A new partnership between Swinburne University of Technology and Lightning Protection International (LPI) will develop novel materials for LPI’s lightning protection devices known as “air terminals”.

The industry-led research project has been awarded $154.000 by the Australian Government through the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC), matching LPI’s research and development investment making $308,000 total.

The project will be led by Swinburne’s Dr Andrew Ang and Dr Rosalie Hocking, and LPI’s Dr Franco D’Alessandro.

It will enable the launch of next-generation air terminals that focus on corona minimisation. During a thunderstorm, all objects (especially sharp ones) can produce a charge in the air around their extremities that can be counterproductive for air terminals whose job it is to capture the lightning strike. This principle is now supported by a wide range of international research findings.

Air terminals intercept lightning strikes and safely pass their extremely high currents to ground through connected ’downconductors’, thus protecting structures.

“One of the challenges with air terminals is that water droplets and air pollution deposits can impact their performance,” says project co-lead Dr Rosalie Hocking.

“The novel materials we are developing will overcome this issue,” adds Dr Franco D’Alessandro, Chief Technology Officer of LPI.

The project aims to benefit manufacturing and other industry sectors, both in Australia and internationally. It will focus on five key areas:

• Preparation of novel materials for dealing with water droplets and pollutant degradation
• Build on the expertise and critical mass of the ARC Training Centre SEAM led by Distinguished Professor Christopher Berndt and Professor Peter Kingshott. This makes the project part of Australia’s premier manufacturing research and development centre, focussing on delivering outcomes for Australian manufacturers.
• Material characterisation and screening
• Prototype production and field testing
• Product evaluation and commercial recommendations

Mr David Chuter, Managing Director and CEO of IMCRC, points out the value of collaborative research and development.

“This research collaboration is a great example of a manufacturing SME being ambitious and strategically entering a partnership with an Australian university to solve real world problems and develop tangible and exportable technology. We are delighted to see Tasmania’s LPI work with Victoria’s Swinburne University.”

The project team thanks the IMCRC for their support.

Media Release PDF

If you are interested to obtain further information email seam@swinburne.edu.au or vstefanovski@swinburne.edu.au.

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SEAM is delighted to be partnered with Titomic Limited and congratulates the company on receiving RSP status becoming the first additive manufacturer to receive this award. 

This is an important milestone achievement and significant for industry, the research community, as it provides unique capabilities in the company’s role by supporting next generation of researchers.  

SEAM Director Distinguished Professor Chris Berndt, said “As a partner organisation, we are proud to see this certification awarded to the company. At Swinburne, we are home to the ARC ITTC Centre in Surface Engineering for Advanced Materials (SEAM), where we continue to research material science innovations through advanced technologies such as Titomic Kinetic Fusion®.” 

“We look forward to a mutually prosperous partnership to train future industry-fit ‘plug-&-play’ professionals and provide immediate economic outcomes that can evolve from industrial transformations,” said Professor Berndt.  

 SEAM Partner Investigator Mr Jeff Lang said “Titomic is proud of this achievement, and its unique capabilities being recognised, for its next generation fundamental research and commercial developments of its industrial scale additive manufacturing.” 

View full Media Statement. 

 Email seam@swin.edu.au for more information.  

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Read the Open Access  review article ‘Thermal Spray High-Entropy Alloy Coatings: A Review’ published with Springer Nature in the Journal of Thermal Spray Technology, with Ashok Meghwal and Ameey Anupam, SEAM Associate Investigators, as first authors, together with B. S. Murty, Christopher C. Berndt, Ravi Sankar Kottada and Andrew Siao Ming Ang.

“Impressively the article was finalized over a critical point as we undergo isolation and a global pandemic and is testament to the scientific cooperation between high-entropy alloy research groups in Australia, including the ARC Training Centre in Surface Engineering for Advanced Materials (SEAM)) and India over this challenging period”, said Ashok Meghwal.

Abstract High-entropy alloys (HEAs) are a new generation of materials that exhibit unique characteristics and properties, and are demonstrating potential in the form of thermal spray coatings for demanding environments. The use of HEAs as feedstock for coating processes has advanced due to reports of their exceptional properties in both bulk and coating forms. Emerging reports of thermal sprayed HEA coatings outperforming conventional materials have accelerated further exploration of this field. This early-stage review discusses the outcomes of combining thermal spray and HEAs. Various synthesis routes adopted for HEA feedstock preparation and their properties are discussed, with reference to the requirements of thermal spray processing. The HEA feedstock is then compared and correlated with coating microstructure and phase composition as a function of the thermal spray processing route.

Subsequently, the mechanical behavior of thermal spray HEA coatings is summarized in terms of porosity, hardness, and tribological properties, along with their oxidation and electrochemical properties, followed by their potential applications. The thermal spray methods are contrasted against laser cladding and surface alloying techniques for synthesizing thick HEA coatings. Furthermore, HEAs that have displayed excellent properties via alternative processing routes, but have not been explored within the framework of thermal spray, are recommended.

Read and Download the article here: https://lnkd.in/ghCxnW9

Email vstefanovski@swinburne.edu.au for any queries and questions.

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