Nicoleta Maynard

An Unreacted Shrinking Core Model for Calcination and Similar Solid-to-Gas Reactions

A variation on the unreacted shrinking core model has been developed for calcination and similar non-catalytic solid-to-gas decomposition reactions in which no gaseous reactant is involved and the reaction rate decreases with increasing product gas concentration. The numerical solution of the model has been validated against an analytical solution for the isothermal case. The model parameters have been tuned using literature data for the thermal dehydration (calcination) of gibbsite to alumina over a wide range of temperatures, from 490 to 923 K. The model results for gibbsite conversion agreed well with the published experimental data. A reaction order with respect to water vapor concentration of n = −1 was found to give a good fit to the data and yield activation energies consistent with literature values. Predictions of the non-isothermal unreacted shrinking core model compare well with a more complex distributed model developed previously by the authors.

Addressing interdisciplinary process engineering design, construction and operations through 4D virtual environments

Abstract An interactive and immersive learning environment that will allow students to explore the design, construction, commissioning and operation stages of processing facilities is being developed. The learning environment makes use of a series spherical images captured across not only the facility site but also across the construction and operation period that allow students to investigate the design evolution of a particular spatial area through time by moving up and down in the time frame. It is intended to allow students to learn how engineers from a range of disciplines work together on key issues and decisions required for that part of the design. Interviews with key engineering personnel and project stakeholders will permit the students to explore the reasoning behind critical design decisions. Four learning environments are being developed and include the construction of a bulk liquid storage facility in Brisbane, a sewage treatment facility in Melbourne, a weighbridge at a truck service centre in Melbourne and the demolition of an engineering building in Brisbane followed by the construction of a new “live” building. This paper explores how it is envisaged that the learning environments will be implemented and how they will be used in practice in the class room.

Makerspace in STEM for Girls: A Physical Space to Develop Twenty-First-Century Skills.

Abstract Makerspace has been lauded as a new way forward to create communities, empower students and bring together enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels “to tinker” and create. Makerspace education has been touted as having the potential to empower young people to become agents of change in their communities. This paper examines how a Makerspace approach can capture the imagination and creativity of female primary school students, and engage them in integrated STEM-based projects. The study scaffolded female tertiary undergraduate students to mentor small groups of girls to complete a project in a STEM Makerspace situated in classrooms. The data generated and analysed from this study were used to determine how Makerspace STEM-based projects were enacted, how they engaged and supported the girls’ learning, and considers the future of a Makerspace approach as a way to progress integrated STEM education.

Facilitating and evaluating curriculum reform in Chemical Engineering

Within the Australasian region the CDIO framework for curricular reform has been recently acknowledged as a worthwhile investment for engineering education institutions. In 2008 The Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) report Engineers for the Future: addressing the supply and quality of Australian engineering graduates for the 21st century, recommended uptake of the CDIO approach as a strategy to bring about systematic and holistic educational reform. Over a span of three years the authors have been exploring the adoption and adaptation of the CDIO framework in the discipline of Chemical Engineering at their institution. A departmental pilot study was undertaken during first semester (February-June) 2010.