Controlling coastlines while generating power. The Project aims to produce strategies for protecting coasts from storms using farms of wave-energy machines, which also generate electricity. Increasing lengths of coast need protection as the climate changes, but conventional barriers create permanent environmental impacts and are a sunk cost usually borne by the taxpayer. The Project expects to derive a strategy for the setting of each machine in the farm, so that they collectively absorb or refl ....Controlling coastlines while generating power. The Project aims to produce strategies for protecting coasts from storms using farms of wave-energy machines, which also generate electricity. Increasing lengths of coast need protection as the climate changes, but conventional barriers create permanent environmental impacts and are a sunk cost usually borne by the taxpayer. The Project expects to derive a strategy for the setting of each machine in the farm, so that they collectively absorb or reflect damaging waves under severe conditions. Under normal conditions, enough wave energy to sustain environmental processes would pass through. Sales of electricity would help to pay back the capital cost. Outcomes would include reduced coastal-erosion costs and a low-intermittency energy supply.Read moreRead less
Flow generation on the water surface. This project focuses on the efficient use of the energy of surface waves. It has been found recently that energy of surface waves can be converted and stored in the horizontal water motion near the surface. This project aims to develop new technologies to harness wave energy, including a novel method of accumulating the energy of random waves into a stationary surface flow and novel methods of manipulating floating objects by sending surface waves. This may ....Flow generation on the water surface. This project focuses on the efficient use of the energy of surface waves. It has been found recently that energy of surface waves can be converted and stored in the horizontal water motion near the surface. This project aims to develop new technologies to harness wave energy, including a novel method of accumulating the energy of random waves into a stationary surface flow and novel methods of manipulating floating objects by sending surface waves. This may help to stop the spread of surface pollutants or attract floating objects by sending waves towards them, and may help us to understand how rip currents are formed on the beach.Read moreRead less
Turbulent wall-bounded flow in adverse pressure gradient environments. This research will create additional research capacity in turbulence control and drag reduction. It will have direct benefits to the Australian economy via the transport industry by reducing the adverse impact of the carbon tax and rising fuel prices on long-haul air, water and road transport, on which Australia is disproportionately reliant.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101183
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$361,880.00
Summary
Next-generation expanders for renewable power applications: dealing with variability and uncertainty. This project will develop new strategies to design optimum expanders capable of maintaining good performance under uncontrollable working conditions. If these innovative design methods can be applied to engineering applications they will assist Australia to meet the Renewable Energy Target and to become an international leader in the field.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100968
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Lifting the Veil on Turbulent Convective Heat Transfer over Rough Surfaces. By understanding the influence of surface roughness on convective heat transfer, this project intends to reduce the unwanted heating and energy losses associated with surface roughness in gas and steam turbines used in power generation and transportation. The surface roughness that results from extended operation of gas and steam turbines can significantly increase the heating of their surfaces, increasing fuel consumpti ....Lifting the Veil on Turbulent Convective Heat Transfer over Rough Surfaces. By understanding the influence of surface roughness on convective heat transfer, this project intends to reduce the unwanted heating and energy losses associated with surface roughness in gas and steam turbines used in power generation and transportation. The surface roughness that results from extended operation of gas and steam turbines can significantly increase the heating of their surfaces, increasing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing operational life. Improvements would allow turbines to operate at higher inlet temperatures which will increase their efficiency and reduce fuel use, environmental emissions and maintenance costs.Read moreRead less
Bio-oil from woody biomass - a sustainable fuel for Australia. At present many alternative energy supply systems suffer from factors like high costs, inefficiency and in some cases inappropriate application of immature technology and so are unsustainable. To overcome these problems, this research proposes the development of an integrated biomass solution to energy supply as well as dry land salinity. By doing so a sustainable and cost effective industry can be developed. Furthermore, if such an ....Bio-oil from woody biomass - a sustainable fuel for Australia. At present many alternative energy supply systems suffer from factors like high costs, inefficiency and in some cases inappropriate application of immature technology and so are unsustainable. To overcome these problems, this research proposes the development of an integrated biomass solution to energy supply as well as dry land salinity. By doing so a sustainable and cost effective industry can be developed. Furthermore, if such an industry is based on advances in Australian research and development, exporting this to other countries with similar problems, will further enhance its economic and social benefit to Australia.Read moreRead less
Novel Graphitic Mesoporous Carbon Materials for Next Generation Carbon Catalyst Supports and Carbon Electrodes. This project will bring about direct application benefits in terms of disclosing novel graphitic mesoporous carbons with high accessible surface area and graphitic framework as catalyst supports and electrode materials. This would lead to advanced processes important to the Australian energy and environmental industries, such as electrical double layer capacitors, greenhouse reduction ....Novel Graphitic Mesoporous Carbon Materials for Next Generation Carbon Catalyst Supports and Carbon Electrodes. This project will bring about direct application benefits in terms of disclosing novel graphitic mesoporous carbons with high accessible surface area and graphitic framework as catalyst supports and electrode materials. This would lead to advanced processes important to the Australian energy and environmental industries, such as electrical double layer capacitors, greenhouse reduction by hydrogen fuel, and hydrodesulfurization of diesel fuels. The techniques and synthesis strategies developed in this project are also applicable to creating other graphitic mesoporsous carbons important to advanced sensors, fuel cells and optoelectronic applications. Read moreRead less
Geometry of wall-turbulence and its potential to advance scalable models. This project aims to unravel the connections between the statistical geometry of wall-turbulence and the dynamical interactions of its instantaneous motions. Predicting the complex behaviour of turbulent fluid flow over surfaces in relative motion is central to atmospheric modelling for climate and agriculture, and reducing the environmental effect of fossil fuel usage. Wall-turbulence statistics organise according to a pr ....Geometry of wall-turbulence and its potential to advance scalable models. This project aims to unravel the connections between the statistical geometry of wall-turbulence and the dynamical interactions of its instantaneous motions. Predicting the complex behaviour of turbulent fluid flow over surfaces in relative motion is central to atmospheric modelling for climate and agriculture, and reducing the environmental effect of fossil fuel usage. Wall-turbulence statistics organise according to a predictable geometric structure, and the notorious complexity of turbulent wall-flow dynamics could be clarified through its inherent geometry. This project expects to construct a basis for predicting engineering and atmospheric wall-flows, which would enhance atmospheric flow prediction, reduce energy consumption and further environmental sustainability.Read moreRead less
Self-similar scale interactions in turbulent boundary layers. Predicting and controlling turbulent fluid flow next to a solid surface (the turbulent boundary layer) is of critical importance to ensuring a sustainable energy and environmental future. While recent research has yielded a clearer physical understanding of these flows, converting this understanding into tools useful to engineering practice remains a central obstacle. The proposed research directly addresses this fundamental challenge ....Self-similar scale interactions in turbulent boundary layers. Predicting and controlling turbulent fluid flow next to a solid surface (the turbulent boundary layer) is of critical importance to ensuring a sustainable energy and environmental future. While recent research has yielded a clearer physical understanding of these flows, converting this understanding into tools useful to engineering practice remains a central obstacle. The proposed research directly addresses this fundamental challenge by precisely connecting the eddy interactions of the turbulence to the mathematical equations that rigorously describe these flows. As such it holds breakthrough potential toward the development of turbulent boundary layer prediction and control schemes that do not rely on ad hoc models or assumptions.Read moreRead less
New understanding and models for two-phase solar thermal particle receivers. The project aims to provide the new understanding of, and computational design tools for, next generation solar thermal particle receivers and their hybrids. Particle receivers, which heat fine particles in suspension, offer much greater efficiency than current tubular receivers, but are presently unreliable due to the poor understanding of the complex and coupled mechanisms that govern their performance. The results ar ....New understanding and models for two-phase solar thermal particle receivers. The project aims to provide the new understanding of, and computational design tools for, next generation solar thermal particle receivers and their hybrids. Particle receivers, which heat fine particles in suspension, offer much greater efficiency than current tubular receivers, but are presently unreliable due to the poor understanding of the complex and coupled mechanisms that govern their performance. The results are expected to speed up the development and roll-out of these devices, to deliver cost-effective, low-emissions energy technologies for future power generation and thermo-chemical processes. The aims will be met by the parallel application of advanced laser diagnostic measurements and computational fluid dynamics modelling techniques.Read moreRead less