Engineering Commons^™

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 …

When Antitrust Met Facebook, Christopher S. Yoo

All Faculty Scholarship

Social networks are among the hottest phenomena on the Internet. Facebook eclipsed Google as the most visited website in both 2010 and 2011. Moreover, according to Nielsen estimates, as of the end of 2011 the average American spent nearly seven hours per month on Facebook, which is more time than they spent on Google, Yahoo!, YouTube, Microsoft, and Wikipedia combined. LinkedIn’s May 19, 2011 initial public offering (“IPO”) surpassed expectations, placing the value of the company at nearly $9 billion, and approximately a year later, its stock price had risen another 20 percent. Facebook followed suit a year later with …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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

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 …

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 …

Social Implications Of Technology: The Past, The Present, And The Future, Karl Stephan, Katina Michael, M. G. Michael, Laura Jacob, Emily Anesta

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The social implications of a wide variety of technologies are the subject matter of the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT). This paper reviews the SSIT’s contributions since the Society’s founding in 1982, and surveys the outlook for certain key technologies that may have significant social impacts in the future. Military and security technologies, always of significant interest to SSIT, may become more autonomous with less human intervention, and this may have both good and bad consequences. We examine some current trends such as mobile, wearable, and pervasive computing, and find both dangers and opportunities in these trends. …

Horadam Functions And Powers Of Irrationals, Martin W. Bunder

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper generalizes a result of Gerdemann to show (with slight variations in some special cases) that, for any real number m and Horadam function Hn(A, B, P,Q), mHn(A, B, P, Q) = i=h k∑(t,Hn+i(A, B, P, Q)), for two consecutive values of n, if and only if, m= i=h k∑ (tiai)= i=h k∑ (t ibi) where a =(P+(P2-4Q) 1/2)/2 and b = (P-(P2-4Q) 1/2)/2. (Horadam functions are defined by: H 0(A, B, P, Q) = A, H1(A,B,P,Q) = B, Hn+1(A, B, P,Q) = PHn(A,B, P,Q)-QHn-1(A, B, P,Q).) Further generalizations to the solutions of arbitrary linear recurrence relations are also …

Induction Motors Subject To Regular Voltage Fluctuations: Stator And Rotor Current Analysis From A Heating Perspective, Kun Zhao, Philip Ciufo, Sarath Perera

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Induction motors are widely applied in industry. Their performance strongly depends on relative power supply quality, such as voltage sags, harmonics, voltage unbalance and voltage fluctuations. This paper investigates the impact of voltage fluctuations on induction motor performance, particularly the stator and rotor current variation characteristics. An induction motor steady state analysis method is proposed when the motor is subjected to regular voltage fluctuations. The dynamic model of an induction motor is used in order to represent the induction motor instantaneous response. Furthermore, the correlative simulation and experiment work are presented in order to illustrate the impact of voltage fluctuations. …

(Strong) Multi-Designated Verifiers Signatures Secure Against Rogue Key Attack, Yunmei Zhang, Man Ho Allen Au, Guomin Yang, Willy Susilo

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Designated verifier signatures (DVS) allow a signer to create a signature whose validity can only be verified by a specific entity chosen by the signer. In addition, the chosen entity, known as the designated verifier, cannot convince any body that the signature is created by the signer. Multi-designated verifiers signatures (MDVS) are a natural extension of DVS in which the signer can choose multiple designated verifiers. DVS and MDVS are useful primitives in electronic voting and contract signing. In this paper, we investigate various aspects of MDVS and make two contributions. Firstly, we revisit the notion of unforgeability under rogue …

Understanding The Role Of Moisture In The Self-Heating Process Of Compost Piles, Thiansiri Luangwilai, Harvinder S. Sidhu, Mark I. Nelson

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper considers the self-heating process which occurs in a compost pile using one-dimensional spatially-dependent models and incorporating terms that account for self-heating due to both biological and oxidation mechanisms. As the moisture content in a compost pile is a crucial factor in its degradation process, we utilise a model which incorporates four mass-balance equations, namely, energy, oxygen, vapour and liquid water concentrations, to investigate the behaviour of compost piles when moisture content is present. Analyses of different initial water contents within a compost pile, different ambient relative humidities and different amounts of water added to the pile by rainstorms …

Computer Aided Decision Support System For Cervical Cancer Classification, - Rahmadwati, Golshah Naghdy, Montserrat B. Ros, Catherine Todd

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Conventional analysis of a cervical histology image, such a pap smear or a biopsy sample, is performed by an expert pathologist manually. This involves inspecting the sample for cellular level abnormalities and determining the spread of the abnormalities. Cancer is graded based on the spread of the abnormal cells. This is a tedious, subjective and timeconsuming process with considerable variations in diagnosis between the experts. This paper presents a computer aided decision support system (CADSS) tool to help the pathologists in their examination of the cervical cancer biopsies. The main aim of the proposed CADSS system is to identify abnormalities …

Improved Base-Calling And Quality Scores For 454 Sequencing Based On A Hurdle Poisson Model, Kristof De Beuf, Joachim De Schrijver, Olivier Thas, Wim Van Criekinge, Rafael A. Irizarry, Lieven Clement

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Background: 454 pyrosequencing is a commonly used massively parallel DNA sequencing technology with a wide variety of application fields such as epigenetics, metagenomics and transcriptomics. A well-known problem of this platform is its sensitivity to base-calling insertion and deletion errors, particularly in the presence of long homopolymers. In addition, the base-call quality scores are not informative with respect to whether an insertion or a deletion error is more likely. Surprisingly, not much effort has been devoted to the development of improved base-calling methods and more intuitive quality scores for this platform.

Thermodynamic Assessment Of Aluminium Production Through Carbosulphidation Route, Nazmul Huda, Muhammad A. Rhamdhani, M A. Dewan, Geoffrey A. Brooks, B J. Monaghan, L Prentice

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Indirect carbothermal reduction of alumina for the production of aluminium has been claimed to be better compared to the existing Hall-Heroult process in-terms of energy usage, generation of perfluorocarbons and overall greenhouse gas emission. In the process, alumina is reduced to an intermediate compound which is then further reduced to Al. It has been shown from the previous thermodynamic study by the authors that high conversion of alumina can be obtained if it is reduced to Al-chloride, Al-nitride or Al-sulphide. This paper deals with detailed systematic thermodynamic analysis of the process through carbosulphidation route, where alumina is first reduced to …

An Mas-Based Implementation For Semantic Web Services Composition, Jun Shen, Ghassan Beydoun, Graham Low

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Many information system developers face high cost in adopting service-oriented architectures because of the high cost of locating appropriate services to customise and integrate into their system. This chapter aims at reducing this cost by automating much of the composition and service selection effort. It illustrates the use of a peer-to-peer multi-agent system (MAS) to facilitate service selection with multiple quality of service properties. The system will use semantic enrichment of services in order to facilitate their identification and composition. With semantic-driven composition, services can be shared between teams of developers and across multiple organisations connected via the Internet. In …

Importance Of The Relative Advantage Of Rfid As Enabler Of Asset Management In The Healthcare: Results From A Delphi Study, Samuel Fosso Wamba, Eric W. T Ngai

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Compared with bar coding technology, what is the importance of the relative advantage of radio frequency identification (RFID) in the healthcare sector? What is the effect of RFID technology on asset management-related processes in healthcare? What are the top-ranked asset management-related processes associated with the adoption and use of RFID technology in this sector? To answer these questions, a three-round Delphi study was conducted among experts working on RFID technology. In the study, a list of 12 processes related to the relative advantage of RFID and 10 processes related to RFID-enabled asset management applications in the healthcare sector were derived …