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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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 “nonstationary” 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.
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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)
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•
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.
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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.
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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 highpressures 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
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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
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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.
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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:
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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,
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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/semiautomated 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
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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
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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.
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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 twophase 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
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The aims of the project will comprehensively study the effect hydraulic retention time (HRT) on the twophase 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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