• ResearchSeminars

Research Seminar Series (2009)

Welcome to the research seminar series for the School of Engineering and Energy during semester two of 2009.

The schedule is currently under development so the dates and precise titles are provisional. We will regularly update this site as new information comes to hand. Only when an abstract has been posted for a talk should it be treated as confirmed.

The seminar series is jointly hosted by Gareth Lee and Chris Creagh (see below for contact details).

All staff, postgraduate and final year undergraduate students are strongly encouraged to attend.

Seminars are held in Robertson Lecture Theatre at 12.30pm each Thursday, so please come along to present and to listen to your colleagues talking about their work.

It is not expected that there will many timetable clashes during this time since university timetabling will attempt to keep this time slot free.

Feel free to bring along your lunch (but no throwing food at the presenters if you disagree with their research methods )

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Contact details

Gareth Lee (Engineering)

• Phone: 08 9360 6098

• Email: <gareth DOT lee AT murdoch DOT edu DOT au>

• Room: Physical Sciences 3.025D

Chris Creagh (Physics and Energy Studies)

• Phone: 08 9360 6715

• Email: <c DOT creagh AT murdoch DOT edu DOT au>

• Room: Physical Sciences 2.035

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Abstracts

Maria Retnanestri, The I3A Framework – Enhancing the sustainability of off-grid photovoltaic energy service delivery in Indonesia

The University of New South Wales, UNSW, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia

This paper describes the outcomes of an interdisciplinary PhD research project that combined social and engineering perspectives on the sustainability of off-grid Photovoltaic Energy Service (PVES) delivery in rural Indonesian communities without access to an electricity grid. The I3A (Implementation, Accessibility, Availability, Acceptability) Sustainable PVES Delivery framework was developed in this project as a holistic integration of three main theories: Sustainable Development (SD), Social Capital (SC), and Diffusion of Inovation (DOI), which combined with the WEC (World Energy Council)’s three energy goals (3A), was used to assess the sustainability of three off-grid PVES case studies from Lampung, West Java and Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) provinces respectively. The project methodologies included literature research, qualitative field research where PVES had been installed and interviews with a wide range of PVES stakeholders. A key conclusion was that, to be sustainable and equitable, off-grid PVES projects should be implemented in an institutional framework that provides sound project management and addresses PVES accessibility (financial, institutional and technological), availability (technical quality and continuity) and acceptability (social and ecological). Drawing on those insights, ways to enhance off-grid PVES delivery in rural situations in Indonesia are recommended. The outcomes of the PhD research project have since been used as the basis for a successful Australian Development Research Award (ADRA) grant application involving collaboration between UNSW and Indonesian institutions. A companion paper discusses the structure and objectives of the ADRA project and early outcomes from that project.

Rick Cummings and Sally Knowles, ALTC Grants and Awards Information Session

Prof. Rick Cummings is the Manager Educational Development and responsible for the Teaching and Learning Committee at Murdoch. Dr. Sally Knowles is a Lecturer in Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at Murdoch.

An information sheet will be distributed at the session.

The Australian Learning and Teaching Council web site is http://www.altc.edu.au/ ; also see the Networks for Enhancing the Scholarship of Teaching blog at http://blogs.murdoch.edu.au/nest/

Arash Sadrieh, Software Architecture Design and Evaluation for Integrated Process Modelling and Simulation Environment

This presentation seeks to develop a new methodology to design and evaluate software architectures for a tool integrated environment in the domain of process simulation and modelling. The application of the approach is demonstrated by means of ammonia production design case-study. In the methodology, by using common tool integration patterns, a technique proposed to extract feasible software architectures from functional requirements. For evaluating the feasible software architectures with respect to non-functional requirements Analytical Hierarchal Process (AHP) is applied. Furthermore, it is proved that the proposed methodology is generic and could be applied to the integration of other simulation and modelling tools as well as different engineering fields.

Martina Calais, Transformerless PV Inverter Issues Revisited - Are Australian Standards Adaquate?

The recent boom in residential photovoltaic system installations has led to more and more transformerless photovoltaic (PV) inverters appearing on the Australian market. Associated with these topologies are obvious benefits but also safety and operational concerns. In our work we focussed on two areas of concern: We investigated the impact of possible DC injection on AC networks (in particular effects on a distribution transformer and typical watt-hour meters) and the levels of possible capacitive leakage currents on the PV array side. Three commercially available transformerless PV inverters were used to confirm findings in the literature and assess issues in relation to the above two areas of concern with consideration of the appropriate Australian Standards. The work resulted in a number of recommendations with the most significant being the need of an amendment to AS5033 involving the compulsory earthing of PV array frames and structures in transformerless PV systems.

Tania Urmee, Improving the success of Solar Home System Program - Bangladesh Case Study

The primary vehicle used to provide those living in rural areas of developing countries with access to electricity is the SHS program. A market-based approach is used to deliver in Bangladesh program and although household incomes are low, the program has been very successful. A comprehensive qualitative and quantitative survey was undertaken to understand the reasons for the success and rapid growth of the program. The results indicated that the primary reasons for the success of the program have been the focus on meeting householders' needs and the affordability of the solar home systems. Although the program has been very successful, the survey identified several issues that need to be addressed in order to ensure the continued success and sustainability of the program. Continued success will require the creation of a network of maintenance and monitoring businesses, the further development of innovative financing options, continued community involvement and the development of social entrepreneurship. The sustainability of the program would be improved by controlling increases in system prices, increasing the input of program implementers in the development of Government electricity and energy policies, increasing the involvement of local banks in providing financing, increasing loan recovery rates and improving the quality of SHS components.

David Parlevliet, Musically Altered Pulsed PECVD for the Growth of Silicon Nanowires

Nanostructures such as silicon nanowires are often inadvertently described in botanical terms, such as a "forest" of nanowires and "flower-like" growths such as nanoflowers. On a botanical note, many people commonly believe that singing or playing music to their plants encourages the growth of the plants. So on this theme it was decided to determine what effect playing different types of music to silicon nanowires while they are growing would have on their growth characteristics such as density and general morphology.

Silicon nanowires are commonly grown via the vapour-liquid solid (VLS) mechanism using a gold catalyst by Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) which is a method for creating materials from gaseous source material by reacting or thermally depositing material on a substrate. The nanowires can also be grown by Plasma Enhanced CVD (PECVD) which uses a glow discharge to crack or decompose the source gases and aid the deposition. The plasma is commonly created using a 13.56MHz RF signal. We have previously shown that this process can be further enhanced by using Pulsed PECVD (PPECVD) where a square wave is imposed on the RF signal by amplitude modulation to rapidly turn the plasma on and off. To play music to the nanowires, rather than placing a loud speaker near the chamber, the square wave signal was replaced with the output of a portable music player which allowed the music to directly alter the plasma, thus, Musically Altered PPECVD (MAPPECVD) was used to grow silicon nanowires in this study.

Nicki Sullivan, Population balance modeling of a hydrometallurgical mineral leaching process

There is significant economic motivation to accurately model the leaching stage in hydrometallurgical processes, and run them as efficiently as possible. To model this process we must bring together our understanding of the solution chemistry, the surface processes and the structure and breakage behaviour of the solid ore particles. The population balance equation is a powerful tool for synthesizing a model for this system. A batch model for parameter estimation from laboratory data is presented.

Dr Bi Chao, Research in DSI Energy Group of A*Star

Data Storage Institute, Singapore, http://www.dsi.a-star.edu.sg/

1. Introduction of A*Star and DSI
2. Introduction of Energy group of DSI
3. Program: High efficiency electric machine design
4. Program: Permanent magnet AC motor drive
5. Program: PV application
6. Program: Electric energy storage

Heather Evans, Modelling cobalt solvent extraction with Cyanex 272

Cobalt can be separated from nickel and magnesium in solution by solvent extraction with Cyanex 272. A mathematical model has been developed to calculate the equilibrium constants for single metal extraction profiles for cobalt, nickel and magnesium extraction using Cyanex 272 from experimental data. Using these calculated Log K values, it is possible to generate pH extraction isotherms for various conditions. Relationships between ionic strength, temperature and organic concentrations have been expressed mathematically and incorporated in the model.

The initial concept has been further developed to allow for modelling of multi-metal extraction systems. The methodology used to construct this solvent extraction model is explained together with its ability to predict the optimum operating conditions for cobalt extraction.

Travis Woodward, Operability Assessment of the Leaching Process at Kwinana Nickel Refinery

The leaching process at Kwinana Nickel Refinery is the most important step in its hydrometallurgical flowsheet. It is highly desirable that this process operates optimally in order to promote maximum refinery throughput and minimise operating costs. An operability assessment of the leaching process has been performed, including mathematical modelling, optimisation and control. In this presentation, objectives and major outcomes from the PhD work are discussed.

Claire Wilhelm, International and Field Experience in the Oil and Gas Industry – a Female Engineer Perspective

Interface Coordinator, INPEX

Hosted by the Women in Engineering Panel of Engineers Australia – WA Division and Murdoch University, School of Engineering and Energy

Claire graduated from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Resource Engineering (Major in Oil & Gas) degree in 2000, and has had a varied and exciting career in the petroleum industry so far. After graduation, Claire spent 3 years in Africa working for oilfield service company Schlumberger as a Field Engineer (Drilling and Production). Claire worked both on land rigs and offshore facilities, in the desert (North Africa), jungle (West Africa) and amongst the whales and seals (South Africa). Claire then joined a petroleum engineering consultancy (Advanced Well Technologies, AWT) and worked as a Completions / Well Integrity Engineer, based in both Perth and Malaysia. She was fortunate to work as a consultant on Barrow Island. Claire has recently joined INPEX (a Japanese Oil & Gas Operator) as Interface Coordinator, with her main focus being Offshore technical interfaces for the Ichthys Project, a role which is giving Claire valuable exposure to the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase of a new project. Claire will share her experiences in the oil and gas industry, in particular covering the following:

• Being female in a male-dominated industry;
• Pros and cons of working for small companies versus big companies
• Pros and cons of working for service companies/consultancies versus operators; and
• The value of international and field experience

Sari Murni, Assessment on renewable energy project for remote rural area on border of Malaysia and Indonesia

Kelalan Valley , Sarawak and Bawan Valley, Indonesia are located in northern of Borneo. Geographical isolation and mountainous terrain has meant that there is limited access especially in electricity in this borderland area. Using renewable energy resources from these areas to produce electricity seems to be the alternative to help them to get electricity access. Assessment on renewable energy resources and community’s opinion, expectations and willingness to pay on their energy cost is presented.