized failures under the combined action of wind and bushfire using wind suction tests at elevated temperatures combined with advanced numerical modelling. It will generate new knowledge of the behaviour and strength of cold-formed-steel roof and wall systems under bushfire conditions. Expected outcomes include new design models for wind, bushfire and cold-formed-steel Standards. This will significantly improve the bushfire safety of buildings, since non-combustible steel roof and wall systems are used as building envelopes in bushfire prone areas, but are not designed to withstand recently discovered bushfire-enhanced winds.Read moreRead less
Design of Cost-effective Compositionally Complex Alloys. This project aims to develop low-cost and corrosion resistant compositionally complex alloys and associated processes to concurrently achieve high strength and high toughness using an innovative design strategy. The project expects to overcome the major limitations of this new type of alloys, enabling their practical applications in industry, creating new knowledge of materials science. Expected outcomes include commercialisation ready ne ....Design of Cost-effective Compositionally Complex Alloys. This project aims to develop low-cost and corrosion resistant compositionally complex alloys and associated processes to concurrently achieve high strength and high toughness using an innovative design strategy. The project expects to overcome the major limitations of this new type of alloys, enabling their practical applications in industry, creating new knowledge of materials science. Expected outcomes include commercialisation ready new alloys, breakthrough fundamental understanding of the mechanisms and long-term institutional collaboration. This should provide significant benefits, such as enhancement of Australia’s capacity of alloy development and manufacturing and strengthening the country’s world leading position in this area.Read moreRead less
Transforming titanium component fabrication with free machining additives. Australian manufacturers of titanium products face grand challenges in affordably machining precision components because titanium is expensive, inherently difficult to machine and most designed parts require significant machining, all of which exacerbates cost. This project aims to overcome these impediments by discovering new alloy additives that can be introduced locally during additive manufacturing of titanium product ....Transforming titanium component fabrication with free machining additives. Australian manufacturers of titanium products face grand challenges in affordably machining precision components because titanium is expensive, inherently difficult to machine and most designed parts require significant machining, all of which exacerbates cost. This project aims to overcome these impediments by discovering new alloy additives that can be introduced locally during additive manufacturing of titanium products in order to make machining operations easier and faster without affecting the quality of the final product. The knowledge gained from this project seeks to create new capabilities and improve the productivity of Australian manufacturers while lowering the cost of products for consumers.Read moreRead less
Improvement of Additive Manufacturing Processability of Alloys and Ceramics. As the current materials that can be additively processed are still very limited, this project aims to increase the additive manufacturing processability of commercial engineering materials through developing effective and practical grain refinement technology so that more engineering parts can be additively fabricated. The project expects to widen the applications of this advanced manufacturing technology in industry p ....Improvement of Additive Manufacturing Processability of Alloys and Ceramics. As the current materials that can be additively processed are still very limited, this project aims to increase the additive manufacturing processability of commercial engineering materials through developing effective and practical grain refinement technology so that more engineering parts can be additively fabricated. The project expects to widen the applications of this advanced manufacturing technology in industry productions. Expected outcomes include commercialisation ready grain refinement technologies and breakthrough fundamental understanding of the physical metallurgy of melt pools. This should enhance Australia’s capability to establish world-leading additive manufacturing activities serving to various other industry sectors. Read moreRead less
Intermetallic compounds for high reliability electronic interconnections. The aim of the proposal is to develop an entirely new way of joining functional elements of circuit boards using tailored intermetallic joints that replace traditional solders. The outcome will be that electronic devices, from smart phones to smart grids and electric vehicles, will become more reliable and less susceptible to cracking and circuit failure. Electronics will last longer and less E-waste will be generated. Thi ....Intermetallic compounds for high reliability electronic interconnections. The aim of the proposal is to develop an entirely new way of joining functional elements of circuit boards using tailored intermetallic joints that replace traditional solders. The outcome will be that electronic devices, from smart phones to smart grids and electric vehicles, will become more reliable and less susceptible to cracking and circuit failure. Electronics will last longer and less E-waste will be generated. This would revolutionise electronics manufacturing. The project has a high probability of achieving this breakthrough based on unique, world-class expertise in intermetallic compounds and characterisation that has already been established by the international network of Investigators.Read moreRead less
Making Strong Alloys Ductile and Hydrogen-Tolerant via Tuning Nanogradients. This project aims to develop a novel design concept of gradient segregation engineering (GSE) to produce high-performance alloys. The innovative GSE will synergistically introduce a chemical gradient via grain boundary segregation and a physical gradient by microstructure control to simultaneously achieve an excellent strength-ductility combination and exceptional resistance to hydrogen embrittlement. This project expec ....Making Strong Alloys Ductile and Hydrogen-Tolerant via Tuning Nanogradients. This project aims to develop a novel design concept of gradient segregation engineering (GSE) to produce high-performance alloys. The innovative GSE will synergistically introduce a chemical gradient via grain boundary segregation and a physical gradient by microstructure control to simultaneously achieve an excellent strength-ductility combination and exceptional resistance to hydrogen embrittlement. This project expects to create new fundamental knowledge and provide critical perspectives for future mechanistic alloy design. The results will enhance Australia’s capacity to develop next-generation advanced alloys to underpin current and emerging industrial applications and strengthen the country’s leading position in materials engineering.Read moreRead less
Predicting strength of porous materials. This project aims to develop a predictive theory of strength for unflawed, low-ductile porous materials – an unsolved problem in computational solid mechanics. Three-dimensional printing of lightweight, porous materials is used in industry, medicine and science. The project will develop the theory and conduct experiments on porous metallic and polymeric samples made using additive manufacturing, which require understanding and optimisation of the building ....Predicting strength of porous materials. This project aims to develop a predictive theory of strength for unflawed, low-ductile porous materials – an unsolved problem in computational solid mechanics. Three-dimensional printing of lightweight, porous materials is used in industry, medicine and science. The project will develop the theory and conduct experiments on porous metallic and polymeric samples made using additive manufacturing, which require understanding and optimisation of the building of fine scale features. Understanding strength should improve design of stronger materials, by using and extending the capabilities of three-dimensional printing. These advances will further provide a much-needed basis for a fundamental understanding of fracture in other porous materials important to society such as concrete, rocks, porous ceramics and bone implants.Read moreRead less
Enhancing biopharmaceuticals: A disruptive bioseparation resin technology. This project aims to develop an innovative and disruptive platform technology for designing and manufacturing tailor-made high-performance bioseparation resins to enhance biopharmaceuticals manufacturing. Bacterial cell factories will be developed to enable biotechnological production of innovative polyester bead-based bioseparation resins, which will revolutionise manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals. Expected outcomes o ....Enhancing biopharmaceuticals: A disruptive bioseparation resin technology. This project aims to develop an innovative and disruptive platform technology for designing and manufacturing tailor-made high-performance bioseparation resins to enhance biopharmaceuticals manufacturing. Bacterial cell factories will be developed to enable biotechnological production of innovative polyester bead-based bioseparation resins, which will revolutionise manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals. Expected outcomes of this project are cost-effective and strongly enhanced approaches for biopharmaceuticals recovery, thereby providing significant benefits to accelerate research and development in early stage discovery and manufacture of biologics, therapeutic proteins and vaccines.Read moreRead less
Pioneering stable copper carbanions for new C-C bond forming paradigms. The stabilisation of highly reactive carbanions underpins advances in chemical synthesis of new compounds including polymers, agrichemicals and pharmaceuticals. This project aims to deliver an innovative chemical reactivity platform, underpinned by copper carbanion complexes accessed via synthetic electrochemistry. Carbanions are essential components of carbon-carbon bond forming reactions but their high reactivity can be pr ....Pioneering stable copper carbanions for new C-C bond forming paradigms. The stabilisation of highly reactive carbanions underpins advances in chemical synthesis of new compounds including polymers, agrichemicals and pharmaceuticals. This project aims to deliver an innovative chemical reactivity platform, underpinned by copper carbanion complexes accessed via synthetic electrochemistry. Carbanions are essential components of carbon-carbon bond forming reactions but their high reactivity can be problematic. Expected outcomes of this project are an understanding of why these novel copper compounds are stable and how they can be utilised as synthetic reagents. This should provide significant benefits in unlocking the synthetic potential of a new class of chemical compound that has until now remained unexplored.Read moreRead less
Emergent organocopper complexes as robust catalysts for electrosynthesis. The capture and stabilisation of highly reactive chemical species is critical to making advances in the synthesis of novel materials, agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. Metal-bound carbanions are essential components of carbon-carbon bond forming reactions. This project aims to develop an unprecedented family of copper catalysts and deliver an innovative and versatile chemical reactivity platform. Expected outcomes of this ....Emergent organocopper complexes as robust catalysts for electrosynthesis. The capture and stabilisation of highly reactive chemical species is critical to making advances in the synthesis of novel materials, agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. Metal-bound carbanions are essential components of carbon-carbon bond forming reactions. This project aims to develop an unprecedented family of copper catalysts and deliver an innovative and versatile chemical reactivity platform. Expected outcomes of this project include methods of tempering and unleashing the high reactivity of these species by controlling the oxidation state of the copper ion. Benefits of these outcomes include fundamental understanding of the reactivity of a new class of copper complex that has potential commercial applications in catalysis.Read moreRead less