Past projects
In the 17 workshops held since 1984, the MISG has worked on 120 projects from 84
different industries and businesses covering cars, railways, mining, metal processing, gas
and oil, high technology, general manufacturing, food processing and service sectors.
Synopsis of Projects studied at MISG 2001
Equation free summaries describing in non-mathematical terms the outcomes of these projects can be found in our Project Synopsis. Open rtf. file here.
Synopsis of Projects studied at MISG 2000
Equation free summaries describing in non-mathematical terms the outcomes of these projects can be found in our Project Synopsis. Open rtf. file here.
The application of pesticides to grape bunches
Grape Wine Research and Development Corporation, 2001
| Project Pesticides are typically applied to grape bunches using a mechanised sprayer which works its way up and down rows of vines. Different sprayers use more or less air for the liquid volume applied, and create larger or smaller droplet sizes. The concentration of the pesticide mixture can be varied, and it may or may not contain a surfactant. The canopy, bunch distribution and structure onto which the pesticide is sprayed can be radically different for different varieties and climates and for different phases of bunch development. The Grape Wine Research and Development Corporation asked the MISG if the chemical application process could be modelled to give an idea of the relative importance of each of these variables in the process. |
Outcome The MISG team produced a mathematical model for the flow of pesticide through a closed grape bunch. They also studied the range of droplet sizes able to stick to grapes and how the use of surfactants affected this. In addition they modelled the proportion of droplets of a particular size and velocity which would hit a bunch or an individual grape. The group also considered how best the spray might be applied to penetrate the centre of a tight bunch structure. |
Efficient design of tall tapered feeders
Toowoomba Foundry, 2001
| Project Toowoomba Foundry makes high quality metal castings for a variety of industries. The metal is cast within cavities hollowed out in sand inside mould boxes. Each iron type used, shrinks as it cools and solidifies. In order to prevent air spaces or "porosity" forming in the cast a reservoir of molten metal, known as a feeder, is connected to it. As the cast cools, metal moves into it from the feeder to plug any gaps which may arise. The company asked MISG to investigate the most appropriate design features for tall tapered feeders in order to reduce the amount of metal left in the feeder after solidification and hence improve the efficiency of their casting process. |
Outcome By calculating the movement of heat through the sand packed around the feeder the team found that the sand effectively acted as an insulator. The group also worked out that the height of the feeder would provide little in the way of extra pressure to assist metal flow into the cast. An analysis of the changing heat profile from the walls of the feeder inwards over time, showed that convection within the feeder was keeping the metal at the top molten, and that this was assisted by the tall narrow shape. The team's analysis provided Toowoomba Foundry with several new avenues to explore experimentally. |
A Washing Machine Balance Problem
Email Limited (Washing Products Division), 2000
| Project The inner bowl of a standard washing machine spins at about 900 revolutions a minute. Uneven placement of wet clothes can lead to considerable sideways and tilting motion of the bowl, and dangerous vibrations of the system. Many models of a washing machine alleviate this problem by installing a torus, partially filled with saline solution, around the outside of the top of the bowl. Within the torus, the liquid moves to the outside and tends to balance the uneven loading. For each design change in height, weight, diameter and speed of the bowl, the dimensions of the balancing torus must change too. A mathematical model of the balancing process may be able to provide a rational base for quicker and more efficient design of the torus. |
Outcome The MISG team undertook an experimental program to gain a feeling for how the system vibrates under a range of conditions. Members of the group then developed a series of models of increasing complexity in one and two dimensions, along with a simplified three-dimensional picture. The models gave a better understanding of the system, and helped to identify future areas of study. The team also reported that whereas one balance ring around the top of the bowl helps correct horizontal vibration, two balance rings, top and bottom, give better control over the problem of tilt. |
Warehouse Order Processing and Dispatching
Faulding Healthcare Limited, 2000
| Project Computer controlled trolleys, known as datamobils, cycle through an automated warehouse. The datamobil stops at points where products are to be picked by the operator on board. Passing is not possible, and considerable vehicle interference occurs. The datamobils are achieving only about two thirds of their potential number of cycles per day. Also, the system has difficulty coping with late orders. |
Outcome By the end of the week, the MISG had split the overall problem into a series of solvable components, and had developed formulations and methods to solve those components. It also identified several operational issues and strategies, such as ways of deciding how to generate a more even flow of datamobils through the warehouse. |
Optimising Quarry Production and Delivery
Boral CMG SA Ltd, 2000
| Project When operating a portfolio of quarries it is possible to cut costs by centralising and rationalising operations and maintenance. However, with all quarries still in production, a modelling tool can help to maximise profits from the portfolio as a whole. Such a model should be able to assist in decision making on strategic matters, such as appropriate cost structures for production and delivery or whether it would be profitable to "mothball" particular quarries, taking them out of production for a specified period. |
Outcome The MISG team built a prototype model for production and transport prices, tested it, and used it to generate preliminary results. The team concluded, for instance, that Boral should look more closely at mothballing certain quarries or at working them out, and should also analyse the internal charging system it uses to allocate the costs of operating its transport fleet. |
Cars
- Principal moments of inertia of a vehicle engine assembly
(Ford, 1986) - Resonant whirling of two-piece propshafts in rear-wheel-drive cars
(GM-H Automotive, 1989) - Thin-walled beam optimisation
(GM-H Automotive, 1990) - Use of available storage to improve scheduling in an automobile assembly plan
(GM-H Automotive,1991)
Railways
- Optimal train schedule/train length
(Mt Newman Mining, 1986) - Modelling the effects of coupler slack in long coal and ore trains
(Railways of Australia, 1988) - Management of interstate rolling stock
(Railways of Australia, 1989) - Inventory for electric train wheelsets
(Queensland Railways, 1990) - Assessing viability of conversion of DC locomotives to AC
(National Rail Corporation, 2000) - Analysis of train wheel-rail noise
(Australian Rail Track Corporation, 2000) - Efficient loading of intermodal container trains
(National Rail Corporation, 2001)
Mining
- Strategic planning and optimisation in an open cut coal mine
(Capricorn Coal, 1985) - Statistical comparison of dragline buckets
(BHP Australia Coal, 1993) - Moisture movement in stockpiles
(CRA, 1995) - Modelling barriers for coal dust suppression
(Warkworth Mining, 1995) - Blending methodologies in talc operations
(Western Mining Corporation, 1996) - Copper ore heap leaching
(WMC Nifty Copper, 1997) - Product stabilisation for visual processing systems
(Bob Harland and Associate, 1998) - Optimisation of cavity formation and entrainment in deep submerged water jets
(Centre for Mining Technology and Equipment, 1999) - Using fractals and power laws to predict the location of mineral deposits
(WMC Resources, 2001)
Iron and steel: metal processing
- Pre-heating in aluminium alloy block
(Comalco Research and Technology Centre, 1984) - Production life of tube swimmers
(Bundy Tubing Co Pty Ltd, 1991) - Heat transfer in a continuous bloomcaster
(BHP Rod and Bar Division, 1991) - Zinc dust atomisation
(Pasminco Australia Limited, 1992) - Rolling mill performance
(Industrial Systems Pty Ltd, 1992) - Stratification of molten steel in ladles
(BHP Research Newcastle Laboratories, 1993) - Slag ladle insulation
(Pasminco Metals - BHAS, 1994) - Plasma bevel cutting
(Farley Cutting Systems, 1995) - Efficient design of tall tapered feeders
(Toowoomba Foundry, 2001) - A comparison of bearing life in new and refurbished railway axle boxes
(Toowoomba Foundry / Koyo, 2001)
High technology and biomedical
- Mechanical characteristics of carbon fibre yacht masts
(Carbon Design, 1995) - Droplet formation inside a Venturi liquid mixer
(Kodak Australasia, 1997) - Optimisation of an ultrasonic nebuliser
(Sheiman Ultrasonic Research, 1998) - Biological data compression
(AD Instruments, 2000) - Inferring eye movements on the basis of head and visual target position
(SOLA International, 2001)
General manufacturing
- Use of detergent in wool scouring
(G H Michells & Sons Pty Ltd, 1991) - Modelling of the dip-coating process for spectacle lenses
(Sola Optical, 1994) - Modelling and optimisation of low solids waste treatment processes
(Dulux Australia, 1997) - Washing machine balance
(Email Washing Products Division, 2000) - Fracture testing of spectacle lenses
(Sola International, 2000) - Drying and curing of stains and lacquers used in furniture finishing
(Nexus, 2001)
Food processing
- Modelling and optimal control of plate evaporators
(CSR Sugar, 1995) - Wet gum labelling of wine bottles
(Southcorp Wines, 1996) - Modelling the cooking process of a single cereal grain
(Uncle Tobys, 1996) - Rice gelatinisation for beer production
(Brewtech, 1998) - The application of pesticides to grape bunches
(GWRDC, 2001)
Oil and gas
- Blending of lubricants
(Shell Australia, 1993) - Gas field scheduling
(Woodside Offshore Petroleum, 1994)
Organisational Efficiency
- Scheduling tirage champagne production
(Penfolds Wines Pty Ltd, 1991) - Scheduling in the manufacture of evaporative air conditioners
(Seeley International, 1995) - Warehouse order processing and dispatching
(Faulding Healthcare, 2000) - Optimising quarry production and delivery
(Boral CMG SA, 2000)