On Monday 21st of October a delegation from the University of Melbourne visited RWTH Aachen University to celebrate the development of the RWTH Aachen – University of Melbourne (RUM) Joint PhD Group, as well as discuss potential for collaboration across other themes and disciplines. The University of Melbourne Vice Chancellor, Professor Duncan Maskell, met with the Rector of Professor Ulrich Rüdiger, …

On Monday 8th of April a delegation from the University of Melbourne visited RWTH Aachen University and its many institutions. Academics from the Melbourne Energy Institute joined the delegation and conducted several workshops with our Aachen colleagues. Topics for the workshops included geophysics and geothermal energy, fluid dynamics, and sustainability and lifecycle assessment — to name a few. The workshops involved approximately …

Industry relies heavily on turbulence models to make numerical predictions sufficiently affordable. However, in many situations the lack of predictive accuracy of the underlying models limits the impact that computational methods can have on technology development. In this project, a novel machine learning approach will be applied to translate the physics contained in data into tangible turbulence models with improved accuracy. …

Compression ignition engines are likely to remain a dominant prime mover for the foreseeable future, particularly in heavy duty road transport, sea transport and power generation. Dimethyl ether (DME) is one proposed zero emission fuel for compression ignition engines that can be made using renewable energy. DME also possesses several properties that makes it superior to diesel in terms of …

Spark ignition engines are the dominant prime mover in passenger vehicles today, and this will remain the case for decades to come whilst the vehicle fleet evolves towards greater hybridization and electrification. It is well known that increasing fuel octane enables lower greenhouse gas emissions from spark ignition engines, and that direct injection in spark ignition (SI) engines is now …

Significant advancement in electrochemical storage materials and energy storage systems has been made in the past few decades. Among these, redox flow batteries (RFB) have paved the way for storing a large amount of renewable energy created through solar or wind sources. Semi-solid redox flow batteries (SSRFBs) were invented in 2009 and has gained increased attention. In conventional redox flow …

REGISTER YOUR INTEREST Applicants for RUM Joint PhD projects should: Identify a project of interest Register their interest with the project supervisor based at the University of Melbourne, including the following information: Name, contact details Joint PhD project of interest Cover Letter, CV and Transcript Any supporting documentation Note, to be considered for the joint PhD program, all applicants are required to …

Evidence from grain silos and integral bridges shows that relatively rigid structures in contact with loosely packed soils subjected to thermal cycles, can fail due to the increased packing density caused by temperature induced movements within the soil. This phenomenon has not been investigated in the context of geothermal piles. RWTH Aachen Chair of Geotechnical Engineering has a large cylindrical pit …

Meeting the future-emission reduction targets requires innovative ideas that, all combined, will help meting this goal. In traditionally coal mining intensive regions, common to both Australia and Germany, the use of decommissioned mines remains and intensive debate topic between local officials, residents and technical experts. This study will focus on numerical modelling tools to evaluate the best back-filling arrangement of open cast …

While the past decades have seen substantial advancements in our capacity to numerically model wall-bounded turbulent flows, wall-flows encountering additional perturbations remain a significant challenge. Such flows include the effects of heterogeneous roughness, pressure gradients and additional strainrates, or combinations of these. For many aerodynamic and hydrodynamic applications, a prevalent circumstance is the presence of organized streamwise vortices that evolve …

Cities are responsible for 75% of energy consumption and 80% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. However, cities also exhibit substantial internal interactions among energy vectors and sectors with inherent flexibility and so are ideal candidates to harness flexibility to make the grid more reliable. However, integration of millions of small-scale distributed resources introduces enormous technical and commercial challenge. The project will …

Application: Electro-mechanical energy conversions processes related to electromobility and conventional energy generation/conversion Problem: Cutting of metallic sheets causes defects, which enhance magnetisation hysteresis and energy conversion losses. Approach: Atomistic simulations of magnetic domain dynamics in a lattice with defects (dislocation and interface) Goal: Identify mechanisms of loses to develop mechanism-based materials design approach to increase conversion efficiency Key references: N. Leuning, S. Steentjes, A. …

This project will explore the role of carbonaceous materials in state-of-the-art all-vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) electrodes. VRFBs are especially suited for large stationary energy storage where volume and weight are not limiting factors and are best for applications such as electrical peak shaving, load levelling, uninterruptible power supply (UPS), and in conjunction with renewable energies (e.g., wind and solar). …

To reduce energy demand associated with the building sector, the major focus has been on improving the energy efficiency of the building operational phase. Monitoring energy use has been a major element of this focus, which often includes the use of various sensing and control systems. The collected data provides an opportunity for diagnosis in real time to better understand …