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Hobart
PhysElec Solutions Pty Ltd is a small Tasmanian company that provides independent
consultancy services and carries out contract work on a global basis within
the fields of electrical engineering and applied physics. The company’s
services cover six main categories of consulting and contract work, namely research,
product-related, project management, risk management, seminars & presentations
/ education & training, and site evaluations / surveys. The company’s
major field of specialisation across all of these service areas is in lightning
protection, earthing / grounding and surge / transient protection for buildings,
facilities, sites and their occupants across the complete range of industries.
The proposed project provides students with the opportunity to take part in
an interesting project which will use fractal modelling techniques to simulate
the progress of lightning towards the earth with eventual attachment to a strike
point based on physical criteria of that point. The project will entail a unique
blend of experience in GUI development, simulation / 3D graphics, code optimisation
and scientific algorithm development. At least one or two members of the group
undertaking this project should have a sound knowledge of mathematical / physics
/ electrical engineering principles.
The major modules comprising the software development project include:
• A front-end / GUI with drawing capabilities that are user-friendly,
along with contemporary pull-down menus and button functionality;
• Review of current knowledge of fractal processes (guidance and literature
provided) and application of the theory as optimised code for simulating the
progress of lightning towards ground-based structures and facilities;
• Development and implementation of a novel shielding algorithm to determine
likely strike points on structures;
• Provision of user output in graphic form and also quantitatively, e.g.,
risk or probability of a lightning strike to a given point based on the simulations;
• Provision of the ability to place protective lightning rods lightning
rods and to perform fractal simulations of the reduced probability of a lightning
strike to the structure being protected;
• In addition to stationary structures such as ordinary buildings, provision
of the ability to draw and then perform simulations of strikes to the rotating
blades of wind turbines.
Students will be expertly supervised by a leading researcher in this field with
extensive experience in both a university and commercial / company environment.
The project suits a group of students with a strong technical background who
are motivated by a cutting-edge software development that could make a significant
contribution to risk management practices not only for ordinary buildings and
facilities but also in the fast-growing renewable energy sector.
Client Name: Dr Franco D’Alessandro
Phone Number (BH): (03) 6228 7865
Mobile Number: 0437 853 339
Email Address: info@physelec.com
Website: www.physelec.com (active from March 2008)
Address: 37 Ogilvie Street, Mt Stuart, Tasmania. 7000
The estimated software difficulty rating is 4-4.5