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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100263
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Magnetohydrodynamic aerobraking to land heavy payloads on Mars. This project aims to decelerate space vehicles by applying a magnetic field to the hot ionised gases that form around the vehicle. In the thin atmosphere of Mars, aerodynamic drag alone is not enough to land a spacecraft larger than 1 tonne. A human mission to Mars requires landing of payloads up to 80 tonnes. Interaction of the magnetic field with the ionised flow dissipates kinetic energy and can reduce surface heating. This proje ....Magnetohydrodynamic aerobraking to land heavy payloads on Mars. This project aims to decelerate space vehicles by applying a magnetic field to the hot ionised gases that form around the vehicle. In the thin atmosphere of Mars, aerodynamic drag alone is not enough to land a spacecraft larger than 1 tonne. A human mission to Mars requires landing of payloads up to 80 tonnes. Interaction of the magnetic field with the ionised flow dissipates kinetic energy and can reduce surface heating. This project could make Mars-return missions feasible by enabling greatly increased payloads. It also aims to evaluate magnetohydrodynamic braking and heat mitigation at true flight conditions.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100849
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$364,000.00
Summary
Advanced thermal protection systems to enable Mars return missions. This project aims to advance the modelling of spacecraft heat shield performance to enable future returns to Earth from Mars, where vehicles will encounter heating loads an order of magnitude higher than Lunar returns. Survival depends on sacrificial heat shields which intentionally lose mass through ablation to form a protective layer. Currently, this process cannot be predicted accurately leading to compromised safety, excessi ....Advanced thermal protection systems to enable Mars return missions. This project aims to advance the modelling of spacecraft heat shield performance to enable future returns to Earth from Mars, where vehicles will encounter heating loads an order of magnitude higher than Lunar returns. Survival depends on sacrificial heat shields which intentionally lose mass through ablation to form a protective layer. Currently, this process cannot be predicted accurately leading to compromised safety, excessive weight, and increased mission cost. The expected outcome is an ablation model for vehicle design which, for the first time, is based on experiments with a realistic aerodynamic flow. The significance and benefit of this project is its potential to make ambitious missions such as a Mars return feasible.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101072
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$431,722.00
Summary
Beyond Apollo: The interaction of radiation and ablation during Mars return. This project aims to investigate how flow radiation and heat shield ablation products interact under the fastest hypersonic Earth entry conditions ever considered – Mars return. To survive the harsh conditions experienced during planetary entry, spacecraft rely on ablative heat shields burning away through processes which are still not fully understood. Using UQ’s unique X2 hypersonic wind tunnel to generate realistic f ....Beyond Apollo: The interaction of radiation and ablation during Mars return. This project aims to investigate how flow radiation and heat shield ablation products interact under the fastest hypersonic Earth entry conditions ever considered – Mars return. To survive the harsh conditions experienced during planetary entry, spacecraft rely on ablative heat shields burning away through processes which are still not fully understood. Using UQ’s unique X2 hypersonic wind tunnel to generate realistic flight conditions, the expected outcome of this project is an enhanced understanding of the complex ablation radiation coupling physics experienced during Mars return. This will bring humankind closer to travelling to and from Mars and increase our knowledge of these entries and the specialist materials needed to survive them.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120102277
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Design optimisation and physical behaviour of fuel injection and mixing for innovative scramjet concepts. Scramjets are a potential game changer for satellite launch and high speed flight. The phenomena that will make or break them are complex, and achieving optimal designs is hugely challenging. This project combines advanced optimisation techniques and flow simulations to find, and understand, optimal fuel injection for innovative scramjet designs.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100932
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$395,220.00
Summary
Hypervelocity Roughness-Induced Laminar-Turbulent Transition for Advanced Scramjet Flow Control. Scramjet technology is set to make air-breathing flight beyond five times the speed of sound a reality. At such speeds, complex aerodynamic phenomena are likely to cause flow separation in the scramjet, hence significantly affecting its operability. This project will establish the applicability of discrete surface micro-roughness elements to induce the laminar-turbulent transition of hypervelocity bo ....Hypervelocity Roughness-Induced Laminar-Turbulent Transition for Advanced Scramjet Flow Control. Scramjet technology is set to make air-breathing flight beyond five times the speed of sound a reality. At such speeds, complex aerodynamic phenomena are likely to cause flow separation in the scramjet, hence significantly affecting its operability. This project will establish the applicability of discrete surface micro-roughness elements to induce the laminar-turbulent transition of hypervelocity boundary layers, with the purpose of energising the surface flow entering the engine so that it can sustain higher adverse pressure gradients without separating. This project will undertake a targeted ground test program to characterise the physical mechanisms of hypervelocity roughness-induced laminar-turbulent transition.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100245
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$386,500.00
Summary
Achieving millimetre geodesy with space tie satellites. This project aims to implement the completely new concept of observing artificial satellites with radio telescopes, realising a so-called space tie. Understanding Earth’s changing shape requires measurements with a stability of 0.1 mm per year. Today, geodetic earth observations are used to realise reference points with a precision of five to ten times larger. Using the unique Australian ground infrastructure, current observational and oper ....Achieving millimetre geodesy with space tie satellites. This project aims to implement the completely new concept of observing artificial satellites with radio telescopes, realising a so-called space tie. Understanding Earth’s changing shape requires measurements with a stability of 0.1 mm per year. Today, geodetic earth observations are used to realise reference points with a precision of five to ten times larger. Using the unique Australian ground infrastructure, current observational and operational problems shall be overcome. The intended outcome is to improve the coordinate system of the Earth, which is the basis for a better understanding of Earth serving to fulfil scientific as well as societal demands.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100653
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
The predictive brain and control of anticipatory actions. The ability to predict events in a dynamic environment is an important skill for survival as it can guide our actions when time pressures are severe. How predictions come about to guide our actions is not clear and project results will have great theoretical significance to understand how we generate them.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100042
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$325,000.00
Summary
Multitasking effects on motor control in childhood through adolescence. This project aims to increase knowledge on the development of motor control and its cognitive determinants. The ability to perform cognitive and motor tasks simultaneously is a critical skill for daily living. From childhood to adolescence, and across a range of developmental disorders, simultaneous performance of cognitive and motor tasks represents a major challenge. Children with cognitive and motor coordination problems ....Multitasking effects on motor control in childhood through adolescence. This project aims to increase knowledge on the development of motor control and its cognitive determinants. The ability to perform cognitive and motor tasks simultaneously is a critical skill for daily living. From childhood to adolescence, and across a range of developmental disorders, simultaneous performance of cognitive and motor tasks represents a major challenge. Children with cognitive and motor coordination problems show increased inattention, hyperactivity, psychosocial difficulties and negative perceptions of self-worth. This project aims to investigate how the cognitive demands of balance control during walking changes from childhood to adolescence. The results may help to identify the mechanisms underlying childhood disorders associated with comorbid cognitive and motor impairments and provide strategies for earlier identification.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100729
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Brain connectivity during movement planning and execution in young and older adults. Ageing is associated with a reduced ability to undertake everyday movement tasks, resulting in loss of independence and frequent injuries due to falls. This research will improve our understanding of the brain mechanisms underlying movement control, with the aim of maintaining older people's quality of life and reducing health costs to the nation.