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News from the School of Mechanical Engineering
Mission Discovery
22 November 2011
The International Space School Educational Trust (ISSET), the University of Adelaide and the University of Adelaide Student Branch of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) are excited to announce Mission Discovery.
In Mission Discovery, people work in teams with astronauts and NASA leaders for a week. The program will be held at the University of Adelaide from Monday 16 January to Friday 20 January in 2012.
For further information, click here.
Mechanical Engineering Ranked 81st in the World
06 April 2011
According to QS World ranking The University's School of Mechanical Engineering is the highest ranked engineering School in South Australia and is ranked 81 amongst Mechanical Engineering departments in the world.
The 2011 Engineering and Computer Science ranking list the School as 6th in the subject area of Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing Engineering in Australia.
Further information about the new ranking of different Engineering School's in Australia and around the world can be found in the article and web link below.
2010 Final Year Project - External Burning Scramjet
14 December 2010
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| Photo from Woomera Rocket Launch |
The external-burning scramjet is a final year project by students from the School of Mechanical Engineering.
The students launched their rocket at Woomera on the October long weekend. The project was one of many projects on display at MechExpo, which was held on the 26-27 October 2010 at the Adelaide Showgrounds. MechExpo featured the Scramjet payload as launched and recovered in addition to the results obtained throughout the flight test.
During the year, the student team had the opportunity to show their scramjet to pre-election Minister for Defence Materiel and Science Greg Combet (see article below).
Students - Scott Beinke, Jia Kok, David Kemp, Phillip Mellen, Thomas Minge & David Wilke
Supervisor - Dr Con Doolan
Project Sponsors - Australian Space Research Institute (ASRI), BAE Systems, Sir Ross & Sir Keith Smith Fund and Teakle Composites
Defence SA Magazine Article Sept/Oct 2010
Advertiser Article 05/10/2010 (pdf 327 kB).
Audio of ABC interview with project supervisor Dr Con Doolan (Nov 2010)
MechExpo 2010 - 16th annual Honours Project Exhibition
05 October 2010
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| Picture of the Death-defying Diwheel |
You are invited to attend MechExpo, the School of Mechanical Engineering's 16th annual Honours Project Exhibition, a display of over 60 exciting projects developed by the engineers of tomorrow.
This must-see event is a highlight in the science and technology calendar. It will feature diverse projects such as the Micycle (a self-balancing electric unicycle), autonomous quad-copters, a Death-defying Diwheel similar to the one in Star Wars Episode III and the Hi Speed Bio-diesel Bike capable of breaking a land speed record - all under one roof at the Adelaide Showgrounds.
Come and try your hand on Edgar the self-balancing scooter, or pit yourself against the computer to keep a pendulum inverted upright, or try to get a ball in the centre of a floating table.
This is a unique opportunity to encounter engineering in practice, to learn what it really means to be an engineer and to engage with final year engineering students as they share their experiences.
When: Tuesday, 26th October, 7pm to 9pm and Wednesday, 27th October, 9am to 4pm
Where: Adelaide Showgrounds. Goyder Pavillion
FREE entry
FREE car and bus parking off Rose Terrace
Bus drop off zone Goodwood Road
Promotional Flyer for MechExpo 2010 (pdf 327 kB).
For more information contact Kathy Cooper.
Research for better surveillance, submarine stealth
03 September 2010
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Collins Class submarine HMAS Waller. Photo by ABPH Bill Louys, courtesy of the Department of Defence. |
University of Adelaide researchers are helping develop quieter diesel engine submarines and an image content search capability for improved surveillance and reconnaissance.
The two research projects have won funding under the Department of Defence's Capability and Technology Demonstrator (CTD) Program, announced today by the Hon. Greg Combet, Minister for Defence Materiel and Science.
The University's School of Mechanical Engineering will receive $1,120,000 to develop an adaptive exhaust silencer to reduce the noise from the diesel engines used on submarines. The Australian Centre for Visual Technologies will receive $684,000 to develop technologies that will help Defence search vast available databases of video and still imagery.
The University of Adelaide is the only university to receive funding under the latest round of the CTD Program (Round 14), which is managed by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO).
Director of the Australian Centre for Visual Technologies, Professor Anton van den Hengel, said the image search technology being developed was like "Google for images", allowing users to search for images, using images.
"Current search engines typically rely on associated text to identify images as they can't interpret the content of the image itself," said Professor Anton van den Hengel. "But having the right text is rare, making it impossible to find most images. Our technology means you can search for images of an object, just by showing it a similar picture, and it works for very large image databases.
"For example a database of satellite imagery could be searched automatically for a particular structure or object in seconds . Currently that would take months to achieve manually by Defence personnel."
School of Mechanical Engineering Senior Lecturer Dr Carl Howard said the exhaust silencer for use on diesel engine submarines being developed was a passive noise control system - not requiring the input of noise interference - and would therefore be very robust.
"The Collins Class submarines have three large diesel engines and it's a difficult engineering problem to hide these enormous power plants so that the submarine can remain undetected," Dr Howard said.
"The engineering acoustic problem faced is that standard exhaust silencers are designed with a compromise between the amount of noise reduction and the frequency range over which they are effective. The novel feature of this development is that it will provide high levels of noise reduction over a narrow frequency range, and it will automatically tune to the sound emitted by the diesel engine."
Final year student wind turbine project
27 August 2010
Mechanical Engineering students are currently working on a project to make a wind turbine which will operate in difficult urban conditions.
See articles below about this level 4 student project:
Adelaide Advertiser story 21 Sep 2010
Link to news story on Government of South Australia Climate Change website
This project is one of more than 60 projects which will be featured at the 2010 Mechanical Engineering Final Year Project Exhibition, to be held on 27 October in the Goyder Pavilion, Adelaide Showgrounds.
In-Business magazine will run stories on other student projects in the lead up to the Project Exhibition. Future stories will be posted on our website.
Using ultrasound to control toxic algal blooms
27 August 2010
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| Photo courtesy of SA Water. |
University of Adelaide researchers are investigating the use of ultrasound as an environmentally friendly and cheaper alternative to controlling blue-green algae in our fresh water supplies.
In collaboration with water industry organisations including SA Water, the researchers are starting a three-year project to find the best process for using ultrasound in large volumes of water to combat this significant world-wide water quality problem.
Chief Investigator Dr Carl Howard, from the University's School of Mechanical Engineering, says researchers will be testing different amplitudes and frequencies of ultrasound.
"We've already shown in laboratory tests that ultrasound is effective at neutralising blue-gree algae" says Dr Howard.
"We know it works but we don't yet know the best frequencies, amplitudes and duration for the most effective, economic and efficient process."
Blue-green algae (or cyanobacteria) can affect health and causes other water quality and environmental problems when it accumulates and forms 'blooms' in fresh water. It is currently controlled by the application of chemical treatments.
Dr Howard says ultrasound - at high amplitudes - is used for treating sewage and in other chemical processes but hasn't been practical for fresh water treatment. Ultrasound at high amplitudes breaks down the cell walls of the blue-green algae, releasing toxins into the water.
"The novel part of our solution is that we will be using ultrasound at low amplitudes where it immobilises the blue-green algae without releasing its toxins into the water and with lower energy input" Dr Howard says.
The researchers propose mounting ultrasound generators inside large underwater columns containing mixers which will draw the water through for treatment as it flows part.
The main industry partner, SA Water, has been working with University of Adelaide researchers over the past 15 years on a range of chemical and water circulation techniques in reservoirs and the River Murray to help tackle this problem.
The project has been granted $400,000 under the latest round of the Australian Research Council's (ARC) Linkage Projects scheme.
"This project is an innovative and exciting development in this area of research which has the potential to provide many benefits to drinking water supplies both locally and nationally" says SA Water Biology Research Leader Associate Professor Mike Burch.
Other industry partners are Melbourne Water Corporation, United Water International Pty Ltd, Water Corporation of WA and Water Quality Research Australia.
2009 Project Exhibition featured on Network Ten's "Totally Wild"
30 July 2010
| 2009 Project Exhibition featured on Channel Ten's "Totally Wild" |
The School of Mechanical Engineering's 2009 Final Year Project Exhibition was featured on Network Ten's "Totally Wild", a popular children's educational program.
Robot Locomotion Segment
27 April 2010
Dr Steven Grainger (mechatronics engineer) shows how robots may move around in the future.
The Robot Locomotion segment shown on Scope TV can be viewed at
Mechanical Engineering students achieve 2nd place overall at the 2010 Techfest Competition
02 February 2010
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| One of the two robots developed by the students. |
Philipp Allgeuer and Najmal Veettil represented our School and the University of Adelaide at the recently concluded "iNexus robotics competition - Australia zone". The students stood first in the Australia zone and were invited to compete at the 2010 Techfest Competition, which was held on the 22nd January 2010 at the Indian Institute of Technology (ITT) at Powai in Mumbai, India.
Techfest is Asia's largest Science, Technology and Technical Festival. This event, held at the ITT, is an international event where engineering teams from all over the world come together to compete in a wide range of competition categories.
Out of 650 teams from all over the world our students came 2nd overall. A team from Thailand won the competition.
More details on Techfest can be found at www.techfest.org.
New Robotic Hand Patent
12 January 2010
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| Robotic Hand |
A robotic hand, with very few moving parts, has been developed by the School of Mechanical Engineering.
For enquiries please contact Professor Colin Hansen.
