News

DMTC Awarded the Maritime Australia – 2015 National Defence Innovation Award

DMTC has been awarded the Maritime Australia – 2015 National Defence Innovation Award. This award was presented at the Pacific 2015 Conference in Sydney and recognises companies who are leaders in technology and innovation in the defence maritime domain.

The award recognises the work undertaken by DMTC to develop Tandem Gas Metal Arc Welding (T-GMAW) as a method to address weld induced distortion to improve the quality and productivity of naval manufacturing. The collaborative project, started in 2011, consisted of research and industry partners, including Forgacs Engineering, University of Wollongong, ANSTO and DST Group. The project successfully addressed a number of weld induced distortion issues associated with the fabrication of Air Warfare Destroyer modules, eliminating significant amounts of thermal rework whilst increasing productivity and weld quality.

DMTC is delighted with this award and congratulates all other winners and shortlisted candidates.

Posted by DMTC on October 7th, 2015

DMTC presented with the CRC Award for Excellence in Innovation 2015

DMTC is delighted to announce that it has won the CRC Award for Excellence in Innovation 2015 for its work on Boron Carbide Ceramic Armour Technology. The award was presented to DMTC’s CEO Dr Mark Hodge by Minister Ian MacFarlane as part of the Cooperative Research Centres Association conference held in Canberra in May.

The award recognises the work undertaken in developing armour using boron carbide; a material which offers superior performance-to-weight over other armour materials, yet it is difficult to manufacture. The project successfully developed a unique process that allows for near-net shaping of thin, highly shaped, curved ceramic elements. For the first time, the ADF has the capability to incorporate the high ballistic resistance of boron carbide into components previously thought to be only suitable for manufacture from alternative materials which do not offer the same degree of ballistic protection for a given weight, such as tailoring for specific body shapes, including for front line female combatants.

A key component of the award criteria was research and industry collaboration. The DMTC was ideally positioned to bring together defence, academic and industry stakeholders essential to this project. A collaborative team was assembled comprising Defence partners; DSTO and the Army’s Diggerworks Program, industry partners; Australian Defence Apparel and BMT and research partners; CSIRO, VCAMM, The University of Melbourne and Swinburne University of Technology. The team reflected the benefits of multiparty collaboration with each partner contributing unique but critical elements required to achieve the outcome.

DMTC is delighted with this award and congratulates all other winners and shortlisted candidates.

Posted by DMTC on May 27th, 2015

Young Innovator award to DMTC PhD candidate

DMTC sponsored PhD Candidate, Vanessa Lussini from Queensland University of Technology, has won the Aerospace Australia Ltd Young Innovator prize. This award was presented at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon in Victoria and recognises individuals who are leaders in aerospace and aviation technologies and innovation.

Vanessa was presented the award for her outstanding work to improve the safety of aircraft and reduce maintenance costs. Vanessa’s project is focused on using organic compounds to develop sensors that will alert maintenance crews when sections of an aircraft need repainting before mechanical strain, direct sunlight, varying temperatures, water, salt and other pressures cause dangerous corrosion resulting in potentially catastrophic failure. To prevent corrosion, modern aircraft are coated with protective materials. However these protective outer coatings are constantly under physical and chemical stress. If left unchecked, this damage can lead to corrosion, which can result in the deterioration of the aircraft’s structural integrity. Vanessa’s project has developed new sensor molecules, called pro-fluorescent nitroxides (PFNs) which can monitor the breakdown of aircraft coatings that enable a sensitive real time monitor technology within the coating to show the location and extent of the coatings wear.

DMTC researchers have now won the young innovator prize at the past 3 major Defence Platform shows, including Pacific 2013, Land Forces 2014 and now the 2015 Avalon Air Show.

DMTC is delighted with this outcome and congratulates all other winners and shortlisted candidates for the Aerospace Australia Ltd awards.

Posted by DMTC on February 24th, 2015