Unravelling the mysteries of turbulent drag at the air-sea interface. 70% of the Earth's surface is the air-sea interface. A huge amount of energy and gas is exchanged between the atmosphere and ocean; exchanges that are crucial for life on earth. Climate models, weather and wave forecasts depend on oversimplified models for these exchanges. Oversimplification limits accuracy, with outcomes ranging from inaccurate climate predictions to costly and unnecessary rerouting of ships or evacuations of ....Unravelling the mysteries of turbulent drag at the air-sea interface. 70% of the Earth's surface is the air-sea interface. A huge amount of energy and gas is exchanged between the atmosphere and ocean; exchanges that are crucial for life on earth. Climate models, weather and wave forecasts depend on oversimplified models for these exchanges. Oversimplification limits accuracy, with outcomes ranging from inaccurate climate predictions to costly and unnecessary rerouting of ships or evacuations of oil platforms. This project promises new knowledge of the turbulent air flow above waves through innovative, ambitious experiments in our laboratory wind-wave tanks. Concurrently, novel numerical simulations will enable new models for sea drag coefficient, the most critical component in air-sea interaction models. Read moreRead less
Designing polymer additives to control breakup of jets and impacting drops. Current agricultural spraying of pesticides is inefficient, causing serious environmental contamination. The project aims to design polymeric additives to control the fluid dynamics of spraying so that drops reach, and then adhere to their target leaf surfaces.
Understanding sperm motion at surfaces. This project aims to reveal the biophysics of sperm motion at surfaces, using 3D imaging, advanced mathematical modelling, and microfluidics. This interdisciplinary project expects to generate new knowledge of sperm flagellar activity, using an innovative microfluidic approach to measure full dynamics of sperm motion in 3D and compare experimental observations with computational results. The project is expected to reveal the intraflagellar mechanisms that ....Understanding sperm motion at surfaces. This project aims to reveal the biophysics of sperm motion at surfaces, using 3D imaging, advanced mathematical modelling, and microfluidics. This interdisciplinary project expects to generate new knowledge of sperm flagellar activity, using an innovative microfluidic approach to measure full dynamics of sperm motion in 3D and compare experimental observations with computational results. The project is expected to reveal the intraflagellar mechanisms that trigger the switch between 3D and 2D flagellar waveforms near surfaces. This should provide significant benefits, such as important insights into the biophysics of mammalian reproduction and the origin of flagellar motility in eukaryotes.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101396
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$421,209.00
Summary
Dynamics and dispersion of microplastics in turbulent shallow water flows. Microplastics have become ubiquitous in our rivers, lakes and reservoirs, detrimentally impacting ecosystems. Via high-fidelity numerical simulations, the project aims to advance our understanding of the complex interplay between dispersed microplastics and key fluvial processes including turbulence, sediment transport and free-surface wave dynamics. The project intends to buildup a data-base containing high-resolution da ....Dynamics and dispersion of microplastics in turbulent shallow water flows. Microplastics have become ubiquitous in our rivers, lakes and reservoirs, detrimentally impacting ecosystems. Via high-fidelity numerical simulations, the project aims to advance our understanding of the complex interplay between dispersed microplastics and key fluvial processes including turbulence, sediment transport and free-surface wave dynamics. The project intends to buildup a data-base containing high-resolution data of the occurrence, trajectories and distribution of microplastics. The outcome is anticipated to be invaluable in improving microplastic transport models, standardisation of sampling and quantification techniques, and in designing innovative mitigation technologies for microplastic collection.
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From trip to tail: tracking the origins, development and evolution of coherent structures in turbulent boundary layers. This project will investigate the lifespan of large-scale repeating patterns within turbulent boundary layers (the thin layer of chaotic fluid that envelopes a body as it moves through a fluid). These recurrent patterns play an important role in our lives, dictating the drag of aircraft and dominating environmental processes in the lower atmosphere.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE170100032
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$900,000.00
Summary
Access to the National Computing Infrastructure peak supercomputing facility. This project aims to continue the access of Intersect’s computational researchers to the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) peak supercomputing facility. The peak supercomputing facility at NCI is critical collaborative infrastructure on a globally competitive scale. Transformative advances in science and technology increasingly rely on high performance computing capabilities across a wide range of research di ....Access to the National Computing Infrastructure peak supercomputing facility. This project aims to continue the access of Intersect’s computational researchers to the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) peak supercomputing facility. The peak supercomputing facility at NCI is critical collaborative infrastructure on a globally competitive scale. Transformative advances in science and technology increasingly rely on high performance computing capabilities across a wide range of research disciplines. Ongoing access to this facility will allow researchers to tackle major problems in national priority areas including energy, health, and environmental change.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE180100166
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$637,800.00
Summary
Four-dimensional coherent imaging velocimetry facility for fluid mechanics research. This project aims to enhance understanding of multi-scale fluid flows in engineering, geophysics and biomedicine by delivering a facility for high temporal and spatial resolution, three-dimensional velocity measurements. The four-dimensional, coherent imaging velocimetry facility for fluid mechanics research is aimed at addressing limitations of commercially available imaging systems. It is expected to provide ....Four-dimensional coherent imaging velocimetry facility for fluid mechanics research. This project aims to enhance understanding of multi-scale fluid flows in engineering, geophysics and biomedicine by delivering a facility for high temporal and spatial resolution, three-dimensional velocity measurements. The four-dimensional, coherent imaging velocimetry facility for fluid mechanics research is aimed at addressing limitations of commercially available imaging systems. It is expected to provide unprecedented measurement capabilities with significant benefit to the design, control and modelling of complex fluid flows found in many areas. Applications include the jets used for heating, cooling, mixing, and drug delivery in engineering and pharmacy to the kinematics of sperm and micro-organisms in bio-medicine, and wave-particle flows in geo-physics.Read moreRead less
Acoustowetting: Microscale and Nanoscale Liquid Manipulation for Microfluidic Applications. The ability to control the spreading of liquids on surfaces is crucial to the design of portable diagnostic microdevices. Combining advanced flow visualisation together with analytical and numerical techniques, this project will elucidate a recently discovered ‘acoustowetting’ phenomenon in which micron thick liquid films can be manipulated using sound waves localised on a substrate. The phenomenon is dyn ....Acoustowetting: Microscale and Nanoscale Liquid Manipulation for Microfluidic Applications. The ability to control the spreading of liquids on surfaces is crucial to the design of portable diagnostic microdevices. Combining advanced flow visualisation together with analytical and numerical techniques, this project will elucidate a recently discovered ‘acoustowetting’ phenomenon in which micron thick liquid films can be manipulated using sound waves localised on a substrate. The phenomenon is dynamically rich and complex, exhibiting peculiarities that are at times analogous to other spreading processes and at other times quite unique: flow reversal, fingering instabilities and soliton-like wave trains. The research will subsequently utilise this fundamental understanding to design a system for encapsulating cells in droplets for drug delivery applications.Read moreRead less
A multiplex microscope platform to define molecular events in fluid systems. This project aims to develop a novel microscopy platform that will enable the visualisation and quantification of molecular events occurring under fluid shear stress. The project will generate new knowledge in platelet biology that will allow characterisation and prediction of key molecular and morphological changes occurring across a blood thrombus under flowing conditions as found in the blood vessels. These new tools ....A multiplex microscope platform to define molecular events in fluid systems. This project aims to develop a novel microscopy platform that will enable the visualisation and quantification of molecular events occurring under fluid shear stress. The project will generate new knowledge in platelet biology that will allow characterisation and prediction of key molecular and morphological changes occurring across a blood thrombus under flowing conditions as found in the blood vessels. These new tools and the imaging platform will have applications for researchers wishing to visualise small and rapid molecular events in four dimensions (length, width, height and across time) under fluid shear stress, which is applicable across a range of industries. The project expects to deliver the next generation of intravital microscopes that can visualise and quantify events in a challenging flow environment.Read moreRead less
Dynamics and control of fluid-structure-free surface interactions. This project aims to research the apparently opposing effects of vortex shedding and free surface damping, individually and jointly, and the control or excitation of the vibrations for two generic bluff bodies: the cylinder and the sphere. Flow-induced vibrations of bluff bodies under or piercing water surfaces can damage floating off-shore marine structures and tethered bodies. On the other hand, harvesting energy from ocean cur ....Dynamics and control of fluid-structure-free surface interactions. This project aims to research the apparently opposing effects of vortex shedding and free surface damping, individually and jointly, and the control or excitation of the vibrations for two generic bluff bodies: the cylinder and the sphere. Flow-induced vibrations of bluff bodies under or piercing water surfaces can damage floating off-shore marine structures and tethered bodies. On the other hand, harvesting energy from ocean currents needs large flow-induced vibrations. The intended outcomes are new modes of body vibration, wake transitions and means to control fluid-structure interactions. This research could benefit many processes in offshore marine engineering, submarine bodies and mixing vessels, where understanding and controlling fluid-structure interactions of bluff bodies can mitigate costly and dangerous induced vibrations.Read moreRead less