Design of Welded Steel Tubular Connections. Steel tubes are widely used in building, road transportation, defence, recreation, and agriculture industries. The proposed program will develop static design procedures for welded tubular connections to ensure safe and economic structures. The program will also investigate the behaviour of a popular tubular connection utilizing very high strength steel tubes to extend the existing design scope and enhance the utilization of Australian produced innovat ....Design of Welded Steel Tubular Connections. Steel tubes are widely used in building, road transportation, defence, recreation, and agriculture industries. The proposed program will develop static design procedures for welded tubular connections to ensure safe and economic structures. The program will also investigate the behaviour of a popular tubular connection utilizing very high strength steel tubes to extend the existing design scope and enhance the utilization of Australian produced innovative tubular sections. The notch toughness of steel tubes will also be investigated to avoid fracture failure of welded connections under dynamic loading. The program will build strong ongoing collaboration between University of Toronto and Monash University.Read moreRead less
Overcoming the Barriers in the Development of Solid State Materials. A major impact of this proposal shall be in terms of researcher training. By synergistically combining materials chemistry, fundamental physical chemistry, inorganic chemistry, and electrochemistry, this basic program will provide high level training to a new generation of Australian and Irish scientists thus helping to safeguard the economic competitiveness of the countries. Beyond the impact of the fundamental insight into t ....Overcoming the Barriers in the Development of Solid State Materials. A major impact of this proposal shall be in terms of researcher training. By synergistically combining materials chemistry, fundamental physical chemistry, inorganic chemistry, and electrochemistry, this basic program will provide high level training to a new generation of Australian and Irish scientists thus helping to safeguard the economic competitiveness of the countries. Beyond the impact of the fundamental insight into the rational design, structure and behaviour of a new class of solid materials, success in this program will have widespread applications for a variety of strategically important industries and should place Australia and Ireland at the forefront of this technologyRead moreRead less
Development of Creep Resistant TiAl Alloys for High Temperature Structural Applications. TiAl based alloys are being developed as high temperature structural materials for aerospace and automotive applications and thus their creep resistance (long-term strength at elevated temperatures) is critical. This project aims at developing creep resistant TiAl alloys through a combination of addition of rare earth and severe plastic deformation. It is expected that a refined and stablised microstructure ....Development of Creep Resistant TiAl Alloys for High Temperature Structural Applications. TiAl based alloys are being developed as high temperature structural materials for aerospace and automotive applications and thus their creep resistance (long-term strength at elevated temperatures) is critical. This project aims at developing creep resistant TiAl alloys through a combination of addition of rare earth and severe plastic deformation. It is expected that a refined and stablised microstructure consisting of submicron lamellar grains and nanosized lamellae be obtained. This will result in a highly creep resistant prototype TiAl material and leads eventually to the development of commercial TiAl alloys.Read moreRead less
CFRP (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer) Strengthening of Steel Structures. The research will produce a breakthrough in understanding the bond characteristics between CFRP and steel. It will develop strengthening techniques for steel structures. The project will contribute to improved cost effectiveness and safety of steel structures thereby contributing to the socio-economic well-being of Australia including the road, offshore, building and mining industries. It will increase the international co ....CFRP (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer) Strengthening of Steel Structures. The research will produce a breakthrough in understanding the bond characteristics between CFRP and steel. It will develop strengthening techniques for steel structures. The project will contribute to improved cost effectiveness and safety of steel structures thereby contributing to the socio-economic well-being of Australia including the road, offshore, building and mining industries. It will increase the international competitiveness of the Australian steel industry and Australia's infrastructure maintenance capability. Furthermore, Australia will be better positioned for potential technology transfer to Asian countries in this technical area.Read moreRead less
ENHANCED PERFORMANCE OF AUTOMOTIVE SHEET ALLOYS VIA CONTROL OF COMPOSITION, THERMAL PROCESSING AND NANOSTRUCTURE. This project involves characterisation using modern facilities of the form and identity of atomic-scale clusters of alloying elements in selected automotive sheet alloys that have been subjected to single and multiple ageing treatments and examination and modelling of deformation mechanisms and behaviour in such alloys. The aim is to establish the precise role of clusters of solute a ....ENHANCED PERFORMANCE OF AUTOMOTIVE SHEET ALLOYS VIA CONTROL OF COMPOSITION, THERMAL PROCESSING AND NANOSTRUCTURE. This project involves characterisation using modern facilities of the form and identity of atomic-scale clusters of alloying elements in selected automotive sheet alloys that have been subjected to single and multiple ageing treatments and examination and modelling of deformation mechanisms and behaviour in such alloys. The aim is to establish the precise role of clusters of solute atoms and vacancies in the formation of precipitate phases that control the final strength and deformation behaviour of the alloys, and to provide useful guidelines for further improvements in strength of these alloys via the control of alloy composition and of multiple ageing treatments.Read moreRead less
Modelling of Nanostructuring of Bulk Metallic Materials by Severe Plastic Deformation. The use of ultrafine grained alloys is expected to lead to significant breakthroughs in relation to fuel-efficient cars, light weight/high strength designs in aerospace and structural applications, and bio-medical implants. It will provide a wider market for such metals and create niche applications in domestic and export manufacturing industry. The development of technologically viable processes of nanostruct ....Modelling of Nanostructuring of Bulk Metallic Materials by Severe Plastic Deformation. The use of ultrafine grained alloys is expected to lead to significant breakthroughs in relation to fuel-efficient cars, light weight/high strength designs in aerospace and structural applications, and bio-medical implants. It will provide a wider market for such metals and create niche applications in domestic and export manufacturing industry. The development of technologically viable processes of nanostructuring hinges on the fundamental understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of microstructure and texture development. The knowledge base to be developed through this project will bring Australia to the international forefront in the area of structural nanomaterials and prepare the ground for future frontier technologies. Read moreRead less
Boron nitride nanotubes for tunable conductivity. The proposed research in nanotubes falls into the national research priority areas of advanced materials and breakthrough science. This ANU research group has a leading role in Boron Nitride (BN) nanotube research internationally. The proposed collaborative research will enhance this position and further improve the nation's research profile in nanotechnology. New intellectual properties will be generated if the project is successful, which wi ....Boron nitride nanotubes for tunable conductivity. The proposed research in nanotubes falls into the national research priority areas of advanced materials and breakthrough science. This ANU research group has a leading role in Boron Nitride (BN) nanotube research internationally. The proposed collaborative research will enhance this position and further improve the nation's research profile in nanotechnology. New intellectual properties will be generated if the project is successful, which will benefit the commercialization activity of BN nanotubes at ANU. New PhD and undergraduate students will be trained by the proposed cutting edge research project.Read moreRead less
CHARACTERISATION OF DIE CAST MAGNESIUM ALLOYS FOR AUTOMOTIVE POWER TRAIN COMPONENTS. A new group of magnesium die casting alloys has recently been developed for fabricating automotive power train components. While these alloys exhibit good tensile yield strength at both ambient and elevated (100-200°C) temperatures, they are prone to excessive creep deformation when exposed to moderate levels of loads at temperatures above 125°C. The aim of this project is to characterise microstructures of th ....CHARACTERISATION OF DIE CAST MAGNESIUM ALLOYS FOR AUTOMOTIVE POWER TRAIN COMPONENTS. A new group of magnesium die casting alloys has recently been developed for fabricating automotive power train components. While these alloys exhibit good tensile yield strength at both ambient and elevated (100-200°C) temperatures, they are prone to excessive creep deformation when exposed to moderate levels of loads at temperatures above 125°C. The aim of this project is to characterise microstructures of these alloys subjected to controlled levels of creep deformation in the temperature and stress regime of interests, with a view to identifying microstructural factors that are important in determining the creep resistance of die cast magnesium alloys. The outcome of this project will provide useful guidelines for further improvements in creep resistance of these alloys and development of new die cast alloys with higher creep resistance at elevated temperatures.Read moreRead less
Electrochemistry of redox-active non-metal compounds. Unsaturated compounds of heavier non-metal elements can exist in multiple stable redox states. The interconversion is best assessed by electrochemical techniques, which can measure the energetics and the mechanism of the redox processes involved in both solution and solid state phases. Compounds to be studied will be prepared in the Canadian laboratories of the partner investigator. The electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical properties ....Electrochemistry of redox-active non-metal compounds. Unsaturated compounds of heavier non-metal elements can exist in multiple stable redox states. The interconversion is best assessed by electrochemical techniques, which can measure the energetics and the mechanism of the redox processes involved in both solution and solid state phases. Compounds to be studied will be prepared in the Canadian laboratories of the partner investigator. The electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical properties will initially be investigated in Australia during the visit of the partner investigator to Monash University with follow up studies in both countries. The mutual skills of synthesis and electrochemistry in the Canadian-Australian laboratories are essential to the project.Read moreRead less
Ductile Bulk Metallic Glass Composites. Structural materials are the basic building blocks of modern society, even a small advancement can have a strong impact on our society. The properties of steel have been pushed close to the limit. The development of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) offers the opportunity to revolutionize the field of structural materials with strengths 3 or 4 time that of steel. The proposed project, aims to overcome the major technical barrier for BMGs of insufficient ductili ....Ductile Bulk Metallic Glass Composites. Structural materials are the basic building blocks of modern society, even a small advancement can have a strong impact on our society. The properties of steel have been pushed close to the limit. The development of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) offers the opportunity to revolutionize the field of structural materials with strengths 3 or 4 time that of steel. The proposed project, aims to overcome the major technical barrier for BMGs of insufficient ductility. The development of ductile and high strength BMGs, will position Australia and its researchers at the forefront of this exciting material innovation. The project will develop and strengthen Australia's international research linkages with overseas centres of excellence.Read moreRead less