Behavioural responses to transport congestion: peak spreading and the more efficient usage of transport infrastructure. Transport networks in cities such as Sydney are at or near capacity. It is no longer socially, environmentally or financially sustainable to continue supplying additional transport infrastructure to meet increased demand. An alternative is to make better use of existing infrastructure by spreading demand more evenly across the day. This project will test behavioural responses t ....Behavioural responses to transport congestion: peak spreading and the more efficient usage of transport infrastructure. Transport networks in cities such as Sydney are at or near capacity. It is no longer socially, environmentally or financially sustainable to continue supplying additional transport infrastructure to meet increased demand. An alternative is to make better use of existing infrastructure by spreading demand more evenly across the day. This project will test behavioural responses to increased congestion and quantify the phenomenon of peak spreading. It will assess economic costs and benefits of using congestion as a signal to encourage more efficient network usage, and examine other tools (e.g. time-based transport pricing) to encourage more efficient use of transport infrastructure.Read moreRead less
Multidimensional evaluation of the overall benefits of voluntary travel behaviour change programs. Voluntary Travel Behaviour Programs (VTBC) offer considerable promise for the management of traffic congestion and reduction in greenhouse gas and air quality emissions from road transport. Research to date has identified two outstanding issues: (1) measurement and evaluation of actual behaviour change and (2) identification of the full benefits and impacts of VTBC. Empirical studies indicate that ....Multidimensional evaluation of the overall benefits of voluntary travel behaviour change programs. Voluntary Travel Behaviour Programs (VTBC) offer considerable promise for the management of traffic congestion and reduction in greenhouse gas and air quality emissions from road transport. Research to date has identified two outstanding issues: (1) measurement and evaluation of actual behaviour change and (2) identification of the full benefits and impacts of VTBC. Empirical studies indicate that many of the benefits fall outside the transport area, including a wide range of socio-economic benefits to individuals and the community. This project will develop a survey tool for assessing benefits and impacts of VTBC within a properly designed and tested evaluation framework.Read moreRead less
Monitoring and Maintaining the Structural Health of Bridges Using Vibration Characteristics. Bridges form an important part of our physical infrastructure system and in Queensland alone there are nearly 3000 bridges with an annual maintenance cost in excess of 20 million dollars and a replacement value in excess of 2 billion dollars. It is necessary to ensure that these bridges function safely and efficiently at all times. Bridge failure will cause disruption to normal lives and expensive repa ....Monitoring and Maintaining the Structural Health of Bridges Using Vibration Characteristics. Bridges form an important part of our physical infrastructure system and in Queensland alone there are nearly 3000 bridges with an annual maintenance cost in excess of 20 million dollars and a replacement value in excess of 2 billion dollars. It is necessary to ensure that these bridges function safely and efficiently at all times. Bridge failure will cause disruption to normal lives and expensive repairs. Towards this end, this project will develop an innovative structural health monitoring system to monitor and maintain the structural health of our bridges. The project outcomes will have immediate applications in Australia and overseas with economic and social benefits to the community.Read moreRead less
Stabilization of railway subgrade by lime-flyash slurry injection. The rail network in Australia provides a major transport route for commuters as well as transportation of goods. The subgrade of railway track should provide adequate support for the overlying ballast and capping layers. Hence, a poor subgrade always results in track problems associated with uneven track, fouled ballast, and misalignment of the track. This project will investigate in detail the fundamental mechanisms and key para ....Stabilization of railway subgrade by lime-flyash slurry injection. The rail network in Australia provides a major transport route for commuters as well as transportation of goods. The subgrade of railway track should provide adequate support for the overlying ballast and capping layers. Hence, a poor subgrade always results in track problems associated with uneven track, fouled ballast, and misalignment of the track. This project will investigate in detail the fundamental mechanisms and key parameters involved in the improvement of subgrade soil by injecting lime-flyash slurry. This project will develop an improved design procedure for lime-flyash slurry injection in the field based on experimental and numerical modelling.Read moreRead less
Assessment and Prediction of Particle Breakage under Cyclic Loading. Every year, transport industries spend millions of dollars to maintain existing tracks suffering excessive settlement due to heavy traffic. In railways, differential settlement and track fouling are mostly due to ballast breakage. Frequent maintenance requires large amounts of quarried ballast causing environmental degradation. Simulation of particle breakage subject to cyclic loading is pioneering fundamental research that wi ....Assessment and Prediction of Particle Breakage under Cyclic Loading. Every year, transport industries spend millions of dollars to maintain existing tracks suffering excessive settlement due to heavy traffic. In railways, differential settlement and track fouling are mostly due to ballast breakage. Frequent maintenance requires large amounts of quarried ballast causing environmental degradation. Simulation of particle breakage subject to cyclic loading is pioneering fundamental research that will have significant impact on the design and maintenance of future rail and road networks. A full understanding of the breakage mechanisms of aggregates will lead to innovative techniques in design and construction, including faster trains carrying heavier loads with reduced maintenance costs.Read moreRead less
Prediction and control of fluid-structure interactions. Fluid-flows create a pressure that can deform the surface of a structure or cause it to vibrate; an extreme example is the fluttering of a flag. Flow-induced vibration of the external panels of vehicles causes damage, noise and can adversely affect performance. This project will develop a wholly new approach for the analysis of these interactions. The versatility and completeness of the approach permits a step-change in the design of panels ....Prediction and control of fluid-structure interactions. Fluid-flows create a pressure that can deform the surface of a structure or cause it to vibrate; an extreme example is the fluttering of a flag. Flow-induced vibration of the external panels of vehicles causes damage, noise and can adversely affect performance. This project will develop a wholly new approach for the analysis of these interactions. The versatility and completeness of the approach permits a step-change in the design of panels, reducing material and manufacturing costs without compromise to safety and performance - an immense benefit for the myriad engineered products or structures that feature flow over a deformable surface. Read moreRead less
Taming turbulence: Hydrodynamic stability and flow-structure interaction using grid-free computation. Turbulence is characterized as seemingly disordered fluctuations that impede the progress of an object through a fluid by creating increased frictional or drag forces. Using a new type of fluid-flow simulation, this project will generate advanced understanding of turbulence in the flow over the surface of a vehicle, be it a ship, car, aircraft or within a pipe, with the technological objective o ....Taming turbulence: Hydrodynamic stability and flow-structure interaction using grid-free computation. Turbulence is characterized as seemingly disordered fluctuations that impede the progress of an object through a fluid by creating increased frictional or drag forces. Using a new type of fluid-flow simulation, this project will generate advanced understanding of turbulence in the flow over the surface of a vehicle, be it a ship, car, aircraft or within a pipe, with the technological objective of reducing drag by adhering a compliant skin to the surface. While the correct choice of compliance relies upon understanding very complex flow-structure dynamics, the resulting technology is simple, robust and has low capital and maintenance costs. Clearly, drag reduction reduces fuel costs and lower fuel consumption is environmentally beneficial. Read moreRead less
The future of shipping: achieving autonomous navigation. This project aims to develop autonomous decision systems and onshore control stations to support the design and operation of unmanned cargo ships. Blending observations, numerical models, virtual reality and machine learning, the project will develop algorithms for unsupervised navigation and embed these in an advanced ship simulator platform capable of responding to environmental conditions and optimising sea freight transport capabilitie ....The future of shipping: achieving autonomous navigation. This project aims to develop autonomous decision systems and onshore control stations to support the design and operation of unmanned cargo ships. Blending observations, numerical models, virtual reality and machine learning, the project will develop algorithms for unsupervised navigation and embed these in an advanced ship simulator platform capable of responding to environmental conditions and optimising sea freight transport capabilities. The expected outcomes will enable the integration of automated controls in ships, including remote-control capabilities. This will support Australia’s transition towards an autonomous shipping industry, delivering greater reliability, efficiency, productivity and safety.Read moreRead less
The development of active third-generation heavy vehicle aerodynamic drag reducing devices to reduce future transport emissions. The potential for emission reductions through aerodynamic improvements is particularly apparent in long haul heavy vehicle transport. By developing active devices to be fitted to the heavy vehicle trailer of the future this work offers drag reduction potential from current levels of up to 40 per cent. If widely implemented these devices could play a major part in the t ....The development of active third-generation heavy vehicle aerodynamic drag reducing devices to reduce future transport emissions. The potential for emission reductions through aerodynamic improvements is particularly apparent in long haul heavy vehicle transport. By developing active devices to be fitted to the heavy vehicle trailer of the future this work offers drag reduction potential from current levels of up to 40 per cent. If widely implemented these devices could play a major part in the transport sector meeting medium term emissions targets. If successful not only will the project develop unique components, it will support heavy vehicle research and development that is so important to maintaining a strong manufacturing presence in Australia, especially in regional centres, such as Ballarat where Maxitrans has major headquarters. Read moreRead less
Wide Speed Range, Inverterless, Constant Current Mode Alternator. Increasing auxiliary electric power demands in cars due to proposed new features such as electromechanical valves and active suspension has created a pressing need for a higher power car alternator. There has also been a continuing need for improved alternators for small-scale renewable energy generation such as wind turbines. These applications require the lowest possible cost solution which meets the challenging technical spec ....Wide Speed Range, Inverterless, Constant Current Mode Alternator. Increasing auxiliary electric power demands in cars due to proposed new features such as electromechanical valves and active suspension has created a pressing need for a higher power car alternator. There has also been a continuing need for improved alternators for small-scale renewable energy generation such as wind turbines. These applications require the lowest possible cost solution which meets the challenging technical specifications. Present research in this area is focussed on expensive inverter-based methods. We propose a low-cost, "inverterless" alternator configuration based on a specially-designed interior permanent magnet machine operating in a new current source mode.Read moreRead less