Resilient design of energy pile foundations toward zero carbon buildings. This project aims to investigate the complex thermo-hydro mechanical interactions affecting the effectiveness of energy pile foundations for improved energy efficiency of new buildings. Using cutting-edge micro to field-scale methods, this project expects to underpin the development of experimentally validated predictions of the geotechnical performance of energy piles. Expected outcomes of this project are the establishme ....Resilient design of energy pile foundations toward zero carbon buildings. This project aims to investigate the complex thermo-hydro mechanical interactions affecting the effectiveness of energy pile foundations for improved energy efficiency of new buildings. Using cutting-edge micro to field-scale methods, this project expects to underpin the development of experimentally validated predictions of the geotechnical performance of energy piles. Expected outcomes of this project are the establishment of new approaches to improve the resilient design of energy pile foundations, provision of new recommendations for their design and increased integration for zero carbon buildings. These outcomes will contribute significantly toward strategies to decarbonise energy systems in buildings to meet carbon neutrality goals.Read moreRead less
Assessing The Effectiveness Of LEDs, T90 Cod-end/grid Trawl Systems And Net Modifications For Reducing Bycatch And Improving Efficiency And Selectivity Of Catches In South Australian Prawn Fisheries
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$965,454.00
Summary
There are three commercial Prawn fisheries in South Australia: Spencer Gulf Prawn Fishery (SGPF); Gulf St Vincent Prawn Fishery (GSVPF); and West Coast Prawn Fishery (WCPF). All exclusively target the Western King Prawn (Penaeus (Melicertus) latisulcatus). The SGPF is the largest in terms of total area (22,367 km2), production (latest 10-year mean: 1,853 t p.a.), and number of licence holders / vessels (39). The WCPF is the smallest of the prawn fisheries with three licences (68 t in 2021). Ther ....There are three commercial Prawn fisheries in South Australia: Spencer Gulf Prawn Fishery (SGPF); Gulf St Vincent Prawn Fishery (GSVPF); and West Coast Prawn Fishery (WCPF). All exclusively target the Western King Prawn (Penaeus (Melicertus) latisulcatus). The SGPF is the largest in terms of total area (22,367 km2), production (latest 10-year mean: 1,853 t p.a.), and number of licence holders / vessels (39). The WCPF is the smallest of the prawn fisheries with three licences (68 t in 2021). There are currently 10 commercial fishing licences issued for the GSVPF with production in 2021/22 at 138.5 t. Balmain Bugs (Ibacus spp.) and Southern Calamari (Sepioteuthis australis) may be retained as byproduct in each fishery.
There is ongoing interest in maintaining a program that assesses, refines and ultimately adopts bycatch mitigation strategies. Steps taken to reduce bycatch and / or discard mortalities in South Australia include avoidance (i.e. spatial and temporal closures and reduced trawl footprint), changes to on-board handling (i.e. ‘crab bag’, sorting grid, hopper with water flow-through system), and trialling and / or use of bycatch reduction devices (i.e. Nordmøre grid, Tom's fisheye, T90 cod-end / grid design modifications) and tools (i.e. LEDs). However, the benefits of some of these bycatch mitigation strategies are not fully understood (e.g. LEDs, Tom’s fisheye) and further development is needed to achieve optimum outcomes for the resource, industry, and the environment. There is a genuine interest from industry to assess catch efficiency and selectivity of different trawl systems (e.g. quad versus double rig) and net configurations (e.g changes to cod-end and trawl body) in GSVPF and LED configurations / colours in SGPF to determine impacts on prawn catch and bycatch.
Our study aims to 1) Assess the effectiveness of LEDs in reducing bycatch, while minimizing prawn loss, in the SGPF; 2) Test the effects of trawl systems (e.g. quad vs double rig) and net configurations (e.g. changes to cod-end and trawl body) on trawl efficiency and catch selectivity in the GSVPF; and 3) Build on existing cost-benefit analysis knowledge and tools (i.e. FRDC 2011-209 , FRDC 2011-750 and FRDC 2016-213) to quantify the economic / productivity outcomes of prawn trawl modifications.
This project directly addresses South Australian Prawn Fishery’s research needs (i.e. research plans proposed by the GSVPFMAC and SGPF RSC) and will showcase the potential for further bycatch mitigation to increase fishing yield, value, and profitability while reducing bycatch. Furthermore, the outputs can be extended through the Australian Council of Prawn Fisheries (ACPF) to other Australian prawn trawl fisheries that have similar needs to mitigate and monitor bycatch. Objectives: 1. Assess the effectiveness of LEDs in reducing bycatch, while minimizing prawn loss, in the SGPF 2. Test the effects of trawl systems (e.g. quad versus double rig) and net configurations (e.g. changes to the cod-end and trawl body) on trawl efficiency and catch selectivity in the GSVPF 3. Build on existing cost-benefit analysis knowledge and tools (i.e. FRDC 2011-209 , FRDC 2011-750 and FRDC 2016-213) to quantify the economic / productivity outcomes of prawn trawl gear modifications Read moreRead less
Enhancing passive cooling using flexible baffles. The project aims to develop a novel passive strategy using fluid-structure-thermal interactions to enhance passive cooling by natural convection and improve the energy efficiency of engineering systems. Comparing to the existing strategies, the new strategy does not require driving fan or pump and is quiet, reliable, self-adaptive and economical. The Multiphysics embodied in the proposal is at the leading edge of the field. Expected outcomes incl ....Enhancing passive cooling using flexible baffles. The project aims to develop a novel passive strategy using fluid-structure-thermal interactions to enhance passive cooling by natural convection and improve the energy efficiency of engineering systems. Comparing to the existing strategies, the new strategy does not require driving fan or pump and is quiet, reliable, self-adaptive and economical. The Multiphysics embodied in the proposal is at the leading edge of the field. Expected outcomes include advanced understanding of the complex Multiphysics and design rules for enhancing passive cooling by natural convection using flexible baffles. The research is expected to bring direct economic benefit to relevant industry and significant environmental and social benefit to the general public.Read moreRead less
The Transitional and Turbulent Structure of Rotating Disk Boundary Layers. Design optimization in areas of energy, materials processing, manufacturing and aerodynamics often depends on fluid flows adjacent to surfaces (wall-flows), and many such flows are three-dimensional (3-D). At present, 3-D wall-flows are poorly understood, and thus we aim to provide the first comprehensive study of the prototypical 3-D wall-flow on a rotating disk. Experiments in a bespoke facility will cover the importan ....The Transitional and Turbulent Structure of Rotating Disk Boundary Layers. Design optimization in areas of energy, materials processing, manufacturing and aerodynamics often depends on fluid flows adjacent to surfaces (wall-flows), and many such flows are three-dimensional (3-D). At present, 3-D wall-flows are poorly understood, and thus we aim to provide the first comprehensive study of the prototypical 3-D wall-flow on a rotating disk. Experiments in a bespoke facility will cover the important flow regimes (transitional and turbulent), and novel sensors will quantify the detailed 3-D flow structure. By clarifying critical instability scenarios and revealing turbulent flow scaling structure, this project will fundamentally advance physical understanding and analytical and computational models of 3-D wall-flowsRead moreRead less
High quality and robust energy conversion systems for distribution networks. This project aims to protect distribution networks by reducing harmonics and electromagnetic Interference generated by modern power electronics equipment. Due to global demand for energy savings and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the utilisation of renewable energy sources and efficient loads using power electronics technology in distribution networks is increasing. Aspects of this technology are highly complex ....High quality and robust energy conversion systems for distribution networks. This project aims to protect distribution networks by reducing harmonics and electromagnetic Interference generated by modern power electronics equipment. Due to global demand for energy savings and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the utilisation of renewable energy sources and efficient loads using power electronics technology in distribution networks is increasing. Aspects of this technology are highly complex and not well understood and the robustness of existing and future power grids will be affected. The project will minimise risk factors associated with high frequency noise and resonances in low voltage grids both of which are very important for power electronics manufacturers and utility companies in Australia.Read moreRead less
Large Scale Natural Convection Boundary Layers with Non-Boussinesq Effects. This proposal aims to understand and predict heat transfer by turbulent natural convection in two scenarios, firstly at very large environmental scales, such as occur on melting Antarctic ice sheets, and secondly convection involving very large temperature differences such as occur in solar thermal power plants and industrial processes. These natural convection flow regimes are incredibly difficult to investigate directl ....Large Scale Natural Convection Boundary Layers with Non-Boussinesq Effects. This proposal aims to understand and predict heat transfer by turbulent natural convection in two scenarios, firstly at very large environmental scales, such as occur on melting Antarctic ice sheets, and secondly convection involving very large temperature differences such as occur in solar thermal power plants and industrial processes. These natural convection flow regimes are incredibly difficult to investigate directly but by focusing on the fundamental dynamics of the turbulent flows using large scale numerical simulations and innovative experiments, the project is expected to develop better analytical and computational models which will underpin improvements in
global ocean models and improve energy efficiency.Read moreRead less
Reducing the energy consumed by lighting with gaze-dependent illumination. Lighting consumes approximately 18% of electricity, but only a fraction of the light emitted into buildings actually supports occupants’ vision – the rest is wasted. This research aims to reduce the energy consumed by lighting by developing strategies for illuminating only the portions of architectural environments that are visible to occupants, thereby reducing unnecessary light. The impacts of gaze-dependent lighting on ....Reducing the energy consumed by lighting with gaze-dependent illumination. Lighting consumes approximately 18% of electricity, but only a fraction of the light emitted into buildings actually supports occupants’ vision – the rest is wasted. This research aims to reduce the energy consumed by lighting by developing strategies for illuminating only the portions of architectural environments that are visible to occupants, thereby reducing unnecessary light. The impacts of gaze-dependent lighting on energy consumption and the visual environment will be characterized and design guidelines will be generated to facilitate the development of innovative lighting systems that consume less energy by producing less light, without negatively impacting the visual experiences of building occupants.Read moreRead less
Molecular design of complex lubricants to reduce friction. We will investigate the molecular level design of friction modifiers for a new generation of industrial lubricants. The goal is to dramatically reduce friction between moving mechanical parts, hence increasing energy efficiency in machines and reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. We will design and test these new friction modifiers by a combination of theoretical and computational methods based in statistical mechanics and nonequili ....Molecular design of complex lubricants to reduce friction. We will investigate the molecular level design of friction modifiers for a new generation of industrial lubricants. The goal is to dramatically reduce friction between moving mechanical parts, hence increasing energy efficiency in machines and reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. We will design and test these new friction modifiers by a combination of theoretical and computational methods based in statistical mechanics and nonequilibrium molecular dynamics and directly compare results with experimental measurements. Our investigations will pave the way to develop new cost-effective friction modifiers without the need for traditional and costly trial and error laboratory based experimentation.Read moreRead less
Real-time scheduling of trains to control peak electricity demand. This project aims to develop new scheduling and control methods that will enable railways to reduce their demand for electricity during peak demand periods, without undue disruption to the timetable.
These new methods and systems will integrate with—and expand the capabilities of—an Australian train control system that is used by railways around the world. This will enable better management of electricity within a region and be ....Real-time scheduling of trains to control peak electricity demand. This project aims to develop new scheduling and control methods that will enable railways to reduce their demand for electricity during peak demand periods, without undue disruption to the timetable.
These new methods and systems will integrate with—and expand the capabilities of—an Australian train control system that is used by railways around the world. This will enable better management of electricity within a region and better use of renewable energy sources, with significant cost savings for railways and the wider community.Read moreRead less