Robust Control and System Identification of Highly Resonant Systems. The modelling and control of complex and highly resonant systems is of increasing engineering importance due to their occurence in a wide variety of emerging areas in aerospace, acoustics, robotics and ``smart'' structures. At the same time, effective tools tailored towards identifying the necessary models, and synthesising the necessary controllers for these systems are in their infancy. This arises from special difficulties ....Robust Control and System Identification of Highly Resonant Systems. The modelling and control of complex and highly resonant systems is of increasing engineering importance due to their occurence in a wide variety of emerging areas in aerospace, acoustics, robotics and ``smart'' structures. At the same time, effective tools tailored towards identifying the necessary models, and synthesising the necessary controllers for these systems are in their infancy. This arises from special difficulties encountered via the high dimensionality of the structures involved. This research project will employ new methods from the fields of robust control and multivariable system identification theory to lead to new and high performance solutions in this area.Read moreRead less
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
Temper Development Using Secondary Precipitation for Stress Corrosion Cracking Resistance in 7xxx Series Alumimium Alloys. The work has the potential for very substantial benefit to Australia. Novel stress corrosion cracking resistant tempers with improved strength have the potential for widespread application in the aircraft industry. Since the patent for the interrupted ageing process is held by CSIRO there is the potential for substantial economic benefit to Australia from the licensing of th ....Temper Development Using Secondary Precipitation for Stress Corrosion Cracking Resistance in 7xxx Series Alumimium Alloys. The work has the potential for very substantial benefit to Australia. Novel stress corrosion cracking resistant tempers with improved strength have the potential for widespread application in the aircraft industry. Since the patent for the interrupted ageing process is held by CSIRO there is the potential for substantial economic benefit to Australia from the licensing of the novel tempers world-wide. Additionally, it would be possible to develop the novel tempers in-situ on existing aircraft structures to improve their performance. This would be of particular benefit to the Royal Australian Airforce with its fleet of ageing aircraft.Read moreRead less
Surface roughness and its effects on wall-bounded turbulence. Examples in engineering where turbulence is important are: wind tunnel model testing, numerical prediction of turbulent skin friction drag over an aircraft wing, turbulent forces and acoustic field around a submarine or a road vehicle, and the dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere. Turbulence may also be beneficial, for example, in improving engine combustion and decreasing pollutant emissions. Hence this study will have national ....Surface roughness and its effects on wall-bounded turbulence. Examples in engineering where turbulence is important are: wind tunnel model testing, numerical prediction of turbulent skin friction drag over an aircraft wing, turbulent forces and acoustic field around a submarine or a road vehicle, and the dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere. Turbulence may also be beneficial, for example, in improving engine combustion and decreasing pollutant emissions. Hence this study will have national benefits in many scientific fields, for example, in fuel savings (economy and energy ), stability of road vehicles (safety and health), noise generation and acoustic signatures of submarines (transforming defence technology and safeguarding Australia).Read moreRead less
Structure, Dynamics and Control of Wall-Bounded Turbulence. This research has immense impact in engineering and environmental science including aeronautical, mechanical, biomedical engineering, and meteorological science. The energy savings with reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions resulting from this research and economic benefits will impact directly on global climate change and a sustainable urban environment in Australia. This research will deliver technological advances in complex fl ....Structure, Dynamics and Control of Wall-Bounded Turbulence. This research has immense impact in engineering and environmental science including aeronautical, mechanical, biomedical engineering, and meteorological science. The energy savings with reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions resulting from this research and economic benefits will impact directly on global climate change and a sustainable urban environment in Australia. This research will deliver technological advances in complex fluid dynamics and instrumentation, in addition to new and exciting training opportunities for future generations of researchers and engineers. This project will secure Australian science and engineering as world leaders in the crucial area of Fluid Dynamics that influences our everyday lives.
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Fast Signal Processing and Control Algorithms for Complex Hierarchical Systems. Complex dynamical behaviour is inherent to many real-world systems including telecommunications networks, financial markets and biological systems. High performance signal processing and control algorithms for such large-scale, complex systems are computationally very expensive in general. An important class of large-scale Markovian models arising in many applications shows a remarkable hierarchical property, display ....Fast Signal Processing and Control Algorithms for Complex Hierarchical Systems. Complex dynamical behaviour is inherent to many real-world systems including telecommunications networks, financial markets and biological systems. High performance signal processing and control algorithms for such large-scale, complex systems are computationally very expensive in general. An important class of large-scale Markovian models arising in many applications shows a remarkable hierarchical property, displaying strong interactions within certain clusters of states and weak interactions among these clusters. By utilizing this property, the proposed project will design and analyze novel reduced-complexity signal processing and control algorithms with rigorous performance guarantees. In addition, this project will explore possibilities of making these algorithms hierarchical such that they are easy to implement through decentralization.Read moreRead less
Stochastic Sensor Scheduling in Statistical Signal Processing. In several statistical signal processing applications, due to computational or communication constraints, at each time instant one can use only a few out of several possible noisy (stochastic) sensors. The stochastic sensor scheduling problem deals with how to dynamically choose which group of sensors to pick at each time instant. This project involves research in sensor scheduling for widely used stochastic dynamical systems such as ....Stochastic Sensor Scheduling in Statistical Signal Processing. In several statistical signal processing applications, due to computational or communication constraints, at each time instant one can use only a few out of several possible noisy (stochastic) sensors. The stochastic sensor scheduling problem deals with how to dynamically choose which group of sensors to pick at each time instant. This project involves research in sensor scheduling for widely used stochastic dynamical systems such as Hidden Markov Models and Jump Markov Linear Systems. It focuses on the design and analysis of stochastic control algorithms such as dynamic programming and simulation based randomized methods. The research will lead to an integrated theory incorporating stochastic control, statistical signal processing and combinatorial optimization. We will also apply the resulting techniques to tracking maneuvering targets given noisy observations.Read moreRead less
Development of Advanced Fracture Mechanics Models and Novel Technical Tools for Integrity, Durability and Safety Assessment. The proposed project will lead to the new understanding of fracture phenomena and structural integrity. It will create a range of novel computer based technical tools for life and integrity assessment of structures in the presence of cracks and other defects, so as to meet the high safety standards across a wide range of industries. The project will result in technology th ....Development of Advanced Fracture Mechanics Models and Novel Technical Tools for Integrity, Durability and Safety Assessment. The proposed project will lead to the new understanding of fracture phenomena and structural integrity. It will create a range of novel computer based technical tools for life and integrity assessment of structures in the presence of cracks and other defects, so as to meet the high safety standards across a wide range of industries. The project will result in technology that will help to make Australian products stronger and more durable so they become more competitive with low cost overseas imports. All the research outcomes will have a direct benefit to Australian interests, including both public and private industries.Read moreRead less
Advanced Control of Dual-Stage Hard Disk Drives. The project is of significant scientific merit, resulting in solutions to open problems in control of dual-stage hard disk drive systems. This will contribute to the maintenance of Australia's international research profile, help maintain its internal research vitality and also enhance the advanced engineering base of the country. An important benefit of this research is the direct application of developed ideas to the next generation data storage ....Advanced Control of Dual-Stage Hard Disk Drives. The project is of significant scientific merit, resulting in solutions to open problems in control of dual-stage hard disk drive systems. This will contribute to the maintenance of Australia's international research profile, help maintain its internal research vitality and also enhance the advanced engineering base of the country. An important benefit of this research is the direct application of developed ideas to the next generation data storage systems. The completion of this project will directly benefit Australia's developing high-tech industries.Read moreRead less
Robust Control of Electrostatic Microactuators. This proposal seeks to address a number of fundamental problems associated with electrostatic microactuators that form an integral part of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Performance of these microactuators is limited due to the presence of a specific form of nonlinearity in their dynamics. In this research advanced and innovative feedback controllers will be developed to improve operational performance of such microactuators. The global ME ....Robust Control of Electrostatic Microactuators. This proposal seeks to address a number of fundamental problems associated with electrostatic microactuators that form an integral part of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Performance of these microactuators is limited due to the presence of a specific form of nonlinearity in their dynamics. In this research advanced and innovative feedback controllers will be developed to improve operational performance of such microactuators. The global MEMS market is projected to increase from $10B in 2005 to $40B in 2015. This project will enhance Australia's standing in this important high-tech field.
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