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Centre for Future Materials

A world-leading research centre in advanced composite materials and applications providing advanced partnerships with industry towards innovation and growth. 
 
Centre for Future Materials is known for pioneering research and development in engineered fibre composites, prioritising industry lead R&D in advanced composite manufacturing, civil composites, smart materials, and geopolymer & concrete. It operates a dedicated industry test service for more than 1000 clients across multiple sectors both nationally and internationally. 

Themes and Projects

High value composites manufacturing research works closely with Australian and international aerospace, defence and space industries. We have developed unique capabilities in repair, robotic filament winding, robotic braiding, pultrusion, AI applications in autoclave and out-of-autoclave. Besides polymeric composites, we also focus on the manufacturing of oxide-oxide prepreg ceramic composites. 


Title: Digital Twin of Composites Manufacturing & Repair Processes (iLAuNCH Space Trailblazer)
Leader: |  |
Project Team: |  | |
Project Partners: |
Funding Body: Department of Education Trailblazer Universities Programme

The program aims to create and implement digital twin workflows for composite components utilised by in existing commercial, space, and defence fleets; and, to contribute to the greater digitalisation of composite repair processes for Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul schedules.


Title: DART CMP Airframe: A composite reusable hypersonic platform
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Project Team:  |  |
Project Partners:  |  | 
Funding Body: Cooperative Research Centre Project (CRC-P) - CRCPXII000174

The DART CMP Airframe project is proving out automated manufacturing processes for high-temperature Ox-Ox Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) materials, in particular filament winding. In addition, design and simulations efforts have also contributed to these components to analyse their reusability for the hypersonic vehicle in development by Hypersonix.


Title: Accelerating Low-Carbon Hydrogen Production and Storage Capability
Leader: |
Project Team: | Dr Mazhar Peerzada | |
Project Partners:  |  |  |  |  |  | 
Funding Body: Australia - UK Renewable Hydrogen Innovation Partnerships

51²è¹Ý researchers will work with Australian and UK industry partners to convert challenging-to-recycle plastic waste into low-carbon hydrogen and graphene. Together with Australia Sunlight, the University of Melbourne and First Graphene, one of six UK partners in the international collaboration, the team will tackle significant hurdles in producing, purifying, and storing low-carbon hydrogen.


Title: Engaging Materials Science to Support Future Aerospace and Defence Innovators
Leader: |
Project Partner:  
Funding Body: Engaging Science Grants – Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation – Queensland Government

Description: Under this project, a series of materials science-focused STEM outreach workshops for high school students will be held across three locations in Queensland (Brisbane Airport, UniSQ Springfield Campus and UniSQ Toowoomba Campus). The workshops will run over a 2-week (cumulative) period, with enough capacity to cater to over 300 participants in total. These workshops will include several sessions: a "hands-on" session, interactive engagement with materials scientists, aerospace careers discussions and site tours.

 

This work focuses on developing functional composites and composites for special applications. The research investigates: in-situ structural health monitoring systems, nano material for high-efficiency energy conversion, and shape memory composites.


Title: Development of Sodium-ion battery separators
Leader: 
Project Team: , Sandeep Kumar,
Funding Body: ARC SaferEnergy Hub
 
This project will develop a novel, safe, and cost-effective functional separator tailored for sodium-ion batteries, addressing the critical need for enhanced thermal stability, ion transport, and mechanical integrity. By engineering advanced polymer- or ceramic-based separator materials with tailored porosity and surface functionality, the research aims to improve battery safety, performance, and cycle life.

Title: Advanced Gas Diffusion Electrodes for Electrochemical Manufacturing
Leader:
Funding Body: ARC (FT220100166)

This project aims to develop electrochemical conversion technologies to convert carbon dioxide into global needed chemicals. It targets the bottleneck issues in managing the gas-liquid-solid reaction sites and improving the conversion efficiency of reactor, through the synthesis of advanced electrode materials, understanding of mass transfer and the engineering design of a reactor.


Title: Quantum and wearable sensor technology for injury prevention in youth athletes
Leader:
Project Team: , Dean Mills, Stephen Bird, 
Funding Body: DESI
Partners: and

This project aims to develop hBN quantum sensors and wearable biomechanical sensors for movement screening.


Title: Development of high-performance flame-retardant one-component epoxy resins
Leader:  
Funding Body: ARC DECRA

This project will develop a new class of high-performance epoxy resins applicable to electronics, construction, and other key industries. 


Title: Upcycling Waste Plastics to Value-Added Fire-Safe Cladding Materials
Leader:
Project Team: Sole CI
Project Partners:
Funding Body: ARC Mid-career Industry Fellowship

This project aims to enable the upcycling of used agricultural irrigation plastics into cheaper, fire-safe building cladding.


Title: High-Performance Alloys as Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator
Leader:
Project Team:
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Funding Body: iLAuNCH Trailblazer, Department of Education

This project aims to develop advanced thermoelectric generators for deep-space power supply.

CFM has been leading the research and development of engineered fibre composites for civil infrastructure in Australia for decades. The research activities in Civil Composites include large scale structural testing, computational modelling and analysis of innovative composite structures for civil applications.

Title: Integration of composites in resilient maritime infrastructure
Leader: Prof Allan Manalo and Dr Shanika Kiriella
Project Team: Assoc Prof Omar Alajarmeh, Ms Siri Rattanaamporn, Mr Sujan Subedi, and Mr Mohiuddin Emon
Project Partners:  |
Funding Body:

This collaborative project will unlock the potential of advanced fibre composites for climate-resilient maritime infrastructures and will shape the future of critical infrastructure in Australia by eliminating the significant problem of early deterioration and premature failure of traditional construction materials in marine environment.


Title: Degradation mechanisms of composites under extreme weather
Leader: Prof Allan Manalo
Project Team: Ms Zaneta Senselova and Mr Abdullah Iftikhar
Project Partners: |
Funding Body:

This project will systematically assess the long-term performance and fire resistance of FRP composites with due considerations of different types of fibre and resin systems under the synergistic effects of extreme weather conditions.


Title: Project Name: Development of composite rock bolts with superior strength properties
Leader: Lead Researcher | Lead Researcher: Ali Mirzaghorbanali
Project Team: Hadi Nourizadeh, Mazhar Peerzada, and Kevin McDougall
Project Partners: , , , and
Funding Body:

This project is intended to develop innovative composite rock bolts prototypes with superior strength properties incorporating advanced manufacturing techniques.


Title: Project Name: Development of specially formulated geopolymer mixture for cable bolting practices
Leader: Lead Researcher | Lead Researcher: Ali Mirzaghorbanali
Project Team: Saya Ramakrishnan, Hadi Nourizadeh, and Kevin McDougall
Project Partners: , , and 
Funding Body:

This project is intended to develop innovative specially formulated geopolymer mixture for cable bolting practices with low water sensitivity and early strength pick up.


Title: Aerated and 3D printed concrete for bushfire resilient infrastructure
Leader: Dr Saya Ramakrishnan
Project Team: Dr Saya Ramakrishnan, Dr Akilesh Ramesh and Prof Allan Manalo
Project Partners:  |
Funding Body: Department of the Environment, Science and Innovation – DESI (Advance Queenland Industry Research Projects scheme)

This project will develop lightweight and fire-resistant building products using a new type of aerated and low-carbon emission concrete and through advanced manufacturing processes of 3D concrete printing for enhancing bushfire resilience of housing and buildings in Queensland.


Title: Testing and Analysis of Pipeline Encapsulation Technologies
Leader: Prof. Allan Manalo
Project Team:  Prof. Allan Manalo, Prof. Karu Karunasena, Dr. Shanika Kiriella, Dr. Hamid Ahmadi, Dr. Cam Minh Tri Tien, Mr. Ahmad Salah
Project Partners: , ,
Funding Body: Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) of US Department of Energy

This project contributed to the development of internal replacement pipe (IRP) systems, a novel trenchless technology for rehabilitating aging cast iron and steel gas and oil pipelines, enhancing their performance and extending service life. By integrating numerical, analytical, and physical testing protocols, the project established a comprehensive framework to characterise failure modes and define performance criteria, supporting pipeline engineers in designing IRP systems with reliable design-life performance.

Sustainable industry design concerns the process technologies and management of recovered waste materials including plastics, fibres and fly ashes. CFM develops cost effective manufacturing approaches for high value low carbon emission products.

Title: Sustainable Industry Manufacturing Planning for Long-term Ecosystems (SIMPLE) Hub – Development of Sustainable Amended Grout Products for Mining 
Leader: |  
Project Team: , , Alireza Entezam 
Project Partners:   
Funding Body: Australian Government – Department of Education (formerly DESE) 

To enhance the sustainability of cement industries, it is essential to use pozzolanic waste additions like fly ash, silica fumes, furnace slags, waste glass, as well as other waste materials such as plastics and agricultural wastes as fillers. The objective of this project is to introduce new and improved cementitious grouts by replacing parts of the clinker content of conventional grouts with supplementary waste materials.


Title: Developing and evaluating high fidelity, low cost learning tools for skills acquisition in medical teaching programs
Leader:
Project Team: | Dr Rose Nicol | Dr Doogie Whitcombe |   | Dr David Wedgwood
Project Partners:
Funding Body: Australian Govt Department of Education
 
This project involves consultation with clinical educators and anaesthetists and testing of materials and prototypes to simulate the anatomical tissue layers of the structure, the design and three-dimensional printing of the ‘bones’ and tool moulds, and evaluation of the tools by current medical students and practitioners.