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Reconstructing Past Variations In Erosion And Sediment Transport Using Uranium-Series Isotopes, Ashley Neil Martin

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Uranium-series (U-series) isotopes are fractionated in soils, sediments and natural waters by erosion and weathering processes. Recent applications of U-series isotopes to sedimentary deposits have enabled the landscape response to glacial-interglacial climate change to be studied. This thesis focuses on the developing comminution dating (or the comminution age) technique that utilises U isotopes to constrain the time elapsed since mineral grains were reduced to ca. <63μm in size. Applied to hillslope and fluvial systems, the comminution age represents the sediment residence time, and applied to sedimentary deposits of known depositional age, the palaeo sediment residence time can be constrained.

Wheel Rail Curve Squeal Modeling & Rolling Stock Based Mitigation Measures, Chao Wang

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Railway curve squeal, on one hand, has long been held as an annoying environmental problem to the local community which increasingly demands effective technical countermeasure to alleviate its impact; on the other hand, it is a complex theoretical question involving nonlinear wheel-rail contact mechanics, rail vehicle curving dynamics, and vibration instability of the wheel-rail structure. Many factors affect the transient phenomena of curve squeal and a large amount of field monitoring data have been collected in the rail noise CRC projects in NSW. Due to the intrinsic perplexity of curve squeal, field data analysis leads to ambivalent conclusions regarding the …

The Development Of Physical Performance In New Recruits Entering Basic Military Training Within The Australian Army, Pete John Orchard

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

It is well known that aerobic capacity, muscle strength and anaerobic endurance are important elements of physical fitness (Shephard., 1997 Aasa et al., 2003). Military duties are recognised as being physically demanding, requiring both physical and mental resilience (Rayson., 2000; Kaufman et al., 2000). Despite considerable technological advancement and increased mechanization of military operations, loads have increased significantly for the modern soldier (Knapik et al., 2014), thus requiring significant physical capacity to perform the allocated military tasks effectively. For that reason, the emphasis of the Australian Army basic military training regimen is for new recruits to develop such attributes. The …

Water Privatization Tactics: Cochabamba, Manila, New Delhi, Mary Elizabeth Scott

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The tactics of water privatization are examined through three case study cities in the global south, Cochabamba, Manila, and New Delhi. Each city’s publicly-managed water system was targeted by predatory international financial institutions and their multi-national corporate supporters. Profit taking from provision of water services, using existing publicly built infrastructure, in countries struggling with neoliberal ideological interpretations of development and economic growth was justified by the claim that there was no alternative. This study of tactics shows how attempts were made to normalize the privatization of water. The publics’ responses to privatization tactics are examined for different aspects of the …

Novel Nanostructured Electrocatalysts For Fuel Cells, Meng Wang

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Fuel cells (FCs) are believed to be promising energy conversion systems to satisfy today’s increasing energy demand because of their high energy output and zero environmental impact. The cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is recognised to be kinetically limited step in fuel cell. As commonly used electrocatalyst, platinum (Pt) has been inhibited from large-scale production because of its high cost, susceptive to fuel poisons and low stability. Therefore, numerous efforts have been devoted in developing novel nanostructured materials with high efficiency, low cost and environmental friendliness for the ORR.

The main goal for this study is to design and develop …

Contributions To The Development Of Microgrids: Aggregated Modelling And Operational Aspects, Athmi Vidarshika Jayawardena

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Increasing levels of penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) have trans- formed distribution networks from passive to active networks and introduced the concept of microgrids. Dynamic characteristics of microgrids operating either in grid connected or islanded modes can be different from the traditional distribution networks due to the combination of different DERs. In order to make microgrid operation attractive, the issues associated with microgrids need to be properly anal- ysed. This thesis examines the modelling of microgrids and investigates different aspects of their operation.

In the first phase of the work presented in this thesis, dynamic characteristics of microgrids comprising …

In Silico Drug Discovery Targeting Chikungunya Virus, Phuong Thuy Viet Nguyen

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

In recent years, there has been an emergence or re-emergence of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a member of the alphavirus. The virus is one of the arboviruses, and it is classified as a neglected tropical disease in more than 55 different countries in the world, including many African and Asian countries, Europe, Americas, and Australia. In 2008, it was listed in the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) category C priority pathogen due to its morbidity and mortality rates. In addition to damaging global health, the virus also imposes a huge economic burden on affected countries. However, there …

Rational Design Of Tio2 Architectures As Photoanodes For Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Jianjian Lin

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Solar energy is the largest source of carbon-free energy that can be converted into heat and electricity. Since the early 1990s, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) have received a great deal of attention as a promising alternative photovoltaic technology on account of their projected low costs and reduced energy input in manufacture. Considerable efforts have been made to improve the energy conversion efficiency, by developing or modifying DSC components, such as sensitizers, photoanodes, electrolytes, and counter electrodes. However, a number of challenging issues remain, such as new optimised structures are required as DSCs evolve. The aims of this thesis are to …

Improving The Accuracy Performance Of Fringe Projection Profilometry For The 3d Shape Measurement Of Objects In Motion, Lei Lu

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This thesis focuses on improving the accuracy of using multiple-shot fringe projection profilometry (FPP) for three dimensional (3D) shape measurement of rigid objects with movement. By using information on the object movement, the errors caused by the object movement in the projection of the multiple fringe patterns are addressed. The author mathematically describes the movement of the rigid object using a rotation matrix and translation vector. The influence on the fringe patterns caused by the movement is then analysed. Because the movement of the object changes the height distribution of the object surface, and the height distribution is related to …

Security And Privacy In Rfid Systems, Nan Li

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Radio Frequency Identificatioin (RFID) technology has been widely applied in many applications, such as the supply chain and warehouse management. A typical RFID system consists of RFID tags, RFID readers and back-end server. Usually, a tag is constrained device attached to an object. It can be scanned by a reader and identified by the server. An important branch of RFID research is RFID authentication protocols. There have been many research works addressing RFID authentication issues. The security and privacy of RFID protocols have become hot research topics. many protocols have been proposed to achieve various requirements. According to the different …

Vibration And Acoustic Emission-Based Condition Monitoring And Prognostic Methods For Very Low Speed Slew Bearing, Wahyu Caesarendra

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This thesis presents six major contributions to the study on very low speed slew bearing condition monitoring and prognosis: (1) review of studies on vibration and AE-based condition monitoring of rolling element bearing; (2) selection of reliable features for slew bearing condition monitoring parameters from features that were reported in the literatures; (3) development of alternative features based on circular domain analysis and LLE algorithm; (4) development of incipient damage v detection method based on MSET and SPRT; (5) development of future state prediction using kernel regression method; and (6) implementation of online monitoring system based on File Transfer Protocol …

A Pre-Screening Technique For Bioavailable Metals In Sediments, Elvio Diego Amato

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

In this study, a novel application of the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique as a monitoring tool for bioavailable metals in sediments is presented. DGT was tested using a wide range of marine and fresh water sediments that possessed a variety of chemical and physical properties. These were tested in both the laboratory and in the field. In the laboratory, the use of naturally contaminated sediments allowed the evaluation of the performance of the DGT technique under realistic environmental conditions (i.e. exposure to contaminant mixtures). Strong dose-response relationships were found between DGT-labile metal fluxes and toxicity to the …

Economical Production Of High Performance Mgb2 Superconductor With Improved Grain Connectivity, Shaon Barua

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The discovery of superconductivity in MgB2, a binary intermetallic, by Jun Akimitsu in Japan created huge among the scientific community in applied superconductivity research. Extensive researches have been carried out throughout the last decade to make it viable for practical application. It is considered as the potential candidate for replacing conventional low temperature superconductors (LTS) and high temperature superconductors (HTS) due its remarkable properties, such as comparatively high critical temperature of 39 K, simple crystalline structure, weak link free grain boundaries, low materials cost. Soaring helium price is a serious threat to LTS. On the other hand, more than 20 …

The Efficacy Of Lignosulfonate In Controlling The Swell Potential Of Expansive Soil And Its Stabilization Mechanisms, Dennis Pere Alazigha

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Many techniques have been developed and applied to prevent and/or remediate infrastructural damage caused by expansive soils throughout the world. Of these techniques, traditional chemical (lime and cement) stabilization has gained world attention because of a good understanding of the underlying mechanisms, availability of technical guidelines, and years of demonstrated field experiences. However, despite the global acceptance of traditional additives for treating expansive soil, other environmentally benign alternatives have been an important subject of research due to the inherent health and safety concerns for traditional admixtures. One such alternative is from the paper industry that manufactures pulp from wood and …

The Therapeutic Effects Of A Pentacyclic Triterpene Derivative, Bardoxolone Methyl, In Preventing High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity And Associated Neural, Hepatic, Cardiovascular, And Renal Complications, Danielle Jocelyn Ana Camer

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The prevalence of obesity is a growing problem since it significantly increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and associated complications of the brain, liver, heart, and kidneys. Therefore, there is an urgency to find novel therapies which can prevent obesity and the development of associated complications. This PhD project investigated whether selected pentacyclic triterpenes (oleanolic acid (OA), its isomer, ursolic acid (UA), and derivative, bardoxolone methyl (BM)) administered at 10 mg/kg daily in drinking water could prevent obesity in mice fed a chronic HF diet for 21 weeks. These compounds were chosen based on recent studies demonstrating that …

Particle Inertial Focusing And Separation In Serpentine Microchannels: Mechanisms And Applications, Jun Zhang

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Inertial microfluidic technology, which manipulates (e.g. focusing, separation, trapping etc.) micro-particles by the intrinsic fluid dynamics and inertial effects, has attracted significant interests over the past decade. Compared with other microfluidic manipulation technologies (e.g. dielectrophoresis, magnetophoresis, acoustophoresis etc.), inertial microfluidics possesses superior advantages including simple structure and extremely high throughput. High throughput is especially useful for the isolation of rare target cells, where large volume of biological sample needs to be processed in a short time. The functionality of inertial microfluidics relies on the inertial migration phenomenon and/or curvature-induced secondary flow.

To date, two major classes of curving channels in …

Crystal Plasticity Finite Element Method Simulation Of High Pressure Torsion, Peitang Wei

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Severe plastic deformation (SPD) has been the subject of intensive investigations in recent years because of the unique physical and mechanical properties of ultrafine grained (UFG) materials fabricated by this technique. High pressure torsion (HPT) is one of the most widely used SPD techniques. The main aim of HPT processing is to produce extreme grain refinement and the ensuing strengthening of the processed material. There is no longer any doubt that this is achievable with most malleable and even with many hard-to-deform materials, and innumerable experimental results documented in the literatures are a convincing testimony to that. Despite this body …

Multi-Agent Solutions For Task-Based Resource Management Under Multiple Constraints In Disaster Environments, Xing Su

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

In the last twenty years, disasters throughout the world have become important social and political concerns. In disaster environments, heterogenous resources with limited energy and capabilities need to be allocated to tasks under multiple constraints. Hence, how to effectively and efficiently manage such resources to complete as many tasks as possible is an important and challenging research topic. This thesis aims at (1) investigating challenging issues of resource management in disaster environments and (2) developing multi-agent approaches to achieve efficient task-based resource management in disaster environments. In the thesis, four multi-agent approaches are proposed and developed to achieve effective and …

Experimental And Numerical Analysis Of Thin Spray-On Liner Materials For Use In Underground Mines, Qiuqiu Qiao

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Steel mesh that is currently used in underground coal mines is of a passive nature and in most cases does not contribute to roadway skin reinforcement. Steel mesh is a safety device that is only effective in supporting detached pieces of rock or severely fractured rock mass experiencing large displacements. As a relatively new form of rock support Thin Spray-on Liners (TSLs) are currently being investigated as an effective skin support technology. Research indicates that TSLs may provide superior rock skin control. Being a pro-active support technique, it is known that a TSL is able to provide resistance to even …

Studies On The Synthesis Of The Pyrido-Azepine Stemona Alkaloids, Xuan Duc Dau

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The main aim of this project was to develop a new synthetic methodology towards the total synthesis of the pentacyclic Stemona alkaloid stemocurtisine by first preparation of a tricyclic A-B-C ring precursor and then its tetracyclic ether derivative by an oxidative photolysis reaction.

In Chapter 2, we report our efforts to construct the A-ring of stemocurtisine using three different synthetic strategies. Synthetic strategy 1 failed due to unexpected ring opening of the hemiaminal product formed from the reactions between alkynyl Grignard reagents and a glutarimide derivative. Synthetic strategy 2 was not efficient due to the unsucessful conversion of a terminal …

Agent-Based Task Allocation In Dynamic And Open Grid And Cloud Environments, Yan Kong

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Task allocation is an important problem in grid/cloud environments in both research and applications. With the rapid development of grid/cloud environments, the features of openness and dynamism of environments put two new challenges to the development of task allocation approaches and strategies in such environments. Firstly, the participants in the environments normally have only local views about the environments due to the administrative independencies between the participants and the limited communication abilities of the participants. Secondly, task allocation methods/ approaches have to handle the dynamism and openness of the environments. In particular, task allocation methods/approaches have to respond to and …

Modelling Vertical Drains With Vacuum Preloading Considering The Soil Structure Characteristics, Matharage Darshana Anuradha Perera

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Vertical drains accelerate consolidation and as such they are a very effective and popular ground improvement method. When vacuum preloading is applied with vertical drains, consolidation increases even more and the stability of an embankment is enhanced due to the inward lateral movement exerted by vacuum preloading. Previous analytical models developed to predict consolidation when vacuum preloading is used with vertical drains assumed average compressibility and permeability values within the applied stress range. Even though the smear effects were incorporated into the solution by considering a reduced but constant permeability inside the smear zone, the actual variation of permeability was …

What Was Ground?: A Functional Analysis Of Grinding Stones From Madjedbebe And Lake Mungo, Australia, Elspeth Hayes

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This thesis addresses the use of grinding stones and fragments in Australia through an integrated use-wear and residue analysis of tools from two early occupation sites: Madjedbebe (MJB; formerly known as Malakunanja II), in northern Australia, and Lake Mungo, in western New South Wales. Grinding stones are ubiquitous in Australia and are present in the some of the earliest human occupation sites of Sahul (the Pleistocene landmass comprising Australia and New Guinea), but our knowledge of grinding stones has been overshadowed by a general focus on flaked stone artefacts. Moreover, the function of grinding tools has mostly been inferred on …

The Design And Synthesis Of Novel Michellamine B Analogues Targeting Hiv, Yueting Lu

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The dimeric naphthylisoquinoline alkaloid michellamine B, with its moderate anti-HIV activity, has gained significant interest as a potential lead compound. Herein, both monomeric and dimeric analogues with novel isoquinoline units were synthesized to evaluate the importance of this isoquinoline unit for HIV RT inhibitory activity.

The synthesis started from the preparation of key precursors of naphthylboronic acid/ester and halogenated dihydroisoquinolines. The naphthylboronic acid 37 was synthesized by a Diels-Alder method over 8 steps proceeding in 37% overall yield from commercially available 3,3-dimethylacrylic acid 59. The naphthylboronic ester 38, with an ethyl ester substituent in the naphthyl ring, was prepared by …

Implications Of Family Control For Corporate Governance: Evidence From Chinese Listed Firms, Liangbo Ma

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This thesis focuses on the implications of family control for corporate governance in the Chinese markets. This research is mainly motivated by the following factors. First, although family-controlled firms represent the predominant form of businesses in both developed and developing economies, it was not until the 1980's that family businesses emerged as a field of academic study (Casillas and Acedo, 2007). Despite a "collective sense that significant progress has been made" (Litz, Pearson, and Litchfield, 2012) in family business research, whether family control is beneficial for all shareholders, however, largely remains an open question (Morck, Wolfenzon, and Yeung, 2005; Lins, …

Mingled With All Kinds Of Colours, Teresa Bell

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The Book of Ambiguity is a term I use to define texts that exist outside formal genres and categories created by market forces. The Book of Ambiguity takes reader and writer outside familiar narrative structures, outside traditional positioning of gender, sanity, and sexuality, to an ambiguous meeting place of ecstasy. In this liminal space there is a merging of writer, reader and character, until the sense of a third person, or uninvolved narrator, is challenged. There is a mingling of writer as reader, reader as writer, writer as character, reader as character, reader as book, writer as book, and the …

Power Struggles: The Strategies And Tactics Of The Anti-Nuclear Movement In Contemporary Tokyo, Alexander James Brown

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

In this thesis I explore the strategies and tactics of the anti-nuclear movement in the Japanese capital Tokyo after the Fukushima nuclear disaster of March 2011. A little over a year later the anti-nuclear movement had grown to become the largest social movement in the archipelago in more than half a century. The compound effects of the earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011 and the nuclear accident at Fukushima intensified existing dissatisfaction not only with the nuclear industry but with the decaying institutions of Japan’s capitalist developmental state. In this thesis I use autonomist Marxist perspectives to situate the …

Shadows Of Exile: An Installation Of Puppets, Masks And Musical Instruments, Kraig Grady

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

My creative research project includes an installation and an exegesis. The project investigates whether installation art can materialise an imagined space that might externalise the experience of exile. I explore the potential for installation art to incorporate elements that are traditionally found in performance and to recontextualise them in an immersive and playful environment. This project draws on three decades of my creative practice including shadow theatre, silent films, fictional narratives, musical performance and composition with handcrafted instruments which have been situated in a mythopoetic space called Anaphoria Island. The current work attempts to make tangible this space in an …

Application Of Acoustic Emission Monitoring To Pipeline Fracture Tests, Turbadrakh Chuluunbat

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Maximization of benefits in the oil and gas transportation industries requires an increase in the size and operating pressure of the pipeline, which in turn requires an increase in the strength of line pipe steel. To ensure reliable operation, public safety, and environmental protection, the design of pipelines must include strategies for controlling fractures. Identifying defect(s) where crack initiation is possible and predicting the crack propagation are of great importance when considering fracture control of pipelines.The current research is aimed at developing an improved method using the acoustic emission (AE) technique for determining fracture initiation and propagation in the line …