Digital Commons Network^™

Synthesis Of Mn3o4-Encapsulated Graphene Sheet Nanocomposites Via A Facile, Fast Microwave Hydrothermal Method And Their Supercapacitive Behaviour, Li Li, Kuok Hau Seng, Zhixin Chen, Hua-Kun Liu, Ivan P. Nevirkovets, Zaiping Guo

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Well-crystallized Mn3O4-anchored reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites have been successfully synthesized via a facile, effective, energy-saving, and scalable microwave hydrothermal technique for potential application as supercapacitor material. Integrating these nanostructures resulted in a strong synergistic effect between the two materials, consequently leading to a hybrid composite with higher specific capacitance compared to the bare Mn3O4 nanoparticles. The results from different sorts of characterization indicate that the Mn3O4 particles were deposited and anchored on graphene sheets. The capacitance value of the rGO(31.6%)–Mn3O4 nanocomposite reached 153 F/g, much higher than that of the bare Mn3O4 (87 F/g) at a scan rate of …

Analytical Solution For Interaction Forces In Rc Beams Strengthened With Nsm Rectangular Bars, S S. Zhang, J G. Teng

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The flexural performance of an RC beam can be improved using the near-surface mounted (NSM) FRP strengthening technique. In such FRP-strengthened RC beams, debonding failure at the two bar ends may occur due to high interaction forces in the bar-end regions between the RC beam and the FRP bars. This paper presents a theoretical investigation into these interaction forces in RC beams strengthened with NSM FRP rectangular bars. By introducing and defining two interfacial stiffness parameters, an analytical solution for the tangential and the normal interaction forces is first obtained as an extension of the analytical solution developed by Smith …

Stainlessness, Etienne Turpin

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

No abstract provided.

Bangkok + Jakarta: Cities Of Hypercomplexity, Etienne Turpin

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Designed by architecture students from the spring travel course Inundation Jakarta/Bangkok, this exhibition of field research and design work opens Friday, September 14.

Application Of Biomathematical Model For Pb(Ii) Biosorption And Bioaccumulation, Duangjai Khankruer, Muttucumaru Sivakumar, Chaiyuth Chinnarasri, Thidarat Bunsri

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This study investigated the reduction of Pb(II)) by bioaccumulation and biosorption in an artificial biosorbent. The biosorbent was prepared by mixing grounded manure and fine-grain sand at a ratio of 1:1 (w/w) with the media packed into a laboratory scale column (diameter of 4.7 cm). The sweet soy sauce (food grade) solution with pH ranged of 5.0-5.5 and the concentration of 15 g COD L-1 was fed at a rate of 500 mL d-1 to the column surface for a period of 101 d. The active biofilm was then acclimatised for another 79 d, by adding 0.2 mg L-1 of …

Effect Of The Austenitising Heat Treatment On The Microstructure And Hardness Of Martensitic Stainless Steel Aisi 420, Lilian D. Barlow, Madeleine Du Toit

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The effect of austenitizing on the microstructure and hardness of two martensitic stainless steels was examined with the aim of supplying heat-treatment guidelines to the user that will ensure a martensitic structure with minimal retained austenite, evenly dispersed carbides and a hardness of between 610 and 740 HV (Vickers hardness) after quenching and tempering. The steels examined during the course of this examination conform in composition to medium-carbon AISI 420 martensitic stainless steel, except for the addition of 0.13% vanadium and 0.62% molybdenum to one of the alloys. Steel samples were austenitized at temperatures between 1000 and 1200 C, followed …

Self-Reported Practices, Attitudes And Levels Of Training Of Practitioners In The English Nhs Stop Smoking Services, Mairtin S. Mcdermott, Robert West, Leonie S. Brose, Andy Mcewen

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The primary aim of the current study is to investigate the self-reported practices, attitudes and levels of training of stop smoking practitioners (SSPs) working at the English National Health Service's (NHS) Stop Smoking Services (SSSs). A secondary aim was to investigate differences between 'Specialist' and 'Community' SSPs. An online survey was conducted with 484 SSPs. Most (94%) SSPs offered one-to-one appointments to smokers, only 43% always used the abrupt quit model and 30% reported ever recommending particular medication to clients. SSPs reported an average of 3.7 days training when starting work and 26% reported never observing an experienced practitioner before …

Translating Evidence-Based Guidelines Into Practice: A Survey Of Practices Of Commissioners And Managers Of The English Stop Smoking Services, Mairtin S. Mcdermott, Heather Thomson, Robert West, Jennifer A. M Kenyon, Andy Mcewen

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Background: The English National Health Service's (NHS) Stop Smoking Services (SSSs) constitute one of the most highly developed behavioural support programmes in the world. However, there is significant variation in success rates across the approximately 150 services, some of which may be due to variation in practice. This study aimed to assess these differences in practice.

Methods: Two online surveys were administered. All commissioners (people who purchase services for the NHS) and managers (those who run the services) of NHS SSSs in England were invited to participate. Items included details of current practices and services provided, what informed the …

Ecology Is Failing And Needs To Be Free From Our Limitations, Graham Harris

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The splendour of nature diminishes day by day despite the strenuous efforts of ecologists and all manner of scientific understandings and interventions. Biodiversity is in decline, and crucial resources become ever scarcer. Meanwhile the human population continues to rise, as do atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and long-term global temperatures. Governments, corporations, and community groups all over the world invest in conservation and restoration programmes, but to depressingly little end. Obviously far more could be spent and far more could be done, but that would be no guarantee of success - not when our very approach to ecology is fundamentally flawed …

Apocalypse Not: Doomsday Thinkers Of Oz Should Get Out More, Graham Harris

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

I sometimes wonder what planet this country of ours is on. The environmental debate we are having seems to be in a parallel universe to the rest of the world. Having spent the last four years running one of Europe's biggest environmental research laboratories, the Lancaster Environment Centre, I find Australia strangely out of kilter. All I hear here is apocalyptic gloom and doom: either the planet is done for if we don't act, or the economy is done for if we do! We have a highly polarised debate and even more polarised reporting; with too much hand-wringing and head-banging …

Don't Wait For Sciene To 'Settle': Decide What Society Needs, Graham Harris

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

If you listen to the debate between science and society in most of the West, you get one version or another of the linear model. Science comes first. When it is "settled", society will know what to do. This is as true in the climate debate as it is in innovation. First comes the "breakthrough" and then the widget gets commercialised. Much of the economic development of the West has been driven by this "knowledge based" worldview. It worked quite well when the problems were simple and the benefits easily captured - from steam engines to early antibiotics - but …

People Plus: Is Transhuman The Next Stage In Our Evolution?, Katina Michael

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Inviting artificial intelligence into our bodies has appeal - but it also carries certain risks. I have often wondered what it would be like to rid myself of a keyboard for data entry, and a computer screen for display. Some of my greatest moments of reflection are when I am in the car driving long distances, cooking in my kitchen, watching the kids play at the park, waiting for a doctor's appointment or on a plane thousands of metres above sea level. I have always been great at multitasking but at these times it is often not practical or convenient …

Australia's Hand Out Addicted Car Industry Needs Some Tough Love, Henry Ergas

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The Federal Government will contribute millions of dollars to Australian car manufacturers Holden and Ford in an effort to keep Australia's automotive sector afloat. The government will add $34 million to a $103 million rescue package for Ford's Victorian assembly plant that will see the facility remain open until at least 2016. The funding, which will be met by a grant from the Victorian Government, comes as Holden is reportedly negotiating with Canberra over co-investment to produce a new Commodore model in 2018. But should governments continue to bail out an industry that is lagging in Australia and internationally? University …

Self-Guided Bullets Won't Stuff Up, But What About The Grunts And Drones Firing Them?, Katina Michael

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

At the beginning of this year Sandia Labs in the United States announced it had patented a design for a self-guided bullet that could help soldiers at war. The technology is expected to prevent the need for targeted air strikes that could kill innocent people while criminals take cover in their midst. This "super" self-guided bullet can hit laser-designated targets accurately to around 2,000 metres. An example of this capability can be found in the XM25 rifle. To rephrase the Cold War notion of "limited nuclear warfare", we could now say with these latest developments to the war-fighting repertoire that …

Robert Smithson's Abstract Geology: Revisiting The Premonitory Politics Of The Triassic, Etienne Turpin

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

[extract] Politics, or "A Gnaw That is Ratting" In response to an artist symposium question regarding the "deepening political crisis in America," Robert Smithson published a piece in Artforum, September 1970, titled "Art and the Political Whirlpool or the Politics of Disgust." In it, he said: My 'position' is one of sinking into an awareness of global squalor and futility. The rat of politics always gnaws at the cheese of art. The trap is set. If there's an original curse, then politics has something to do with it. Direct political action becomes a matter of trying to pick poison out …

Persona Non Grata : On Deleuze's Gratuitous Reading Of Bataille, Etienne Turpin

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

For liberal readers of Deleuze, one secret must forever be repressed: Deleuze hated. While his work teems with affirmation, even by way of his less than consensual but favored philosophical analogy of 'making children/monsters from the back,' there is one thinker too reviled for even Deleuze to thoroughly penetrate: Georges Bataille. While sparse, his remarks on Bataille betray the image of Deleuze as a perpetual affirmation machine. For this reason, Bataille, as the Deleuzian conceptual persona non grata, invites us to consider a state of delirious contamination that was too dangerous to be taken on (from behind). The paper contends …

Effects Of Cultural Cognitive Styles On Users Evaluation Of Website Complexity, Tingru Cui, Xinwei Wang, Hock Hai Teo

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The internationalization of websites requires compelling navigation experience for users from diverse cultures. This research investigates the effects of cultural cognitive styles on user perception of website complexity and the subsequent influence on user satisfaction towards the website. More specifically, the website complexity is examined along three dimensions: component, coordinative, and dynamic. Laboratory experiments involving participants from China and United States were used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that the effect of objective complexity on perceived complexity is contingent on cultural cognitive styles. People with holistic and analytic cultural cognitive styles display different perceptions of website complexity. This …

Enhanced Optical Conductance In Graphene Superlattice Due To Anisotropic Band Dispersion, Yee Sin Ang, Chao Zhang

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The optical response of a Kronig-Penney type graphene superlattice is investigated. When an external field is applied along the periodicity of the superlattice, the total optical response of the graphene superlattice is enhanced due to the formation of anisotropic Dirac fermions. Such anisotropy tunes up the total optical spectra while maintaining the same critical electric field regardless of the degree of anisotropy. The optical conductance of anisotropic Dirac fermions exhibits two contrasting behaviours: (i) inversely proportional to the anisotropy and (ii) directly proportional to the anisotropy, depending on the direction of the external field. Interestingly, the anisotropy-induced optical conductance enhancement …

Effect Of Gallium Doping And Ball Milling Process On The Thermoelectric Performance Of N-Type Zno, Priyanka Jood, Germanas Peleckis, Xiaolin Wang, S X. Dou

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

We report a systematic investigation of the thermoelectric properties of n-type Ga-doped ZnO synthesized using different ball milling conditions. Samples fabricated by the high-energy ball milling resulted in a highly dense layered structure with randomly distributed voids. These samples measured the lowest room temperature thermal conductivity, i.e., 27 W/mK due to increased phonon scattering. Furthermore, the Ga:ZnO system showed a metal–semiconductor transition above 300 K with transition temperature decreasing with increasing doping level. Measurement of the activation energy revealed the presence of one donor level around 3.9–7.8 meV and a deeper donor level around 15.4–18.1 meV below the conduction band …

Teaching Monte Carlo Codes At University: Development Of A Geant4 Course For Students Of Schools Of Physics, Susanna Guatelli, Dean Cutajar, Anatoly B. Rosenfeld, Catherine Layton

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Nowadays, it is important that students of Schools of Physics include the study of Monte Carlo codes in their curriculum as these codes are widely used in research. At the School of Engineering Physics of the University of Wollongong, we designed and set in place a Geant4 course addressed to the Medical Physics domain. In this paper, we illustrate the main features of the course and its development since 2010. The design of this course maybe adopted to teach Geant4 or any other Monte Carlo code, and in general to teach complex software tools to students with limited computing background. …

Energy Storage For Renewable Energy, Saugato Mukerji

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Presented at All Energy Australia 2012 International Conference, Melbourne

Effect Of Iron Content On Sintering Behavior Of Ti-V-Fe-Al Near-Beta Titanium Alloy, Dmytro G. Savvakin, Andrew Carman, Orest M. Ivasishin, Mykhailo V. Matviychuk, Azdiar A. Gazder, Elena V. Pereloma

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Two near-beta Ti-10V-3Fe-3Al and Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al alloys were produced by blended elemental powder metallurgy using hydrogenated titanium and V-Fe-Al master alloy powders. The distributions of the alloying elements were investigated at different stages of transformation of the heterogeneous powder compacts into the final homogeneous alloy product. The influence of iron content on chemical homogenization, densification, microstructure, and mechanical properties of as-sintered alloys was discussed with respect to the fast diffusion mobility of iron in titanium. It was concluded that a 1 pct increase in Fe content, as the alloying element with the fastest diffusivity in titanium, has a positive effect on …

Nonlinear Analysis Of Biaxially Loaded High Strength Rectangular Concrete-Filled Steel Tubular Slender Beam-Columns, Part Ii: Applications, Vipulkumar Ishvarbhai Patel, Qing Quan Liang, Muhammad N. S Hadi

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper presents the verification and applications of a numerical model developed for biaxially loaded high strength thin-walled rectangular concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) slender beamcolumns with local buckling effects. The accuracy of the numerical model is established by comparisons of numerical results with existing experimental data. The verified numerical model is employed to investigate the effects of four parameters including concrete compressive strength, loading eccentricity, depth-to-thickness ratio and columns slenderness on the strength reduction factor and steel contribution ratio of CFST slender beam-columns under biaxial bending. The results obtained indicate that increasing each of the four parameters decreases the strength …

Expectation Of Trading Agent Behaviour In Negotiation Of Electronic Marketplace, Fenghui Ren, Minjie Zhang, John Fulcher

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Electronic Commerce has been a very significant commercial phenomenon in recent years, and autonomous agents are widely adopted by business or individuals in electronic marketplaces to fulfill time consuming tasks in trading. Agent negotiation mechanisms are usually applied between conflicted agents in order to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. Prediction of trading agents' strategies and behaviours in negotiation is a very significant research topic in agent negotiation. By employing the prediction results on opponents' possible strategies and behaviours during a negotiation, trading agents can plan and perform corresponding strategies in order to maximize their own profits. Significant achievements have been …

Replication Of Polypyrrole With Photonic Structures From Butterfly Wings As Biosensor, Jie Tang, Shenmin Zhu, Zhixin Chen, Chuanliang Feng, Yanjun Shen, Fan Yao, Di Zhang, Won-Jin Moon, Deok-Min Song

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Polypyrrole (PPy) with photonic crystal structures were synthesized from Morpho butterfly wings using a two-step templating process. In the first step photonic crystal SiO2 butterfly wings were synthesized from Morpho butterfly wings and in the second step the SiO2 butterfly wings were used as templates for the replication of PPy butterfly wings using an in situ polymerization method. The SiO2 templates were then removed from the PPy butterfly wings using a HF solution. The hierarchical structures down to the nanometer level, especially the photonic crystal structures, were retained in the final PPy replicas, as evidenced directly by field-emission scanning electron …

Distortion Behavior Of A Heavy Hydro Turbine Blade Casting During Forced Air Cooling In Normalizing Treatment Process, Hailiang Yu, Jinwu Kang, T J. Wang, J A. Ma, Y Y. Hu, Tianyou Huang, S B. Wang, Y Wu, C C. Zhang, Yan-Tao Dai, P Li

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Distortion behavior of blade castings in heat treatment process determines their geometrical accuracy, and improper control of it may result in additional repair, shape righting, or even rejection. This article presents a novel approach for discovering the distortion behavior of heavy blade castings during heat treatment process in production. Real-time measurements of distortion and temperature field of a heavy hydro turbine blade casting weighted 17 ton during forced air cooling in normalizing treatment process were carried out by using deformation measurement instruments and an infrared thermal imaging camera. The distortion processes of the typical locations of blade and the temperature …

Converging And Coexisting Systems Towards Smart Surveillance, Katina Michael, M G. Michael

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Tracking and monitoring people as they operate within their personal networks benefits service providers and their constituents but involves hidden risks and costs.

Double Space-Time Transmit Diversity For Very High Data Rate Mb-Ofdm Uwb Systems, Ngoc P. Le, Le C. Tran, Farzad Safaei

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

In this paper, we investigate a multiband-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing ultra-wideband (MB-OFDM UWB) system with very high data rates (VHDR) of several gigabits per second (Gbps). We propose a DSTTD-based VHDR MB-OFDM UWB system by incorporating a double space-time transmit diversity (DSTTD) scheme into the conventional MB-OFDM UWB system. At the receiver, an efficient soft-demapper that takes into consideration the noise enhancement due to a zero-forcing equalization is developed. Numerical simulations of the proposed system at a very high data rate of 2.Gbps over the IEEE 802.15.3a channel models are implemented. The simulation results show that this system could achieve …

Order-4 Orthogonal Cooperative Communication In Space-Time-Frequency Coded Mb-Ofdm Uwb, Zixuan Lin, Le C. Tran, Farzad Safaei

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The combination of cooperative communication and Space-Time-Frequency-Codes (STFCs) has been recently proposed in the literature for Multiband OFDM Ultra-Wideband (MB-OFDM UWB) to improve the bit error performance, system capacity, data rate and wireless communications range. This paper proposes a cooperative communication design using Order-4 Orthogonal STFCs in MB-OFDM UWB systems, which is referred to as Order-4 Orthogonal Cooperative Communication Scheme (4-OCCS). It will be shown that 4-OCCS improves significantly the diversity and error performance of the MB-OFDM UWB system, compared to the conventional MB-OFDM UWB (without STFCs) as well as our Order-2 Orthogonal Cooperative Communication Scheme using Alamouti STFCs (2-OCCS) …

The Work Pattern Of Personal Care Workers In Two Australian Nursing Homes: A Time-Motion Study, Siyu Qian, Ping Yu, Zhen-Yu Zhang, David M. Hailey, Pamela J. Davy, Mark Nelson

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Background: The aim of the study is to describe the work pattern of personal care workers (PCWs) in nursing homes. This knowledge is important for staff performance appraisal, task allocation and scheduling. It will also support funding allocation based on activities.

Methods: A time-motion study was conducted in 2010 at two Australian nursing homes. The observation at Site 1 was between the hours of 7:00 and 14:00 or 15:00 for 14 days. One PCW was observed on each day. The observation at Site 2 was from 10:00 to 17:00 for 16 days. One PCW working on a morning shift and …