James Cook University Subject Handbook - 2000

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SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

Chemical Engineering

Electrochemical processing of copper.
Sugar processing


Heat transfer modelling of fire retardants.

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Civil and Environmental Engineering has a significant role in three Cooperative Research Centres and especially in the Reef Research Centre.

The principal research interests at present are in the following fields:

Ocean and Coastal Engineering

Studies of waves, water circulation and storm surge in the Great Barrier Reef region have been research interests for many years. Numerical modelling of these phenomena, is a specialisation of the School. Related projects include:
Simulation of tropical cyclone storm surge.
Numerical modelling of Great Barrier Reef circulation.
Wave prediction in coral reef areas.
Determination of the frequency of coastal flooding.
Numerical modelling of dredge plume movement.
Pontoon dynamics in the Great Barrier Reef.
Great Barrier Reef – Engineering guidelines: design, construction and operation.

Geomechanics

The School has a long history of postgraduate training and research in geotechnical engineering. There are research projects in a wide variety of geotechnical problem areas including:
Seismic piezocone penetrometer investigations in soft soils.
Slope stability in tropical environments.
Resistance of short piers to combined uplift and lateral loading.
Bearing capacity and settlement of shallow foundations in granular soils.
Strengths and compressibility of clays.
Reliability-based geotechnical designs.
Artificial neural networks, application in geomechanics.
Characteristics of soft clays of coastal North Queensland.

Hydraulic and Hydrological Studies

The control and management of both surface and groundwaters are the central themes in hydraulic and hydrologic research in the School.
Experimental and numerical modelling techniques are being employed to examine the following:
River mechanics and river bank stability.
Effluent irrigation.

Structural Engineering

Structural engineers design and supervise the construction of a wide range of structural forms including buildings, bridges, dams, towers, off-shore oil and gas platforms, tanks and silos. Structural engineering techniques are also used in the design of mine shafts, tunnels and large underground chambers to provide facilities such as car parks or power stations.
Research activities in structural engineering are both analytical and experimental in nature and are directed at investigations into:
Bending, buckling and dynamic behaviour of fibre-reinforced composite plates.
Strength of concrete-filled steel tubular beams and columns.
Rehabilitation and retrofitting of timber, steel and concrete structural members by advanced composite jacketing.
Non-destructive characterisation of flaws in composite structures.
The analytical work relies heavily on the use of modern computer techniques.

Wind Engineering

A strong interest in the engineering aspects of tropical cyclones has developed since the destruction caused in Townsville by Cyclone Althea in 1971. A major aspect of this work is the design of buildings, particularly housing, to resist strong winds. It involves wind tunnel measurements, structural testing and analytical studies and is undertaken in collaboration with the James Cook Cyclone Structural Testing Station, a special research and development unit located within the School. Specific areas of research include:
Wind tunnel measurement of wind forces on structures and wind velocity fields.
Analysis of damage risk from tropical cyclones.
Development of criteria for design against tropical cyclones.
Structural behaviour of housing construction under wind loads (including full-scale house testing).
Computer modelling of structural behaviour of houses.

Systems Engineering and Management

Systems Engineering is the application of scientific and engineering knowledge to the planning, design, evaluation, construction and management of complex problem situations within both man-made and natural environments. Particular interests include studies of transportation and energy systems, marine systems, particularly those relating to the Great Barrier Reef region and environmental systems. These interests are reflected in the following projects:
Development of an operational model of a single bulk export commodity port.
Transportation systems analysis including safety, congestion, energy and environmental considerations.
Hospital theatre management and information systems.
Operations management in the agriculture sector.

Environmental Engineering

Protecting and sustaining the environment is possibly the greatest challenge humans face. Environmental Engineering at James Cook emphasises environmental planning, waste management, site rehabilitation and air, water and noise pollution control.
Particular areas of research interests include:
Environmental impacts of civil engineering projects.
Water quality modelling of reservoir.
Effluent irrigation.
Solid and hazardous waste management.
Ballast water discharges in the Great Barrier Reef.
Improved river bank stabilisation practices in the wet tropics.

Electrical and Computer Engineering

RF Electronics

High power linear amplifier for mobile radio.
Analogue to digital converters.

Satellite Communications/Remote Sensing

Satellite signal attenuation due to rain.
Remote sensing.
The effects of elevation angle on satellite receivers in areas of heavy rain.
Site diversity at 11.6GHz (INTELSAT Project).
A low cost receiving system for weather satellites (JCUMetSat).
The design of a satellite ground station.
NOAA satellite image processing.
Radar derived rainfall patterns.
Determination rain rate patterns.

Aids for the Disabled

A synthesized voice communications aid for persons with severe muscular disabilities.
Computer interfaces for people with disabilities.
Biomedical instrumentation.

Control Systems

Large-scale system control and estimation theory.
Robust and optimal control systems.
Autonomous robotic vehicles and instrumentation.
Process control systems.
System identification.

Digital Systems

Real time audio frequency signal processing in a software configurable environment.
Computer graphics and virtual reality.
Systems identification, spectral analysis and digital signal processing.
Digital filter design and applications.
Embedded microprocessor and applications.
Digital communication.

Communications

Computer controlled six-port network analyser.
Near-field antenna measurement techniques.
An FM exciter using DSP techniques.
Microwave radiometers.
COFDM.
Automatic radio tracking for animals.
Data communication systems.

Instrumentation

A solid state energy recorder for use by supply authorities.
Mains harmonics measurements and analysis.
Non-contact distance measurements using radar.
The design and construction of a data logger for the satellite transmission rain attenuation project.
Transient recorder.
Remote data logger.
Microwave systems to monitor height and materials in hazardous environments.
Furnace temperature measurements using microwave radiometers.

Power applications

Remote area power systems.
High efficiency inverter design.
ELF field investigations.
Geomagnetic field measurements.

Applied Superconductivity

Measurements of surface resistance of superconducting materials at microwave frequencies.
Measurements of microwave properties of superconducting and dielectric materials for communication systems.
Applications of high Tc devices in wireless communication.
Power handling capabilities of high Tc films.
Superconducting microwave passive circuits.

Mechanical Engineering

Application of computational porous media mechanics to the crushing of prepared sugar cane.
Computational modelling of crystallisation.
CFD Modelling of pan boiling.
Natural convection in cavities.
Particle image velocimetry.
Fracture mechanics.
Calibration of elasto-plastic constitutive models.
Finite element modelling of hyper-elastic materials.
Finite element analysis of non-linear material and geometric problems.
Development of friction models for contact mechanics.
The effect of humidity on heat and mass transfer across narrow cavities.
Discrete element modelling of dragline bucket filling.
Characterisation of blasted rock and soil as a continuum and at a discrete level.
Plasma thermal spray coatings for wear resistance.
Surface engineering technologies for reduction of corrosion and wear.
Failure analysis of components.
CFD modelling of aerator driven flows in aquaculture ponds.
Heat transfer analysis of furnace tap holes including solidification.
Development of advanced insulation materials.
Development of finite element procedures for large strain modelling and contact.
Vibration control.

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