A Multi-Scale Approach To Reliability And Durability Of Engineering Structures And Sensors. The Longford explosion is an example where a major failure was due to a very small defect. It is estimated to have cost Australia in excess of $1.5 Billion. The acquisition costs of aircraft mean that keeping a fleet operational for a year can produce savings of ~$100,000,000.The automotive industry is designing lighter vehicles. GM Australia has realised that ensuring the durability of these new designs ....A Multi-Scale Approach To Reliability And Durability Of Engineering Structures And Sensors. The Longford explosion is an example where a major failure was due to a very small defect. It is estimated to have cost Australia in excess of $1.5 Billion. The acquisition costs of aircraft mean that keeping a fleet operational for a year can produce savings of ~$100,000,000.The automotive industry is designing lighter vehicles. GM Australia has realised that ensuring the durability of these new designs is essential. By our participation in the GM PACE program we ensure that the developments are available to the broader Australian Industry. Indeed, to design durable MEM's structures would give Australia a commercial edge.Read moreRead less
Wall Turbulence Drag: Physical Mechanisms and Practicable Control Strategies. The proposed research will build on Australia's well-established strengths in Fluid Mechanics, and aim to establish within Australia world-leading expertise in turbulence control and drag reduction technology. This will have direct benefits to the Australian economy through Tourism (among other industries) by reducing the adverse impact of rising fuel prices on long-distance air travel, on which Australia is disproport ....Wall Turbulence Drag: Physical Mechanisms and Practicable Control Strategies. The proposed research will build on Australia's well-established strengths in Fluid Mechanics, and aim to establish within Australia world-leading expertise in turbulence control and drag reduction technology. This will have direct benefits to the Australian economy through Tourism (among other industries) by reducing the adverse impact of rising fuel prices on long-distance air travel, on which Australia is disproportionately reliant due to its geographic isolation. Efficient turbulence control strategies will also lead to improved combustion processes, resulting in not only better fuel efficiency but also reduced CO2 and pollutant emissions.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