At Queensland University of Technology, internships are offered for foreign students to familiarize with Australian education, culture and learn from other students under a supervision of an academic to gain a valuable undergraduate experience. Under the internship of a French student preliminary calculations carried out lead to development of an experimental test rig which was designed and developed to use for student experimentation and higher degree research at the Queensland University ofTechnology. Fluidization method is one of the technologies which saves energy in the processing industry not limited to agro-food and chemical sectors, also can be used any other industry. Drying can be regarded as one of the most important and most frequently applied unit operation in all sectors producing solid products. In drying process, water is the liquid evaporated in the form of moisture reduction and heated air is the commonly used as the medium which help the operation. Fluid bed drying has been known as a smooth drying procedure, with good mixing capabilities and lower the water content to a very low residual value with a high degree of process efficiency. This process is characterized by high moisture reduction offering higher heat transfer rates which enable easy thermal control capacity of the drying medium and contents compared with conventional drying processes. Hence this is a sustainable operation. In order to conduct fluidized bed drying experiments, it is necessary to design a suitable laboratory scale fluidization column. This work details the design and fabrication stages of the project

Standard single-stage tooth-to-pin-contact Cycloidal drives deliver various benefits such as high-ratio speed reduction, highly efficient torque delivery, compact physical structure etc. They lack torsional rigidity on their own because of inherent “lost-motion” and “backlash”, and hence inappropriate for precision-motion mechanical systems. However from dynamics point of view, this is beneficial for non-precision-motion systems, as it reduces the drive-train's shock factor. Currently there are no design standards for Cycloidal drives owing to their complicated component stiffness behaviour, increased tooth-load-sharing at overloads etc., which further obscures the analytical estimation of torsional rigidity of a given configuration. This paper presents a novel method comprising both analytical and numerical techniques for the effective determination of the elastic torsional compliance of single-stage Cycloidal drives based on static experimental results conducted on a commercially available gear-drive. We establish a unique key parameter −ηOP, ‘torque transfer efficiency’, of output-shaft-pins from mechanism-kinematics to be included in the system's dynamic model. Applying the techniques and outcomes presented here in a lumped mass/inertia dynamic model yielded agreeable natural frequency of torsional oscillations in comparison to experimental results obtained under the same loading conditions. This can lead to dynamically optimised designs and hence their standardisation.

Peeling is an essential phase of post harvesting and processing industry; however undesirable processing losses are unavoidable and always have been the main concern of food processing sector. There are three methods of peeling fruits and vegetables including mechanical, chemical and thermal, depending on the class and type of fruit. By comparison, the mechanical methods are the most preferred; mechanical peeling methods do not create any harmful effects on the tissue and they keep edible portions of produce fresh. The main disadvantage of mechanical peeling is the rate of material loss and deformations. Obviously reducing material losses and increasing the quality of the process has a direct effect on the whole efficiency of food processing industry, this needs more study on technological aspects of these operations. In order to enhance the effectiveness of food industrial practices it is essential to have a clear understanding of material properties and behaviour of tissues under industrial processes. This paper presents the scheme of research that seeks to examine tissue damage of tough skinned vegetables under mechanical peeling process by developing a novel FE model of the process using explicit dynamic finite element analysis approach. A computer model of mechanical peeling process will be developed in this study to stimulate the energy consumption and stress strain interactions of cutter and tissue. The available Finite Element softwares and methods will be applied to establish the model. Improving the knowledge of interactions and involves variables in food operation particularly in peeling process is the main objectives of the proposed study. Understanding of these interrelationships will help researchers and designer of food processing equipments to develop new and more efficient technologies. Presented work intends to review available literature and previous works has been done in this area of research and identify current gap in modelling and simulation of food processes.

Cycloidal drives are widely used in today's industries for drives where large reduction ratios are required. Drive-train dynamics plays an important role in their design. This paper presents a new methodology for assessing damping characteristics of Cycloidal drives and compares the natural frequencies obtained from experiments and theoretical/numerical calculations using Fast-Fourier-Transforms.

Car carriers are a type of semitrailer which exhibit Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) concerns due to falls from height during operations. This paper outlines research carried out on the car carrier sector to prevent hazard due to falls. A new design addresses OHS concerns of falls from height. Injuries are often caused by drivers working above 1.5 m height for loading- unloading of cars, moving decks up and down and strapping cars in. The new car carrier design excels in reducing the risk of injuries to drivers and represents a new bench mark for OHS standards in the heavy vehicle sector. The next step would be to transfer this technology to other similarly affected heavy vehicle sectors.

At present, for mechanical power transmission, Cycloidal drives are most preferred - for compact, high transmission ratio speed reduction, especially for robot joints and manipulator applications. Research on drive-train dynamics of Cycloidal drives is not well-established. This paper presents a testing rig for Cycloidal drives, which would produce data for development of mathematical models and investigation of drive-train dynamics, further aiding in optimising its design.

In this paper different aspects of teaching tribology and maintenance-related subjects with a hands-on focus at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) are presented and discussed. As part of the study, a combination of data from core units, such as engineering design units, and elective units, was used, in addition to laboratory experiments, real-life projects, interactive software packages and industry visits. The mechanical engineering curriculum structure used at QUT, consisting of the main specialization (first major) and the second specialization (second major), is also discussed with specific emphasis on the teaching of tribology and maintenance-related subjects. To evaluate students' satisfaction with the novel teaching approaches used, tailored questionnaires were used as well as QUT's online learning experience survey (LEX). Statistical results of these sureveys are presented and discussed. In summary, these showed that students overwhelmingly support the hands-on and practical focus in teaching tribology and maintenance-related subjects and that the teaching approaches used shorten the learning curve and make students better prepared for integration in the workplace.

Peeling is an essential phase of post harvesting and processing industry; however the undesirable losses and waste rate that occur during peeling stage are always the main concern of food processing sector. There are three methods of peeling fruits and vegetables including mechanical, chemical and thermal, depending on the class and type of fruit. By comparison, the mechanical method is the most preferred; this method keeps edible portions of produce fresh and creates less damage. Obviously reducing material losses and increasing the quality of the process has a direct effect on the whole efficiency of food processing industry which needs more study on technological aspects of this industrial segment. In order to enhance the effectiveness of food industrial practices it is essential to have a clear understanding of material properties and behaviour of tissues under industrial processes. This paper presents the scheme of research that seeks to examine tissue damage of tough skinned vegetables under mechanical peeling process by developing a novel FE model of the process using explicit dynamic finite element analysis approach. In the proposed study a nonlinear model which will be capable of simulating the peeling process specifically, will be developed. It is expected that unavailable information such as cutting force, maximum shearing force, shear strength, tensile strength and rupture stress will be quantified using the new FEA model. The outcomes will be used to optimize and improve the current mechanical peeling methods of this class of vegetables and thereby enhance the overall effectiveness of processing operations. Presented paper aims to review available literature and previous works have been done in this area of research and identify current gap in modelling and simulation of food processes.

This paper arises from our concern for the level of teaching of engineering drawing at tertiary institutions in Australia. Little attention is paid to teaching hand-drawing and tolerancing. Teaching of engineering drawing is usually limited to computer-aided design (CAD) using AutoCAD or one of the solid-modelling packages. As a result, many engineering graduates have difficulties in understanding how views are produced in different projection angles, are unable to produce engineering drawings of professional quality, or read engineering drawings, and unable to select fits and limits or surface roughness. In the Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering at the Queensland University of Technology new approaches to teaching engineering drawing have been introduced. In this paper the results of these innovative approaches are examined through surveys and other research methods.

Iconic and public buildings have become a universal target of bomb attacks from terrorists. Most of these buildings have been or are built without consideration for their vulnerability to such events. Planning and building control authorities have begun to recognise the risks of these events and have introduced provisions in planning guidelines for mitigation of such impact. This paper is a study of the impact of near field explosions on the structural framing system and key elements such as columns and describes the component material response. This information can be used in planning strategies to mitigate potential catastrophic and progressive collapse of the structure. Reinforced concrete framed buildings have been selected for this study. A two stage finite element modelling (FEM) and analytical technique has been used to interrogate the structural framing system and components for global stability and local residual strength capacity in the linear elastic and non-linear plastic response regimes. The first stage involved linear time history analysis carried out using SAP 2000 to verify the response of the complete framing system and its ability to restore global frame stability and to enable iterative interrogations. An explicit rigorous analysis accounting for strain rate effects of the reinforced concrete elements was carried out in stage two using LS DYNA code to investigate the non-linear response of vulnerable elements identified in the first stage. The damage mechanisms and the extent of damage have been studied using principal stress plots along with plastic strain diagrams and used to assess the residual strength capacity of key elements that can cause catastrophic failure of large sections of the building and propagate progressive collapse. Numerical analysis is based on techniques that have been established in previous research work and the models have been calibrated with similar work by others. The method used in this research work can be used for assessing vulnerability, damage and residual strength capacity of building frames and component elements subjected to near field blast events.

This article reports the details of a research on novel design in the field of semitrailer sector and discuss design by hazard prevention techniques. The novel design made addresses occupational health and safety (OHS)concerns of fall from heights. The research includes a detailed survey of national data sources to examine the fatalities caused due to fall from heights in car carriers. The study investigates OHS recommendations in Australia for semitrailer sector. Often injuries are caused due to drivers working above the 1.5 meter height for loading, unloading of the cars, moving the decks up, down, strapping the cars, and slipperly. The new design is developed using latest computer aided design and engineeing (CAD, CAE), product data management (PDM), virtual design process (VDP). The new car carrier design excels in reducing the risks of injuries to drivers and new bench mark for OHS standards. The new design has all the decks operated with hydraulics and uses unique ratchet lock mechanism (fool proof design) and loading happens at a safe working height (below 1.5 meter). All the cars are strapped on the safe working height, and then car desks operated hydraulically to transfer them to the required position. This also includes the car on the prime mover, which shuttles across from one deck to other using hydraulic and rack-pinion mechanisms. The novel design car carrier solves the problem of falls from height: next step would be to transfer this technology across other similar effected sectors.

Shaft-mounted gearboxes are widely used in industry. The torque arm that holds the reactive torque on the housing of the gearbox, if properly positioned creates the reactive force that lifts the gearbox and unloads the bearings of the output shaft. The shortcoming of these torque arms is that if the gearbox is reversed the direction of the reactive force on the torque arm changes to the opposite and added to the weight of the gearbox overloads the bearings shortening their operating life. In this paper, a new patented design of torque arms that develop a controlled lifting force and counteract the weight of the gearbox regardless of the direction of the output shaft rotation is described. Several mathematical models of the conventional and new torque arms were developed and verified experimentally on a specially built test rig that enables modelling of the radial compliance of the gearbox bearings and elastic elements of the torque arms. Comparison showed a good agreement between theoretical and experimental results.

In this paper a combination of conventional tools for machinery failure analysis, Anticipatory Failure Determination (AFD) and Classical TRIZ has been suggested. The use of these tools in combination proved to be highly effective. The effectiveness of this combination has been illustrated with two case studies - one on revealing design flaws at early stages of the rack and pinion mechanism development and the other one on revealing the flaw in bolster design that remained hidden for many years while the bolster assemblies worked under normal operation conditions, but caused significant financial losses when flood happened.

Multi-storey buildings are highly vulnerable to terrorist bombing attacks in various parts of the world. Large numbers of casualties and extensive property damage result not only from blast overpressure, but also from the failing of structural components. Understanding the blast response and damage consequences of reinforced concrete (RC) building frames is therefore important when assessing multi-storey buildings designed to resist normal gravity loads. However, limited research has been conducted to identify the blast response and damage of RC frames in order to assess the vulnerability of entire buildings. This paper discusses the blast response and evaluation of damage of three-dimension (3D) RC rigid frame under potential blast loads scenarios. The explicit finite element modelling and analysis under time history blast pressure loads were carried out by LS DYNA code. Complete 3D RC frame was developed with relevant reinforcement details and material models with strain rate effect. Idealised triangular blast pressures calculated from standard manuals are applied on the front face of the model in the present investigation. The analysis results show the blast response, as displacements and material yielding of the structural elements in the RC frame. The level of damage is evaluated and classified according to the selected load case scenarios. Residual load carrying capacities are evaluated and level of damage was presented by the defined damage indices. This information is necessary to determine the vulnerability of existing multi-storey buildings with RC frames and to identify the level of damage under typical external explosion environments. It also provides basic guidance to the design of new buildings to resist blast loads.

Bomb attacks carried out by terrorists, targeting high occupancy buildings, have become increasingly common in recent times. Large numbers of casualties and property damage result from overpressure of the blast followed by failing of structural elements. Understanding the blast response of multi-storey buildings and evaluating their remaining life have therefore become important. Response and damage analysis of single structural components, such as columns or slabs, to explosive loads have been examined in the literature, but the studies on blast response and damage analysis of structural frames in multi-storey buildings is limited and this is necessary for assessing the vulnerability of them. This paper investigates the blast response and damage evaluation of reinforced concrete (RC) frames, designed for normal gravity loads, in order to evaluate their remaining life. Numerical modelling and analysis were carried out using the explicit finite element software, LS DYNA. The modelling and analysis takes into consideration reinforcement details together and material performance under higher strain rates. Damage indices for columns are calculated based on their residual and original capacities. Numerical results generated in the can be used to identify relationships between the blast load parameters and the column damage. Damage index curve will provide a simple means for assessing the damage to a typical multi-storey building RC frame under an external bomb circumstance.

Bomb attacks carried out by terrorists, targeting high occupancy buildings, have become increasingly common in recent times. Large numbers of casualties and property damage result from overpressure of the blast followed by failing of structural elements. Understanding the blast response of multi-storey buildings and evaluating their remaining life have therefore become important. Response and damage analysis of single structural components, such as columns or slabs, to explosive loads have been examined in the literature, but the studies on blast response and damage analysis of structural frames in multi-storey buildings is limited and this is necessary for assessing the vulnerability of them. This paper investigates the blast response and damage evaluation of reinforced concrete (RC) frames, designed for normal gravity loads, in order to evaluate their remaining life. Numerical modelling and analysis were carried out using the explicit finite element software, LS DYNA. The modelling and analysis takes into consideration reinforcement details together and material performance under higher strain rates. Damage indices for columns are calculated based on their residual and original capacities. Numerical results generated in the can be used to identify relationships between the blast load parameters and the column damage. Damage index curve will provide a simple means for assessing the damage to a typical multi-storey building RC frame under an external bomb circumstance.