Master's thesis of Engineering

This work demonstrated the potential of US for mitigating membrane fouling. However, the integration of the US transducers within the membrane system will be a major challenge for the application of US in membrane cleaning. It is more appropriate that US is used as pre-treatment to the membrane system, the transducers can be placed prior to the coagulant feed line. Further work on the determination of the detailed mechanisms associated with enhancing coagulation would enable optimisation of the system with regard to process, cost and energy efficiency.

108p runthenight05 01-03-2023 5 2   Download

Once entirely the domain of space-borne applications, the effects of high energy charged particles on electronics systems is now also a concern for terrestrial devices. Reconfigurable components such as FPGAs are particularly vulnerable to radiation single event effects (SEU) as they carry a large amount of memory within a relatively small amount of circuit area. This thesis presents a Silicon on Insulator (SOI) based configuration memory system in a radiation hard reconfiguration system.

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This research presents a method for the identification of hazardous situations on the freeways as well as the hazard mitigation system based on the identification. The hazard identification is done using a crash risk probability model and based on the identification, mitigation strategy is employed to reduce the effect of the hazard. For this study, about 18 km long section of Eastern Freeway in Melbourne, Australia is selected as a test bed.

125p runthenight05 01-03-2023 2 2   Download

The prediction of the expected long-term performance of concrete exposed to sewage and similar materials can be difficult as it is affected by a large number of parameters. In addition, the deterioration process in concrete is generally slow. The focus of the study was to ascertain the life expectancy of concrete septic tanks located in rural Victoria. In developing the accelerated test method, ASTM C 192, ASTM C 452, ASTM C 1293 and ASTM C 109 standard procedures were adopted wherever possible.

172p runthenight05 01-03-2023 4 2   Download

In this thesis, a numerical model with detailed reaction mechanism which is tailored for studying the behaviour of combustion of natural gas has been introduced and validated with available experimental data. The numerical model attempts to comprehensively simulate the physical conditions (temperature and pressure), equivalent ratio, and fuel dilution and strain rate effect in the laminar flames.

158p runthenight05 01-03-2023 8 2   Download

Magnetic bearing systems have received much attention in the research community for the past decades. Its inherent nonlinearity and open-loop instability present challenges for controller design. This thesis investigates and designs model predictive control (MPC) systems for an experimental Active Magnetic Bearing (AMB) laboratory system. A host-target development environment of real-time control system with hardware in the loop (HIL) is used for implementation of the predictive control systems. In this thesis, both continuous and discrete time model predictive controllers are studied.

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In this thesis, the rolling contact wear of 52100 bearing steel and Over-aged Magnesia-Partially-Stabilised Zirconia (OA-Mg-PSZ) ceramic are examined using a newly developed rolling contact wear test rig. The new wear test rig simulates the system geometry of an un-lubricated hybrid (ceramic and steel) ball bearing. The new wear test rig is versatile in that it allows low cost samples to be utilised resulting in a larger number of samples that can be tested.

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This thesis presents a study of impedance optimisation of active microstrip patch antennas to multiple frequency points. A single layered aperture coupled microstrip patch antenna has been optimised to match the source reflection coefficient of a transistor in designing an active antenna. The active aperture coupled microstrip patch antenna was optimised to satisfy Global Positioning System (GPS) frequency specifications.

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The primary objective of this work is to study the aerodynamic pressures on Mirror Surface at Various speeds to determine the effects of aerodynamics on to Mirror vibration. Additionally, the Mirror was modified by Shrouding around the external periphery to determine the possibility of minimisation of aerodynamic pressure fluctuations and thereby vibration. The Shrouding length used for the analysis was of 24mm, 34mm and 44mm length.

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The specific objectives of this study are: 1. To conduct a literature review on carbon-based hydrogen storage electrodes and direct proton absorbance in various forms of carbon; 2. To prepare and characterise activated carbon samples with proper porosity for the present application; 3. To manufacture and characterise a range of composite materials containing carbon material and a proton-conducting medium such as nafion in various levels of hydration 4. To fabricate a number of membrane-electrode-assembly (MEA) from the composite materials;…

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The study determines the predominant hydrogeological controls on salinity distribution and salinization/freshening, proposing conceptual models to explain the different vertical distributions of groundwater salinity at the coastline. An improved understanding of the sources of salinity and the hydrogeological controls will subsequently provide support for the future management of groundwater in the Western Port Basin, and serve as a template for how to unravel complex salinity distributions in coastal aquifers, and their relationships to palaeo- and recent geomorphological histories.

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The research reported herein has demonstrated that pervious pavements can be introduced as a sustainable stormwater management initiative and as a key Water Sensitive Urban Design feature to deliver numerous benefits to the environment. The outcomes from the study will be useful in designing environmentally friendly car parks, pedestrian paths, light traffic drive ways, sporting grounds and public areas in the future.

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Since community buildings are a large group of assets managed by local city councils, current research has the potential to identify asset management deficiencies and assist in improving an integrated management model by: Establishing deterioration trends in building components for community buildings; Validating proposed deterioration using case-study data; Developing a database of costs to facilitate optimisation of maintenance; Developing a methodology to integrate deterioration and cost to optimize maintenance requirements.

186p runthenight05 01-03-2023 3 2   Download

The research herein builds on the work of Rojek (2003) and further investigates the bioremediation of NOM wastes. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of selected white-rot fungi and yeast for the biodegradative removal of concentrated NOM from solution. The effectiveness of the white-rot fungus P. chrysosporium ATCC 34541 for the biological degradation of different batches of MIEXTM NOM concentrate and the effects of different characteristics of the NOM on the process and thus the resistance of the NOM to microbial removal were investigated.

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This dissertation aims to investigate the electrical impedance properties of fruits and vegetables, and explore the relationship between impedance and quality criteria. In particular, the present dissertation outlines experimental research conducted on relationships between impedance properties and fruit tastes as well as the impedance changes observed during ripening process. Impedance measurement to monitor moisture content changes in the progress of drying is also included in this research.

116p runthenight05 01-03-2023 5 2   Download

This body of work is the culmination of a part-time five year investigation into the use of mirroring in digital art composition and its potential to generate affective intensity.The research has occurred through a series of installative works and artefacts produced with digital media in which mirrored operations have been employed in a variety of different ways. The aim of these explorations was to develop and articulate a compositional approach based in acts of mirroring, with the aim of extending affective invitations to the viewer.

108p runthenight05 01-03-2023 8 2   Download

This study focuses on experimental testing and subsequent numerical analysis of impacted and pre-loaded composite coupons and bonded composite scarf joints under varying impact conditions. A methodology will be developed for the numerical modelling of preloaded impact tests to enable capture of critical failure modes and ultimate failure. The main aim is to validate a modelling strategy that will provide accurate failure characterisation of the tested joints using numerical analysis.

185p runthenight05 01-03-2023 3 2   Download

This study explores the use of teacher reflective practice, teacher networking and teacher collaboration, beyond formal ICT training, through blog-based professional development of English teachers in the Mumbai region of India. Using data collected from 32 teachers in three private schools of Mumbai, through ICT interactive workshop observations, questionnaires, interviews and blog comments, the case study explains whether and why blogging, as a learning community, has potential to add significant value to existing professional development of English teachers in Mumbai.

187p runthenight05 01-03-2023 8 2   Download

The objective of this research is to identify potential impact on power generation in developed and developing countries. The study includes two case studies; a) power generation in a developing country and b) Power generation in a developed country. The study examines impact of climate change on power generation over a period of 100 years (2010-2100) in these two diverse countries.

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This thesis deals with the finite element simulation of spot welded joint in crash analysis. Spot welding is a very common joining process in the automotive industry. It is cost effective and it provides a very fast production rate of automotive body components. Despite this advantage, spot welds are very susceptible to various types of loading conditions. Therefore they are prone to failure, if not designed properly, during their service life time. Therefore it is very important to understand the behaviour of spot welds and their failure characteristics.

243p runthenight05 01-03-2023 7 2   Download