Designed to last: novel gradient coatings for extreme environments. Hard coatings are frequently applied to equipment operating in harsh environments. Often such coatings are highly brittle and so fragile under stress, especially at high temperatures or in corrosive environments. Premature failure can affect safety and lead to negative economic and environmental consequences. The objective of this project is to combine bioinspired microstructural design with an emerging alloying concept to produ ....Designed to last: novel gradient coatings for extreme environments. Hard coatings are frequently applied to equipment operating in harsh environments. Often such coatings are highly brittle and so fragile under stress, especially at high temperatures or in corrosive environments. Premature failure can affect safety and lead to negative economic and environmental consequences. The objective of this project is to combine bioinspired microstructural design with an emerging alloying concept to produce a breakthrough in the development of engineering coatings; for example, overcoming the long standing trade-off between hardness and toughness. Such an innovative coating is expected to be highly durable in extreme conditions, and in so doing will help transform manufacturing, mining and desalination industries.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101773
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Ultra-tough coatings via materials engineering . This project aims to develop new generation coatings that combine highly controlled compositions and bio-inspired microstructural characteristics for safety-critical applications. This is made possible through smart materials design, multi-scale modelling and novel fabrication technique. The new coatings are expected to offer exceptionally high toughness underlain by a unique combination of various strengthening modes at multiple length scales. Th ....Ultra-tough coatings via materials engineering . This project aims to develop new generation coatings that combine highly controlled compositions and bio-inspired microstructural characteristics for safety-critical applications. This is made possible through smart materials design, multi-scale modelling and novel fabrication technique. The new coatings are expected to offer exceptionally high toughness underlain by a unique combination of various strengthening modes at multiple length scales. The application of the coatings will enhance the performance and safety of mechanical components in engineering applications, reduce associated costs. In doing so, this project will bring substantial benefits to advanced manufacturing, mining and aerospace sectors. Read moreRead less
Plasma touches life: advancing plasma technologies for the life sciences. The aim of this project is to develop a mechanistic understanding of how electrically excited gas (plasma) jets deliver reactive oxygen and nitrogen species into tissue, ensuring safety and precision in their use to combat disease. Overcoming barriers in delivery is intended to help realise the full potential of plasma in the life sciences. The project is expected to generate new knowledge across physics, chemistry and bio ....Plasma touches life: advancing plasma technologies for the life sciences. The aim of this project is to develop a mechanistic understanding of how electrically excited gas (plasma) jets deliver reactive oxygen and nitrogen species into tissue, ensuring safety and precision in their use to combat disease. Overcoming barriers in delivery is intended to help realise the full potential of plasma in the life sciences. The project is expected to generate new knowledge across physics, chemistry and biology, leading to new approaches for the future development of plasma technologies. This should provide significant benefits by expanding the human capacity of research in plasma, and in growing the advanced manufacturing of plasma devices for future applications in engineering, biology and health.Read moreRead less
A universally efficient antibacterial coating with remarkable durability. To prevent the spread of diseases and infections through contaminated surfaces, the project intends to create new ceramic-based coatings that combine mechanical durability with broad-spectrum antibacterial activities. Around 200 000 infections, many fatal, occur in Australian hospitals each year, with contaminated surfaces being a primary source. To combat this challenge, the project aims to develop a new class of ceramic- ....A universally efficient antibacterial coating with remarkable durability. To prevent the spread of diseases and infections through contaminated surfaces, the project intends to create new ceramic-based coatings that combine mechanical durability with broad-spectrum antibacterial activities. Around 200 000 infections, many fatal, occur in Australian hospitals each year, with contaminated surfaces being a primary source. To combat this challenge, the project aims to develop a new class of ceramic-based coatings, which are extremely robust yet highly effective in eliminating common and emerging bacteria, by uniting new antibacterial agents into a self-toughening micro-architecture. By disrupting bacterial transmission through surfaces, this project promises to protect the wellbeing of patients and healthcare professionals, and to help maintain food and water safety standards in Australia.Read moreRead less
Plasma-soft tissue interactions: advancing a new era of plasma technologies. This project aims to develop the prerequisite knowledge to underpin new plasma technologies. Specifically, the project plans to provide new insight into the interaction between ionised gas plasma jets and biological soft tissue. It plans to use advanced analytical techniques and modelling simulations to investigate the physics of the plasma jet and processes occurring at the jet–tissue interface. It also plans to use (b ....Plasma-soft tissue interactions: advancing a new era of plasma technologies. This project aims to develop the prerequisite knowledge to underpin new plasma technologies. Specifically, the project plans to provide new insight into the interaction between ionised gas plasma jets and biological soft tissue. It plans to use advanced analytical techniques and modelling simulations to investigate the physics of the plasma jet and processes occurring at the jet–tissue interface. It also plans to use (bio)engineered tissue targets, chemical, biological and cellular assays to probe the transport and effects of plasma reactive species deep within tissue. This new knowledge would enable the development of new plasma sources and protocols for applications in health, medicine, biotechnology and manufacturing.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC180100005
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,889,410.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre in Surface Engineering for Advanced Materials. The ARC Training Centre in Surface Engineering for Advanced Materials aims to provide pathways for job creation and a high quality workforce in manufacturing. Surface engineering for advanced materials is a core need in all manufacturing sectors and controls the efficiency, productivity and sustainability of Australian industry. This Centre will integrate industry-university cooperation for applied training within an industrial s ....ARC Training Centre in Surface Engineering for Advanced Materials. The ARC Training Centre in Surface Engineering for Advanced Materials aims to provide pathways for job creation and a high quality workforce in manufacturing. Surface engineering for advanced materials is a core need in all manufacturing sectors and controls the efficiency, productivity and sustainability of Australian industry. This Centre will integrate industry-university cooperation for applied training within an industrial setting and will cover a spectrum of applications ranging from thin films to thick coatings and additive layered materials. The Centre will pursue outcomes that are reflected in terms of industry-fit researchers and deliver commercial benefits for industry.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE200100168
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$550,000.00
Summary
Integrated Functional Printing Facility for Advanced Material Technologies. The project aims to develop Australia’s first fully integrated small-scale and agile prototyping facility for printing. This facility will provide critical infrastructure to deposit a wide range of advanced materials with unprecedented precision & process flexibility allowing realistic form, configuration and device-ready formats with minimal usage of functional ink. Using this unique facility, researchers will be able t ....Integrated Functional Printing Facility for Advanced Material Technologies. The project aims to develop Australia’s first fully integrated small-scale and agile prototyping facility for printing. This facility will provide critical infrastructure to deposit a wide range of advanced materials with unprecedented precision & process flexibility allowing realistic form, configuration and device-ready formats with minimal usage of functional ink. Using this unique facility, researchers will be able to assess integration of novel functional materials in a wide range of devices and applications, including critical components of affordable healthcare diagnostic devices, advanced security features in banknotes, integrated RFID tracking systems, high performance solar cells and separation membranes. Read moreRead less
Decision support systems for the implementation of team based cellular manufacturing in adaptive organizations. Cellular manufacturing, where a family of products is produced in discrete multi-machine cells, has been adopted by many firms to increase flexibility, reduce costs and improve quality. However the implementation of cellular manufacturing is a complex process as technology, customer needs, product characteristics, enterprise goals and organisation structure can influence the effectiven ....Decision support systems for the implementation of team based cellular manufacturing in adaptive organizations. Cellular manufacturing, where a family of products is produced in discrete multi-machine cells, has been adopted by many firms to increase flexibility, reduce costs and improve quality. However the implementation of cellular manufacturing is a complex process as technology, customer needs, product characteristics, enterprise goals and organisation structure can influence the effectiveness of the implementation. This project will develop an intelligent model for the implementation of cellular manufacturing in batch production and test it in a case study. The work will contribute to Australia's contribution to the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems international research project SYMPHONY.Read moreRead less
New Optimisation and Control Technologies for Milk Powder Manufacturing Processes. Advanced optimisation and control are considered to be one of the top technologies that help milk powder producers operate their plants more efficiently. However, the successful implementations of these technologies are limited due to poor understanding of the relationship between raw material variations and process disturbances with the target variables. Moreover, uncertainties in process measurements also preven ....New Optimisation and Control Technologies for Milk Powder Manufacturing Processes. Advanced optimisation and control are considered to be one of the top technologies that help milk powder producers operate their plants more efficiently. However, the successful implementations of these technologies are limited due to poor understanding of the relationship between raw material variations and process disturbances with the target variables. Moreover, uncertainties in process measurements also prevent reliable control and effective optimisation. This project aims to address these gaps by developing new optimisation and control methods based on effective model reduction and uncertainty process variable identification, to enable Australian milk powder manufacturers to continuously improve productivity and reduce cost.Read moreRead less