FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, MATHEMATICS AND ......appear to make it feasibility to harness this energy to serve all of Australia. The project consists of carrying out a feasibility study

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING

Final Year and Research Project Descriptions

To find a project description, search (Ctrl + F) using the Supervisors surname. The project title and description are listed below each Academic’s name. Please ensure that the project is applicable to

your discipline.

Updated: 13 May 2014 FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, COMPUTING AND MATHEMATICS 0

Antoszewski, Jarek, Professor nBn infrared photodetectors Disciplines: Electrical & Electronic nBn photodetectors based on HgCdTe semiconductor material are fabricated at MRG UWA. The project will include collection of electrical and optical characteristics of these devices in wide range of temperatures (77K – 300K) and their comparison with existing theoretical estimates. This project will involve intensive experimental work giving an opportunity to familiarise with modern and sophisticated instrumentation used in the field of photonic devices.

Boussaid, Farid, Associate Professor

Camera-on-chip Disciplines: Electrical & Electronic The current trend in Digital Imaging Technology is towards building camera-on-a-chip imaging systems, i.e., CMOS imagers. The fully integrated product results in significant manufacturing cost savings, reduced system size, but also in lower power consumption. The unique concept of CMOS imagers offers the opportunity to integrate photo-sensing array and signal processing circuitry on a single silicon chip, enabling the development of a new generation of smart mobile imaging systems. Half the size of a small postage stamp, a CMOS imager chip can even be swallowed (pill-camera) to transmit images from inside the body. Besides biomedical, CMOS imagers have numerous commercial applications in cell phones, PC notebooks or any application for which a “micro-camera” can be requested. Proposed final year projects will involve building such a camera, and optimize its performance in terms of dynamic range, resolution and/or power consumption. During this project, you will further develop your analog/digital electronic design skills. Projects will be tailored around your interests.

Boussaid, Farid, Associate Professor Electronic nose Disciplines: Computer Science, Electrical & Electronic Sniffing-dogs are able to detect thousands of chemicals with high sensitivity and selectivity using only biological components. These nasal powerhouses have been successfully used to search for pipeline leaks, drugs, or explosives. You will develop a biologically inspired Electronic Nose (or ENose for short), that mimics the organization and neural processing of the olfactory bulb. The Enose will comprise a chemical sensor array and a gas recognition engine, integrated on a single chip. Projects offer an opportunity to discover and apply neuroscience principles into made-made engineering systems. Projects will be tailored around your interests, whether neuroscience and/or integrated circuit design.


Braunl, Thomas, Professor

Autonomous Ground Vehicle Competition (Robotics) Co-Supervisor: Boeing, Adrian, Professor. Disciplines: Computer, Electrical & Electronic, Mechatronics, Software Implementing a software package to compete in the Australian Autonomous Ground Vehicle Competition in Dec. in Melbourne. Student teams have to design and build a robot system that can autonomously manoeuvre through a complex parcour using vision and laser scanner sensors. We will be using Pioneer robots with ROS operating system and OpenCV image processing library. Good C++ programming skills are required.

Braunl, Thomas, Professor.

Autonomous SAE Car Co-Supervisor: Boeing, Adrian, Professor Disciplines: Computer, Electrical & Electronic, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Software Integrating new sensor hardware and designing new software for our autonomous SAE race car. The car an currently drive a at walking speed, but with improved sensors and processing hardware, our goal is to have the car drive at competitive race speeds and showcase it at the 2014 SAE Competition.

Braunl, Thomas, Professor.

Electric Jetski Co-Supervisor: Wittek, Adam, Professor Disciplines: Computer, Electrical & Electronic, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Software Completing mechanical and electronic design and implementation of an electric jetski system. The jetski, motor, controller, and batteries have been sourced and are waiting to be put together into a working system. After the final assembly performance evaluations and improvements will be part of the theses.

Braunl, Thomas, Professor. Web portal for remote monitoring of Electric Vehicles and EV charging stations Co-Supervisor: Professor David Harries Disciplines: Computer, Electrical & Electronic, Mechatronics, Software Implementing and extending a web interface for black boxes with GPS loggers in our fleet of 13 electric vehicles plus 23 EV charging stations. Note, this project requires C, database and web programming skills


Fernando, Tyrone, Professor. Control Strategy of DFIG Wind Turbines for Power System Fault Ride Through Disciplines: Chemical & Process, Electrical & Electronic Doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) is a popular wind turbine (WT) system due to its high energy efficiency, reduced mechanical stress on the WT, and relatively low power rating of the connected power electronics converter of low costs. With increasing penetration level of WTs into the grid, the wind power grid connection codes in most countries require that WTs should remain connected to the grid to maintain the reliability during and after a short-term fault. The ability of WT to stay connected to the grid during voltage dips is termed as the low-voltage ride-through (LVRT) capability. The aim of this project is to develop a control strategy for both the rotor and grid side converters to enhance the LVRT capacity of the DFIG WT.

Fernando, Tyrone, Professor. Stability Analysis of a DFIG Wind Turbine System Disciplines: Electrical & Electronic Presently there is a global concern about the economic downturn and a green earth which in turn is related to a better and efficient method to generate and transmit electric power. Wind energy systems are becoming popular. Doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) is a popular wind turbine system due to its high energy efficiency, reduced mechanical stress on the wind turbine, and relatively low power rating of the connected power electronics converter. The DFIG is also complex involving aerodynamical, electrical, and mechanical systems. With increasing penetration level of DFIG-type wind turbines into the grid, the stability issue of DFIG is of great importance to be properly investigated. The aim of this project is to study the small signal stability of the DFIG wind turbine system.

Ghadouani, Anas, Professor. Hydrodynamics of waste stabilisation ponds Co-Supervisor: Ghisalberti, Marco, AssociateProfessor Disciplines: Environmental Waste stabilisation ponds (WSPs) are engineered systems that are designed to treat wastewater using only natural processes. Hydrodynamics plays an important role for the performance and efficiency of these systems, as shorter retention times will decrease the treatment time within the systems. The projects within this topic will look at the effect of biosolid accumulation (a natural process occurring during waste treatment), on flow patterns, mixing and residence time within WSPs

Ghadouani, Anas, Professor. Improving the efficiency of waste stabilisation ponds Co-Supervisor: Reichwaldt, Elke, Asst Professor Disciplines: Environmental


Waste stabilisation ponds (WSPs) are engineered systems that are designed to treat wastewater using only natural processes. Despite WSPs being designed to function identically, they are known to operate at different levels of efficiency. The reasons for this are often unknown, indicating that many processes in WSPs are still not entirely understood, and that these systems can still be considered “black boxes”. The projects under this topic will study those processes that could potentially affect the efficiency of WSPs with the aim to improve the overall performance of WSPs.

Guzzomi, Andrew, Assistant Professor. Harvest weed seed control Co-supervisor: Walsh, Michael, Ass.Professor Disciplines: Electrical & Electonic, Mechanical, Mechatronic The West Australian grain industry produces 45% of Australia’s wheat from farms that are often vast remote areas. Techniques for targeting weed seed at grain harvest are now well recognised by Australian crop producers as an opportunity to minimise weed seed bank inputs thereby alleviating and even avoiding the impacts of herbicide resistance. Harvest weed seed control (HWSC) systems have been specifically developed and adopted in Australia to target weed seed exiting the harvester during commercial grain crop harvest. Although HWSC systems have proven efficacy in destroying the weed seed bearing chaff fraction, the effectiveness of these systems is completely dependent on the amount of weed seed retained on standing plants at harvest. Additionally, many farmers rely on residue removal/burning which are not particularly sustainable. Subsequently, there are significant agricultural engineering research and development opportunities associated with: 1) evaluating the effectiveness of the state-of-the-art integrated Harrington Seed Destructor (HSD); 2) research and developing more effective means of targeting weed seeds during harvest; 3) removing the non-seed containing bulk (>99%) of the chaff fraction processed through the SD, and; 4) collecting seed shed prior to harvest during harvest.

Guzzomi, Andrew, Professor. MECHANISATION IN THE SANDALWOOD INDUSTRY Disciplines: Electrical & Electonic, Mechanical, Mechatronic

It is only recently that West Australia’s oldest export commodity, sandalwood, has started to benefit from agricultural engineering research and development. Agricultural engineering work conducted by the group at UWA has led to significant advances in the seed sowing of this valuable commodity. Plant science research into the sandalwood’s plant and nut properties continues to identify increased uses for this Australian native. As domestic and export markets increase further innovation is required to maintain competitive advantage for farmers. To achieve this, increased mechanisation of additional aspects of harvest and processing of wood and nuts is necessary. This project will focus on the research and development of technology specific to this developing sustainable industry. Students will work closely with key sandalwood farmers/producers in the industry.


Hodkiewicz, Melinda, Professor. Dealing with Non-stationary signals – the next challenge in condition monitoring Co-Supervisor: Keating, Adrian, Professor & Lau, John, Professor Disciplines: Electrical & Electronic, Mechanical, Mechatronics Condition monitoring plays an essential role in the infrastructure of all engineering fields to ensure efficient and safe operation of systems. There is an emerging recognition in the condition monitoring literature of the value of the information contained in the signals being monitored that we are not using for fault detection and deterioration monitoring. The lost information is largely based on the concept of “non-stationary” signals, a term not well understood or utilized by many engineers – yet these signals will be the basis of next generation of condition monitoring tools and . In this project, students will undertake to review the current state of the art to establish what is meant by non-stationary signals, how these are classified and where required, develop our own classification system for non-stationary signals. Key to this review will be the challenge of transforming the language to mathematics into the language of engineering, in such a way that any student could understand the concepts. In the 2nd half of the project student need to develop representative examples for these signals that have the necessary characteristics of each of the non-stationary signals we have identified in the classification system. They could do this on paper or in Labview/ Matlab (or other. ). The desired output is to have a set of known signals that can be used for subsequent testing to advance both the teaching and research undertaken in this area at UWA. Interested and enthusiastic students should have experience in at least one of the following: ELEC3306 Signals and Systems 3 ELEC4404 Signal Processing Mech4424 Measurement and Noise Mech 3404 Vibration and Signal Processing ENSC3015 Signals and Systems

Imberger, Jorg, Professor. Feasibility design of tidal energy generation in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia Disciplines: Environmental, Mechanical It has been known since the 1960’s that the large tidal range along the Kimberly coastline contains potentially 5 or 6 times the total energy requirements of Australia. Recent advances in power transmission appear to make it feasibility to harness this energy to serve all of Australia. The project consists of carrying out a feasibility study for such a large scale tidal power scheme.


Keating, Adrian, Professor Evaluating Fibre Endoscopes for imaging Disciplines: Computer, Electrical & Electronic, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Software High density endoscopes are becoming available with greater than 10,000 separate fibre cores. These imaging bundles contain separate fibres which guide the light in the system. Methods to model the wavelength dependent loss, polarization loss and crosstalk are required to fully understand this technology. Within this project students will review models for endoscopes, setup a test bed to evaluate optical properties, build optical models and evaluate performance metrics of the fibre bundles.

Keating, Adrian, Professor Using micromachines to improve an image Disciplines: Computer, Electrical & Electronic, Mechanical, Mechatronics

Techniques to improve image quality using a selection of micro-electro-mechanical systems (known as MEMS or micromaches) will be investigated including the use of MEMS for spatial contrast adjustment, image stabilisation and reduction of optical aberrations. Students will review existing methods to model the operation of these MEMS and in some cases, these models will be implemented (most likely in Matlab) . The design of an experimental test-bed will be proposed, design and (given time constraints) demonstrated. Kurup, Raj, Dr.

Nutrient recovery from wastewater Disciplines: Chemical & Processing, Civil, Environmental, Mehcanical This project involves laboratory investigation of physical and chemical aspects of recovery of nitrogen and phosphorus from high strength industrial wastewater for production of high value fertiliser.

Leggoe, Jeremy, Ass.Professor and Liu, Wei, Assistant Professor Development of A Fluid Mechanics Teaching App Discipline: Chemical & Process, Computer, Mechanical, Software The objective of the project is to develop an app for the unit ENSC3003 (Fluid Mechanics) that will ultimately bring together course lecture notes, both text and video, example problems for use in self-directed learning, distribution and marking of assignment problems for assessment, and weekly online quizzes. The app would represent the next generation in the development of online courses, and greatly enhance the teaching of the unit (and could potentially be used in future MOOC offerings). To accomplish this, we are looking for a team of students to accomplish the following tasks: • Development of the software and server platform • Development of animations, including some based on CFD models, for use in the online lectures • Identification of key learning difficulties in fluid mechanics, based on past assignment and exam archives, and the development of teaching materials to address this difficulties (including sourcing materials from related courses, such as mathematics)


• The development of example and assignment problems to support both self-directed learning and assessment Previous completion of (and ideally strong performance in) the unit ENSC3003 – Fluid Mechanics would be an advantage Leong, Yee Kwong, Professor Critical Review of hydrophobic entropic forces Disciplines: Chemical & Process, Environmental, Materials, Mechanical, Oil & Gas Surface forces in suspension fall into two classes, DLVO and non-DLVO forces. Non-DLVO forces such as steric, hydrophobic, bridging and patch charge, arise from adsorbed additives. Water molecules will form a cage-like structure over a hydrophobic moiety in water. Hydrophobic moieties in water tend to aggregate to reduce its surface area. When these moieties are adsorbed on interacting particles causing them to attract strongly via the aggregation of hydrophobic segment, this force is known as the hydrophobic force. The project involves of a critical review of this ill-defined force operating in suspensions and how it can be related to the force measured using the Surface Force Apparatus and Atomic Force Microscope. The review should also include its application in suspension processing. Leong, Yee Kwong, Professor Reaction engineering modelling with Mathematica Disciplines: Chemical & Process, Environmental, Oil & Gas Reaction engineering is a core unit of chemical engineering due to the fact the chemical reaction is a key process in almost all chemical plants employed to produce the desired products. Reactor design equations are mainly based on material balance equation and for non-isothermal system equation based on energy balance is also used. This project will model the various conversion of various rate equations in a range of reactor systems under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions using mathematica. Leong, Yee Kwong, Professor Yield stress-pH behaviour of various clay suspensions – effects of phosphate additives Disciplines: Chemical & Process, Environmental, Materials, Mechanical, Oil & Gas Two-phase fluid such as suspension and emulsion, processing are commonly encountered in the mineral processing and oil-and-gas industries. Optimising the processing behaviour of two-phase fluids via surface force or chemistry control is often practice in these industries. In this study, we evaluate the effects of a range of phosphate additives on the surface forces in clay suspensions.


Liu, Yinong, Winthrop Professor Impact strength of artificial tooth Co-supervisor: Professor Hong Yang Discipline: Materials, Mechanical, Mechatronics

This project involves designing, fabrication and testing of a impact toughness testing device suitable for testing artificial teeth. The device is essentially a miniature version of the Izod testing machine used in materials testing laboratories. The challenges will be (i) accuracy of measurement; fixation of small and irregular-shaped sample, and testing of “weak” materials. The deliverable will be a Working Device, and no less.

Lorenser, Dirk, Dr. Instrumentation and Numerical Modelling for Optical Coherence Tomography Co-Supervisor: Kennedy, Brendan,Dr. and Munro, Peter, Dr. Disciplines: Civil, Computer, Electrical & Electronic, Mechanical Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique conceptually similar to ultrasound. It creates 3D images by measuring the time-of-flight of infrared photons, rather than ultrasonic waves as in ultrasound. It is now emerging as a clinical and well as industrial imaging tool. The OBEL research group develops optical and electronic hardware for improving the performance of OCT (e.g., resolution or imaging speed) and it studies the theoretical foundations of OCT image formation (e.g., numerical modelling of light propagation in biological tissue). The OCT instrumentation developed at OBEL is used by clinicians and biomedical researchers who study new ways to diagnose and treat diseases such as cancer, asthma or muscular disorders. This project will offer a mix of hardware (optics, mechatronics, electronics) and software (numerical modelling, image processing) development tasks that will contribute to current research projects at OBEL, with the potential to impact on the wellbeing and treatment outcomes of patients in the future. The tasks in this project are only suitable for students with a strong foundation in engineering mathematics, as well as strengths in one or more following areas: electromagnetic theory, programming, electronic circuit design, mechatronics.


Lu, Herbert, Professor

Study of Multi-Structure Multi-Operating-Mode Hybrid Power Conversion Systems with Renewable Energy Sources Disciplines: Electrical & Electronic Due to the growth of usage of renewable energy, multi-input single-output converters become popular. The aim of this project is to design multi-structure multi-operating-mode power electronics systems using the fundamental power flow and circuit theory. Stability analysis and transient analysis will be performed. Good mathematical skills and simulation/hardware skills are essential in this project.

Marti, Clelia, Research Associate Professor

Quantifying nutrient cycling in the Peel Harvey Estuarine System Disciplines: Environmental The Dawesville Cut, joining the Harvey Estuary to the adjacent ocean, was originally designed with CWR participation, designed to improve the flushing of the estuary. The Cut was a great success, but the construction was coupled with a recommendation to lower the phosphorous loading coming into the estuary from neighbouring agriculture. Recently, the algal concentrations, in the estuary, have once again been increasing. The objective of this project is to do a nutrient loading inventory and use this to simulate the algal growth in the Peel and Harvey estuaries using the CWR modelling suite.

May, Eric, Winthrop Professor. Natural Gas Processing Co-supervisor: Dr Brendan Graham Disciplines: Chemical & Process, Mechanical, Oil & Gas 1(a): Natural Gas and LNG property prediction Unplanned shutdowns of LNG plants caused by hydrocarbon solids blocking cryogenic heat exchangers are a major, ongoing problem for the industry. Current methods of avoiding them are costly and energy intensive. In addition, LNG production systems are over-engineered because the predictions of process simulators are unreliable. Furthermore, the natural gas industry needs new thermo-physical property data at high-pressures and low temperatures to develop more efficient processes capable of handling more problematic gas reserves. These projects aim to develop new predictive models to avoid shutdowns and improve plant efficiency, and/or improve the reliability of process simulator predictions by anchoring their underlying thermodynamic models to data characteristic of realistic LNG fluids and conditions. Students working on these projects will help develop or improve models that predict crucial properties such as vapour-liquid and solid-liquid equilibrium, density, heat capacity, viscosity, surface tension or thermal conductivity for binary and multi-component hydrocarbon mixtures. This will be done by combining state-of-the-art measurements of these properties with new property package models in process or multi-phase flow simulation software. 1(b): Advanced Natural Gas Separation Technology Carbon dioxide capture, whether from natural gas streams or from flue gases, is an important and increasing area of research with significant implications for our economy and environment. N2 capture from natural gas


is increasingly important in the development of LNG projects where this component is energetically parasitic. These projects will look at the use of novel materials for improved capture efficiency that are either solid adsorbents, including carbons, zeolites and calixarenes, or liquid solvents, such as transition metal complexes. Students working on these projects will help develop and characterise the separation performance of new materials synthesized in our laboratory over a wide range of temperature, pressure and mixture compositions, and/or use the results of such experiments to develop numerical models of advanced industrial separation processes.

May, Eric, Winthrop Professor and Johns, Mike, Winthrop Professor Software Interface for Gas Processing Software Disciplines: Software A number of simulation codes have been developed within the Fluid Science Division to simulate a range of thermo-physical properties relevant to transport and processing in the oil and gas industry. This project will aim to both optimise the numeric requirements of these codes and provide a user-friendly interface for use by workplace engineers. As such this represents an opportunity to apply software skills directly to a prominent WA industrial sector. McLaughlin, Robert, AssociateProfessor

Image processing and Visualisation of Optical Imaging Data Supervisor 2: Asst ProfessorRodney Kirk Disciplines: Software This project will develop image processing and visualisation algorithms for high resolution imaging data in biomedical applications. The Optical + Biomedical Engineering Lab develops new medical imaging techniques for a range of diseases, including cancer detection and intra-operative guidance. Depending on the student’s aptitude, this topic contains a range of potential software development subprojects, including implementing algorithms for visualisation of very large data sets; automated techniques to quantify medical images; and algorithms for tissue detection. Students are required to be experienced in one of the following languages: C, C++, Java. It is expected that some algorithm development will be done in Matlab.

Munro, Peter, Dr.

Building a selective plane illumination optical microscope using an open source design Co-Supervisor: Lorenser, Dirk, Dr. Disciplines: Computer, Electrical & Electronic, Mechatronics Selective plane illumination optical microscopy (SPIM) promises to revolutionize several fields of biological research, in particular, developmental and cell biology, by allowing imaging of large samples with high resolution over extended periods of time. OpenSPIM is a platform to build, adapt and enhance SPIM technology. It is designed to be as accessible as possible. The build instructions are intended to allow students without prior knowledge in building optical systems to make their own OpenSPIM set-up. Parts may be manufactured using a 3D printer or in the University workshops, depending on the cost of both. The


platform also has its own software. This project will be undertaken in conjunction with the optical microscopy department from UWA’s Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis. This is a rare opportunity to be involved in building a fascinating, new technology and will suit students who have an interest in building hardware systems or interfacing such systems with computer control systems.

Nener, Brett, Professor

Transistor-based biosensors Co-Supervisor: Parish, Giacinta, Professor Disciplines: Chemical & Process, Electrical & electronic, Materials, Mechanical, Mechatronics The ability to monitor biological and chemical signals with an electronic device is a tremendously innovative approach for cell research and process control in pharmaceutical and microbiological production, and chemical sensing applications. A bio-friendly, chemically inert and stable III-Nitride-transistor-based bio/chem-sensor will be developed to detect responses to various specific compounds/chemicals, particularly through cell receptors. The successful development of this electronic biosensor technology has the potential to improve health and disease treament through major improvemements in throughput, precision, quality, speed and simplicity of, for example, drug and disease testing methods. Students will work together on the one or more of following integrated project components (and will also work alongside students working in the adjacent projects on “transistor-based chemical sensors for contaminant monitoring”). 1. Physical, chemical, materials and biological characterisation of functionalisation methods, particularly surface and cell studies 2. Electrical, chemical, biochemical and physical characterisation and optimisation of functionalised ion sensors 3. Mechanical, electrical and chemical characterisation and optimisation of packaging techniques 4. Design and integration of complementary sensors (pH, temperature, drift compensation) to maximise reliability. 5. Adapt device design, packaging, measurement protocols for reliable, reference electrode free, operation. 6. Modelling of individual devices, packaged devices and the device-functionalisation layer-solution interface.

Pan, Jie, Winthrop Professor Effect of nonlinear dynamics on the diagnosis and prognosis of system health Co Supervisor: Professor Melinda Hodkiewicz Disciplines: Electrical & Electronic, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Software. This project will include a number of sub-topics: (1) Identification of nonlinear dynamics in engineering asset (2) Modelling of nonlinear dynamics in engineering asset Each project could have specific engineering applications such as: power transformers, water pumps, ventilation vanes. The first direction is to development of signal processing models to identify the I/O relationship based on measured data. The second direction is to use the design data and operating conditions to physically model the I/O relationship.


Pan, Jie, Winthrop Professor Effect of uncertainties and unknown dynamics on the diagnosis and prognosis of system health Co Supervisor: Professor Adrian Keating Disciplines: Computer Science, Electrical & Electronic, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Software. (1) Estimation of uncertainty in system parameters; (2) Identification of unknown sub-system dynamics based on measured I/O data. Pan, Jie, Winthrop Professor Active control of propeller induced vibration Co Supervisor: Dr Roshun Paurobally and Ms Hongmei Sun Disciplines: Computer Science, Electrical & Electronic, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Software. (1) Modelling and testing of magnetic thrust bearing; (2) Modelling and testing of resonant change; (3) Modelling of propeller and shaft interaction.

Pan, Jie, Winthrop Professor Modelling and analysis of violin acoustics Co Supervisor: Dr Robert Wilkins and Ms Hongmei Sun Disciplines: Computer Science, Electrical & Electronic, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Software. This project on music acoustics will focus on the study of sound quality and playability of violin and cello.

Pan, Jie, Winthrop Professor CFD modeling of wall-pressure fluctuations on flat plates with square leading and trailing edges Co-Supervisor: James Leader Disciplines: Mechanical This project will utilize computational fluid dynamics to understand the time-dependent characteristics of turbulent wall-pressure fluctuations which exist along a bluff body encountering fluid flow. The target application of the work is to better understand the characteristics of flow noise on submarine sonar arrays so that adaptive algorithms may be used to remove this noise signal and increase performance. Previous work on the submarine arrays has utilized very simple analytical models of flow noise, and it is hoped that the new CFD results will substantially improve the understanding of the development of the adaptive algorithms. An experimental investigation (Nakamura et. al. 1991, J. Fluid Mech.) has been found to used wind-tunnel smoke visualization on a rectangular object, which may be used as a prototype problem:


It is anticipated that the student will use OpenFOAM as the tool of choice to perform numerical investigations which replicate the experimental work that has been published, and allow for extraction of the time-dependent data at a number of receivers. Candidates should be familiar with, or eager to learn the software, which may require some basic C++ programming to access advanced parameters in the open source library, and post processing in Matlab or equivalent. Exceptional students may be in the position to have their work published in a leading journal, and collaborate with the development of the sonar algorithms based on the data collected. Parish, Giacinta, Professor

Porous materials to create microelectromechanical based sensors Co-Supervisor: Keating, Adrian, Professor Disciplines: Chemical & Process, Electrical & electronic, Materials, Mechanical Porous silicon is a material with nanometre sized pores. By controlling the density and size of these pores, the optical, mechanical, electrical and thermal properties of the material can be changed significantly. For example, the Young’s modulus can be changed from 0.5GPa to 169 Gpa and the electrical conductivity altered by 6-orders of magnitude. The films are formed by running current through an acidic solution in a process called anodisation – increasing the current significantly leads to electropolishing (complete material removal). Our goal is to make microelectromehanical systems (MEMS) based on our understanding of these materials. The project will investigate multiphysics models to understand how porous silicon layers and electropolishing can be controlled during the formation of MEMS devices. Students will work together on the one or more of following integrated project components: 1. Review existing theory and models, make a proposal on the best models to use, and develop one or more models 2. Experimental measurement of films and devices through the advanced metrology tools available within the Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis, including microRaman, AFM and SEM


Parish, Giacinta, Professor

Transistor-based chemical sensors for contaminant monitoring Co-Supervisor: Nener, Brett, Professor Disciplines: Chemical & Process, Electrical & electronic, Environmental, Materials, Mechanical, Mechatronics Reliable, economically accessible technology for in situ monitoring of contaminants in water has the power to transform health, industry, and society the world around. Applications of such monitoring range from process control monitoring and optimisation for industry, to water supply quality and wastewater monitoring, to environmental monitoring for resource extraction, and beyond. The microelectronics-based technology under investigation in this project will enable in situ, real-time contaminant monitoring that is accurate, reliable and low-cost. Semiconductor-based technology offers high performance and can also be mass produced at low-cost with flexible functionalisation allowing for a variety of analytes. Furthermore, it offers the ability to integrate multiple sensors into one chip, along with wireless communication technology for maximum benefit of the in situ monitoring capability. Students will work together on the one or more of following integrated project components (and will also work alongside students working in the adjacent projects on “transistor-based biosensors”). 1. Physical, chemical, materials characterisation of functionalisation methods, particularly surface studies 2. Electrical, chemical and physical characterisation and optimisation of functionalised ion sensors 3. Mechanical, electrical and chemical characterisation and optimisation of packaging techniques 4. Design and integration of complementary sensors (pH, temperature, drift compensation) to maximise reliability. 5. Adapt device design, packaging, measurement protocols for reliable, reference electrode free, operation.

Pasternak, Elena, Professor Mechanics of fragmented solids and structures: Evaluation of mechanical properties of fragmented solids and structures via computational and physical modelling Disciplines: Mechanical

Fragmented solids and structures are discontinuous or heavily fractured materials, whose fragments are not bound together. The integrity of these solids is only kept by kinematic constraints provided by specific geometry of the fragments and compression applied from the boundaries. Due to the inherent discontinuity, strong stress dependence and variable internal architecture, the mechanical behaviour of fragmented solids is essentially different from that of continuous solids. That is why prediction of structural response of fragmented bodies and evaluation of their mechanical properties is a challenging task. In this project, we will concentrate on evaluation of effective characteristics of fragmented solids with. The project will involve modelling of fragmented solids using the finite element method, design physical models of fragmented structures and experimental verifications.


Pasternak, Elena, Professor Tuning of vibrational frequency using the effect of negative stiffness Disciplines: Materials, Mechanical, Mechatronics

The project aims at demonstrating the possibility of tuning the eigenfrequencies of hybrid materials using the effect of negative stiffness under compressive load. The project consists of (1) designing and manufacturing an apparatus with tuneable eigenfrequency; (2) conducting experiments and frequency measurements under different compressive loads; (3) direct structural modelling of the apparatus motion; (4) modelling the motion using the concept of negative stiffness

Paurobally, Roshun, Associate Professor A study of the effect of a reflecting plane on the performance of active noise control in a small enclosure Disciplines: Mechanical, Mechatronics, Electrical and Electronic Active noise control in small enclosures such as control rooms can be effective used to reduce low frequency noise. However the presence of reflecting surfaces may have a negative effect on the performance. This project aims at studying the effects of the reflective surface on the system and use the knowledge gained to design active control systems with optimised performance.

Paurobally, Roshun, Associate Professor Development of a feedback/feedforward active control ear defender Disciplines: Mechanical, Mechatronics, Electrical and Electronic

A new active ear defender based on combined feedforward/feedback control has some advantages over traditional active ear defenders. The main aim of this project is to develop a hybrid active ear defender for the resource industry and to study the effects of various physical parameters on the performance of the control system. Both theoretical and experimental aspects of the development will be tackled.

Pequignet, A. Christine, Research Ass. Ocean response to tropical cyclone on the North West Shelf Co-Supervisor: Jones, Nicole, Associate Professor Disciplines: Environmental, Mechanical, Ocean Systems Tropical cyclones (TC) are a dominant physical forcing feature during the summer months on the Australian North West Shelf (NWS). This project aims at using field observations to develop & test a numerical ocean model that can accurately predict the ocean response to tropical cyclone forcing on the Australian NWS. A field experiment was conducted during the cyclone season 2013-2014 and consisted in 5 subsurface moorings being deployed in depth of 90 and 370m, off the coast of Karratha. The vertical density structure at each station was measured using temperature sensors distributed at 10m intervals along anchored


mooring lines suspended by a sub-surface buoy. Through water column vertical current profiles were measured with acoustic current profilers. The instrument arrays also enabled the measurement of turbulent properties with Acoustic Doppler current-meters positioned at depths of 40m and 75m. The student will learn to use Matlab to load, process and explore this oceanographic dataset. Specifically, the student will be involved with (1) Characterising the spatial and temporal variability of the ocean density structure during tropical cyclones from field observations. (2) Analysing current velocities and relating them to meteorological datasets (3) Comparing mooring data with existing cyclonically forced 3D ocean model outputs

Qiu, Min Associate Professor Investigation of the effect of traffic progression on reduction of traffic delays at signalised intersections Discplines: Civil Progression of traffic is significantly reduced by the time lost at traffic lights. One way to theoretically improve the progression of traffic is to redesign traffic lights so that they can communicate. This will be done by selecting an appropriate road that has a high volume of traffic with the cross roads having a relatively low volume of traffic. The redesign will give the main road priority (ie. turn green) when there is a build-up of traffic (convey of traffic) at a red light, with the convey getting green lights, at each intersection, for the rest of the journey on the main road. Information on a selected road, for example Stirling Highway in Perth, will be collected from Main Roads WA on the existing situation to establish a base case. Potential improvements to the traffic light progression will be modelled through the AIMSUN traffic microsimulation package to test the effectiveness of the changes against the base case. Relevant outcomes from the simulation would be fed back to Main Roads WA for the corresponding improvement suggestions.

Reichwaldt, Elke, Asst Professor

Environmental risks of waste stabilisation ponds Co-Supervisor: Ghadouani, Anas, Professor Disciplines: Environmental Waste stabilisation ponds (WSPs) are engineered systems that are designed to treat wastewater using only natural processes. Although considered as a natural way to treat waste water, there are various risks associated with it, such as the production of greenhouse gases, the development of toxic cyanobacterial (blue-green algae) blooms, or the discharge of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) into the environment. The projects under this topic aim to understand these risks better, by analysing and quantifying them, which is an essential step towards eventually controlling them.


Sreeram Victor Professor Investigation into the use of low voltage inverters to provide a UPFC function on SWER lines Co-Supervisor: Borle, Lawrence, A/Professor and Boussaid, Farid ,A/Professor Disciplines: Electrical & Electronic Single Wire Earth Return (SWER) systems are used as an economical power transmission in rural areas of the world where loads are sparse. Invented by Lloyd Mandeno in New Zealand in 1925 to be used for electrifying New Zealand’s rural areas, today, we have over 200,000 km of SWER systems installed around Australia and New Zealand. These lines are subject to large voltage variances due to the relative length and high impedance of the line, resulting in high voltages under light loading and low voltages under heavy loading. As loads continue to grow in rural distribution networks reaching its capacity some form of upgrade is necessary to provide reliability and power quality expected in the 21st century. Due to low load densities and long distances involved, the conventional upgrades of SWER such as conversion to three-phase power may be expensive and difficult to justify economically. The project funded by ASTP investigates the use of Unified Power Flow Converter (UPFC) to provide cost effective alternatives to the conventional SWER upgrades.

Sreeram Victor Professor

Power system emulation hardware platform with interactive student interface Co-Supervisor: Borle, Lawrence, A/Professor and Boussaid, Farid ,A/Professor Disciplines: Electrical & Electronic This project aims at developing an innovative state-of-the-art power system emulation hardware platform that integrates real-time touchscreen control/monitoring of hardware in the emulation loop. This exciting platform with interactive student interface will improve the learning experience in power systems and is intended for use in undergraduate and postgraduate laboratories will provide students with invaluable hands on experience on the operation and real-time response of real-world power systems. While other educational lab equipment exist (e.g. Lab-Volt), they are very limited in scope (power transmission/series compensation only). The scope of the proposed platform is much broader as it constitutes a contribution towards making power engineering education more attractive, modern, and effective in preparing students for power engineering careers.

Tavner, Angus, Professor UWA Motorsport projects Discipline: Civil, Electrical & electronic, Materials, Mechanical, Mechatronics Projects with the UWA Motorsport team should be agreed with the Project manager and Technical director as early as possible. Projects generally fall into the following areas: Powertrain design and engine development; chassis and vehicle structure; vehicle dynamics, control and handling; aerodynamics; electrical and electronic systems. Other areas such as management, risk analysis, ergonomics, may be offered from time to time depending on the requirements of the team. Students taking these projects are expected to be, or become, integrated members of the UWAM team.


This project will investigate the effect of pore water salinity on basic engineering properties of a selection of fine-grained soils through laboratory characterisation and element testing. Offshore engineering applications are the main motivation for the project, although the effect of pore water salinity on engineering behaviour is relevant to a range of mining and environmental geotechnical engineering problems. This project will suit BE students with interests in offshore structural engineering concepts who have passed (or are taking) “design of offshore systems” unit at UWA. This is an industry-supported project and students will be directly co-supervised by lead/principal engineers from industry.

Togneri, Roberto, Prof

Audio Enhancement and Speech Recognition Disciplines: Electrical & Electronic This topic covers speech enhancement, blind source separation, microphone arrays for localisation and separation, adaptive filters for signal enhancement and speech and speaker recognition and is recommended for students with an interest in signal processing, speech quality, sound and acoustics and with a good background in signal and systems. Suggested specific projects can be: Speech Enhancement and Intelligibility, Microphone Arrays for Speaker Localisation and Separation, Active Noise Cancellation, or Build Your own Speech Recognition or Speaker Recognition System. Further information on these projects available from http://www.ee.uwa.edu.au/~roberto/research/projects2014.html .

Togneri, Roberto, Professor (students may be co-supervised with CSSE)

Audio-Visual and Pattern Recognition Disciplines: Computer Science, Electrical & Electronic, Software This topic covers pattern recognition, neural networks, machine learning, spoken language systems and audio-visual processing for identification and recognition, and advanced techniques and latest "hot topic" areas and is recommended for students with an interest in computer vision, machine learning, and advanced signal processing with a good background in computer science, mathematics and algorithms. Suggested specific projects can be: Audio-Visual Speech and Speaker Recognition, Compressive Sensing and Sparse Representations, Deep Neural Networks for Object Recognition, Empirical Mode Decomposition for Signal Representation, or Unsupervised Data Clustering in High Dimensional Spaces. Further information on some of these projects available from http://www.ee.uwa.edu.au/~roberto/research/projects2014.html .

Trevelyan, James, Professor Low Power Airconditioning Disciplines: Mechanical, Mechatronics, Chemical, Materials Electricity is scarce and expensive in developing countries. This project is based on a simple idea that could make airconditioning much more affordable in developing countries and much more energy efficient everywhere. If this project is successful, 2-4 billion people will no longer need to suffer from sleepless nights in the hottest season of the year, without unsustainable increases in electricity demand. The operating principle is based on controlling air flow to focus the air conditioning effect where it is needed,


http://www.ee.uwa.edu.au/%7Eroberto/research/projects2014.html

http://www.ee.uwa.edu.au/%7Eroberto/research/projects2014.html

reducing energy consumption for personal comfort by between 80 and 90%. In conventional air conditioning, much of the energy is wasted in cooling the structure of the surrounding building. You will be expected to become familiar with airconditioning technologies and market evaluation studies, as well as electricity supply issues in developing countries. Addition of inverter speed control technology to existing prototype equipment is also a possibility. This project is run in collaboration with a start-up company, Close Comfort Pty Ltd. Project reference JPT-10: Low power airconditioning. Suitable for mechanical, mechatronic engineering undergraduate or postgraduate students. Using in-built features of Sesam/GeniE software and FE modelling in Abaqus and based on the guidelines in international codes and standards, more detail investigations through series of numerical simulations and sensitivity analyses will be performed for better understanding of above mentioned subjects.

Wittek, Adam, Professorand Joldes, Grand, Professor TOWARDS MESHLESS MODELS FOR PREDICTING THE BRAIN RESPONSES UNDER TRANSIENT LOADS AND TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY PREVENTION Disciplines: Mechanical In Australia alone, there are over 22,000 cases of traumatic brain injury and over 20,000 neurosurgical procedures performed each year. The lifetime costs of brain injuries are estimated at $10.5 billion. Biomechanical models of the brain, that utilise the principles of solid mechanics to understand/predict the brain responses, are important tools for evaluation and design of countermeasures against traumatic brain injury. For instance, they have been used by car manufacturers to improve car safety performance in car collisions. Brain simulation for impact/injury biomechanics has been dominated by finite element analysis (FEA). FEA utilises computational grids that form a mesh of interconnected hexahedral (sometimes tetrahedral) elements. For complex geometries, such as that of the human brain, construction of such grids requires substantial manual input from the analyst and tends to be tedious/time-consuming. Accuracy and reliability of the solution provided by FEA deteriorates when the mesh undergoes distortion and fragmentation induced by large deformations and damage of the analysed continuum. Meshless (also known as mesh-free) methods of computational mechanics can be one possible solution to address these shortcomings. Such methods utilise computational grids in a form of cloud of points. Such can be created in automated/semi-automated manner and much less susceptible to accuracy deterioration at large deformations/strains than finite element meshes. From the perspective of mathematical/numerical formulation, meshless methods are more complicated/sophisticated than the FEA. So far, they been used in impact/injury biomechanics (and other engineering applications) to rather limited extent. The focus of this study is to create, verify and validate a meshless model of the brain (or brain phantom) for predicting the brain responses under transient loading consistent with that the head/brain experiences in automotive impacts. The study will start with the literature review of non-linear finite element procedures and meshless methods/algorithms and models for predicting the brain responses under transient loading consistent with automotive impacts (with a particular attention paid to modelling the boundary conditions for the brain). Following the literature review, the project will follow the following lines of investigation: 1) Robust and fast construction of spatial meshless discretisation, which includes analysis of sensitivity of the


solution accuracy to features/type of the discretisation (e.g. number and type of integration cells); 2) Modelling of boundary conditions for the brain, which include creation of the algorithm of computational mechanics for such modelling; 3) Speed and accuracy of the solution, which may include development of novel algorithms that improve solution speed and accuracy of meshless algorithms; 4) Verification of the created algorithms and validation of the modelling results obtained. Comment The study will utilise the existing experimental data on the brain and brain tissue behaviour and experiments using brain phantoms. However, limited number of experiments on biological tissues cannot be ruled out at this stage (such experiments are typically a subject to ethical and/or other approvals).

Wittek, Adam, Professorand Joldes, Grand, Professor Towards Modelling of soft tissue damage/failure for computational impact biomechanics and surgery simulation Disciplines: Mechanical Tissue damage modelling is an unsolved and very challenging problem of computational biomechanics. It requires dealing with extremely large deformations and the emergence and propagation of discontinuities (cracks) within an analysed continuum. Ability to model damage to soft tissues is of immense importance for impact and injury biomechanics as well as for surgical applications. Potential applications include virtual evaluation of car crash safety trough modelling of traumatic injury to car occupants and pedestrians as well as simulators for surgical training and surgery planning. This project will start with the literature review of constitutive models of soft tissues, algorithms of computational mechanics for modelling of damage/failure of soft continua, and damage/failure criteria for soft continua and selected soft tissues. Based on the literature review, the project will focus on the following lines of investigation: 1) Performance of the procedures available in selected commercial finite element codes in modelling of soft tissue (and other similar soft continua) damage/failure under transient load associated with injury and automotive trauma; 2) Performance of the procedures available in selected commercial finite element codes in modelling of soft tissue damage/failure in surgical dissection; 3) New algorithms of computational mechanics (using finite element and/or meshless discretisation) for modelling of soft tissue damage/failure under transient load associated with injury and automotive trauma; 4) New algorithms of computational mechanics (using finite element and/or meshless discretisation) for simulation of surgical dissection of soft tissue. Xu, Lu, Dr.

Nonlinear channel modelling using neural networks Co-Supervisor: Huang, Defeng, Professor Disciplines: Electrical & Electronic Channel modeling is an important part in wireless communications. The wireless physical channel introduces


both linear distortion like inter-symbol interference (ISI) and nonlinear distortion, therefore a nonlinear model should be employed to imitate those impairments. With inherent nonlinear nature and simple structures, neural networks can be employed for such channel modeling using their excellent approximation capabilities. At the same time, the explicit formulations of neural networks can motivate further research of receiver techniques requiring channel information, such as the minimum mean square error (MMSE) receivers which only consider linear channel model so far. In this project, we will investigate nonlinear channel modeling using neural networks. Several typical neural networks, like multilayer perceptron (MLP), radial basis function (RBF) network, recurrent neural network (RNN) and function link artificial neural network (FLANN), can be used.

Xu, Lu, Dr. Robust blind learning algorithms for nonlinear equalization using neural networks Co-Supervisor: Huang, Defeng, Professor Disciplines: Electrical & Electronic Blind channel equalization plays an important role in modern digital communication systems when a reference (training) sequence is not available. For nonlinear equalization aiming to compensate for the nonlinear distortion introduced by the physical channel, neural networks have received a great amount of attention for their significant performance improvement over conventional equalization methods, owing to their inherent nonlinear nature. The nonlinear behavior, however, also makes the robust convergence of the equalizer a challenge, and consequently hinders the practical application of neural network based blind equalizers. Actually, the symbol error rate (SER) performance can be degraded after equalization due to false convergence. In this project, we aim to find new blind learning algorithms which can enhance the convergence performance, thereby paving the way for the use of neural network based blind nonlinear equalizers in practice. In particular, some extra information may be used to assist the blind learning, such as the input decision information, the probability density function (pdf) or the high order moments of the output signals, and so on.

Zhang, Dongke, Winthrop Professor. Combustion characteristics of single droplet and single particles Co-supervisors: Mingming Zhu, Zeno Zhang and Hendrix Setyawan Disciplines: Chemical & Process, Mechanical, Oil & Gas, Petroleum Sub-topic 1: Ignition and combustion characteristics of biochar based slurry fuels This project will study the combustion behaviour of droplets of biochar based slurry fuels in terms of ignition delay time, burning rate, micro-explosion and flame phenomena. The effects of biochar type, additives and temperature on the combustion properties will be investigated. Sub-topic 2: Ignition and combustion characteristics of glycerol This project will study the combustion characteristics of glycerol droplets in terms of ignition delay period, flame size, flame to droplet size (stand-off) ratio, and burning rate. The effects of methanol addition, water addition and droplet size on the combustion characteristics will be investigated.


Sub-topic 3: Ignition and combustion characteristics of coal/biomass briquette This project will study the combustion characteristics of coal/biomass briquette in terms of ignition delay period, burning rate, flame temperature. The effects of furnace temperature, coal/biomass blending ratio and particle size on the combustion will be investigated. Sub-topic 4: Ignition and combustion characteristics of heavy oil This project will study the combustion characteristic of heavy oil droplets in terms of ignition delay period, flame size, flame to droplet size (stand-off) ratio, and burning rate. The effect of furnace temperature and droplet size on the combustion will be investigated.

Zhang, Dongke, Winthrop Professor Two-Phase Anaerobic Digestion (T-PAD) of Organic Wastes for Biohythane Production Co-supervisors: Wenxu Zhou, Wati Yani, Guangyao Dang Disciplines: Chemical & Process, Environmental Sub-topic 1: Effect of organic waste source on the biohythane production of two-phase anaerobic digestion (T-PAD) The aims of the project will comprehensively examine the potentiality of organic waste as feedstock for two-phase anaerobic digestion (T-PAD) process which sequentially produced hydrogen and methane, commonly known as biohythane. Three types of organic wastes, namely, sugar based, carbohydrate based and cellulose based organic wastes will be studied. The effect of each organic waste on the total gas production, gas composition and digestate composition of each phase will be studied. The T-PAD process will be performed in bench scale reactors and T-PAD mobile unit. Sub-topic 2: Effect of temperature on the biohythane production of two-phase anaerobic digestion (T-PAD) of organic waste The aims of the project will comprehensively study the effect of temperature on the two-phase anaerobic digestion (T-PAD) process of organic waste which sequentially produced hydrogen and methane, commonly known as biohythane. Process temperature plays a significant role on the anaerobic digestion process. Different process temperatures will be chosen for the 1st and 2nd phase and the effect on the total gas production, gas composition, digestate composition of each phase will be studied. The T-PAD process will be performed in bench scale reactors and T-PAD mobile unit. Sub-topic 3: Effect of organic loading rate (OLR) on the biohythane production of two-phase anaerobic digestion (T-PAD) of organic waste The aims of the project will comprehensively study the effect of organic loading rate on the two-phase anaerobic digestion (T-PAD) process of organic waste which sequentially produced hydrogen and methane, commonly known as biohythane. Organic loading rate will be determined using total volatile solid content. The effect of organic loading rate on the total gas, gas composition, digestate composition of each phase will be studied. The T-PAD process will be performed in a bench scale reactors and T-PAD mobile unit. Sub-topic 4: Effect of hydraulic retention time (HRT) on the biohythane production of two-phase anaerobic digestion (T-PAD) of organic waste


The aims of the project will comprehensively study the effect hydraulic retention time (HRT) on the two-phase anaerobic digestion (T-PAD) process of organic waste which sequentially produced hydrogen and methane, commonly known as biohythane. The effect of HRT on the total gas production, gas composition and digestate composition on the 1st and 2nd phase will be studied. The T-PAD process will be performed in bench scale reactors and T-PAD mobile unit.


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FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, MATHEMATICS AND ......appear to make it feasibility to harness this energy to serve all of Australia. The project consists of carrying out a feasibility study