Across research, computation and engineering practice.

Hyperscale data centre campus, staged delivery

Western Sydney, NSW

Large data centre developments delivered through staged handovers while other areas remained under construction or operational, keeping separation, egress, detection, suppression and brigade access working across changing zones alongside revised lithium ion battery configurations.

• Supported staged handovers: interim fire safety strategies, handover drawings and completion letters.
• Drafted Fire Engineering Reports for revised battery arrangements, deployment density limits, and the associated fire severity and lower explosive limit calculations.
• Carried out site inspections, active system verification and certifier submission material.

Operational data centre, verification and close out

Western Sydney, NSW

An operational data centre undergoing data hall upgrades, including an additional fire containment tank and conversion of office space to a battery store, requiring post completion verification inside a live mission critical environment.

• Undertook site inspection and verification of fire safety provisions and battery room compliance.
• Prepared inspection documentation and coordinated close out actions with the project team.

Lithium ion battery upgrade in an existing facility

Sydney, NSW

Upgrade works to existing lithium ion battery installations in an operating data centre, needing a phased risk reduction strategy that aligned battery hazards with ventilation, gas detection, smoke exhaust and ongoing facilities management.

• Contributed to the management and use strategy for phased battery upgrades and risk controls.
• Reviewed battery hazards against ventilation, gas detection, smoke exhaust and the existing fire engineering documentation.

Premium commercial tower, smoke control and façade

Sydney CBD, NSW

A major commercial high rise with a substantial performance based fire strategy, where the cove ventilation arrangement needed CFD assessment and the documentation had to track design team and brigade comments.

• Contributed to the review and update of cove ventilation modelling outputs and supporting fire engineering documentation.
• Worked with senior fire engineers and the broader design team to address technical queries and design issues.

Electrical infrastructure building, egress upgrade

Sydney CBD, NSW

An existing substation building within a city redevelopment, carrying non compliant exit geometry and Performance Solutions that leaned on operational systems and staffing the asset owner needed removed.

• Updated the Performance Based Design Brief for non compliant clear width and height at a modified exit, and revised the Performance Solutions to remove reliance on suppression, training and warden measures.
• Transferred the brief into the current Fire and Rescue NSW template, coordinated the lodgement, then prepared the Fire Engineering Report and comment response log through to issue.

Telecommunications building, performance based redesign

Sydney CBD, NSW

An existing telecommunications building within a city redevelopment, with code departures across exits, doors, a fire curtain, occupant loads and basement stair separation against ageing warning, hydrant and hose reel systems.

• Prepared the Performance Based Design Brief from the identified code departures, audit information and drawings.
• Progressed multiple revisions through client comment and Fire and Rescue NSW consultation, then prepared the Fire Engineering Report and formal advice on stair separation and smoke seals.

Headquarters tenancy fitout, population management

Sydney CBD, NSW

Internal changes to a multi level headquarters tenancy where open interconnecting stairs and a population management plan control occupant numbers, needing proof that revised layouts and event modes stayed within approved limits.

• Prepared the fire engineering technical note, Population Management Plan and supporting compliance documentation.
• Assessed layout and occupancy changes against floor and compartment population limits, including dual operating modes.

Office fitout, extended travel distances

Sydney CBD, NSW · Full lifecycle

A single floor office fitout relying on extended one way travel distances of up to 30 m, justified through enhanced smoke detection, separation of the egress route and a comparative RSET and detector response assessment.

• Authored the Performance Based Design Brief, including a Performance Solution for one way travel distances up to 30 m with a comparative RSET and detector response assessment.
• Prepared the Fire Engineering Report, then the verification letter for the completed works: brief to submission to sign off on one commission.

Commercial development, brief and delivery coordination

Sydney CBD, NSW

A multi level office fitout with a three storey interconnection and departures for interconnected storeys and travel distances, needing a coordinated fire engineering brief and quantitative egress support.

• Supported preparation of the Fire Engineering Brief and coordination of the information needed to progress the assessment.
• Managed programme, forecasting and delivery administration alongside the technical work.

Regional commercial building

Regional NSW

A regional commercial building requiring fire safety assessment and documentation of its existing provisions.

• Fire safety assessment, documentation and report writing.

Advanced manufacturing research facility

Western Sydney, NSW

A complex advanced manufacturing and research facility combining a large manufacturing hall, laboratories, offices, loading and dangerous goods functions, with the fire strategy carrying the interfaces between industrial volumes and occupied areas.

• Prepared substantial sections of the Fire Engineering Report and carried the document through internal technical review.
• Developed provisions for fire shutters, compartmentation, façade details, smoke control and manufacturing hall hazards.
• Reviewed drawings, prepared markups and coordinated information requests across the design team.

Food manufacturing campus, staged works

Central Coast, NSW

An operating food manufacturing campus with staged works spanning raw material and dangerous goods storage through to the site maintenance area.

• Fire safety and dangerous goods assessment for raw material and DG storage areas, supported by CFD modelling.
• Fire safety strategy and report writing for the site maintenance area.
• Compliance checks and documentation for minor works across the campus.

Industrial premises assessments, multiple sites

Sydney and regional NSW

A portfolio of industrial premises across metropolitan and regional NSW requiring fire engineering assessment, from brief questionnaires through to CFD supported reports.

• Fire engineering brief questionnaires and fire engineering reports, including CFD supported assessments.
• Fire safety assessments, documentation and reporting across metropolitan and regional industrial premises.

Metro station tender, fire and life safety

Western Sydney, NSW · CFD modelling

Tender design for a new metro station and integrated development, with the fire and life safety case built on CFD assessment of platform and train fire scenarios against evacuation timing.

• Ran FDS smoke modelling for platform and train fire scenarios and reviewed visibility outcomes against the evacuation timeline.
• Managed model QA and run logs, prepared scenario markups and developed presentation outputs.
• Contributed station specific content to the fire and life safety strategy, covering egress, brigade access and subsystem interfaces.

Underground pedestrian link, compartmentation

Sydney CBD, NSW

Fire compartmentation within an operating underground pedestrian link, resolving the gap between a two hour code requirement and a four hour project requirement and whether existing Performance Solutions depended on the higher rating.

• Assessed existing compartmentation on site and investigated the gap between the two hour code requirement and a four hour project requirement.
• Prepared marked up compartmentation drawings identifying required ratings, coordinated through internal review.

Major rail station, fire safety systems

Sydney CBD, NSW

Fire safety systems support within a major operational rail station.

• Supported updates to fire safety systems documentation and coordinated technical review inputs.

Battery storage and charging within a commercial tenancy

Sydney CBD, NSW

Proposed lithium ion battery storage and charging cabinets within occupied office tenancies, assessed for suitability against fire safety, dangerous goods and base building strategy implications.

• Prepared a targeted fire risk assessment for the proposed battery storage and charging arrangement.

Grid scale battery energy storage

NSW

Grid scale battery energy storage developments seeking approval, where thermal runaway consequences, separation distances and deflagration venting set the risk picture.

• Fire risk and consequence assessments supporting development approvals: thermal runaway consequence modelling, separation distances and deflagration venting review.

Heritage lightstation open for public tours

Sydney Harbour, NSW · Report author

A heritage listed lighthouse open for guided public tours, without modern fire safety and evacuation provisions, where a small tour group had to be shown to evacuate safely without harming the heritage fabric.

• Inspected and documented the existing fire safety and evacuation arrangements.
• Prepared the fire safety assessment with egress and smoke filling analyses and practical improvement recommendations.

Licensed club, kitchen exhaust optimisation

Regional NSW

A regional licensed club where the kitchen exhaust arrangement needed optimisation alongside the fire safety assessment of the venue.

• Fire safety assessment and documentation for the club.
• CFD modelling to optimise the exhaust arrangement.

University tower façade replacement

Sydney, NSW

Repair and replacement of part of a glazed university tower façade across two levels, with Performance Solutions addressing omitted structural fire protection and sprinkler coverage at an airlock.

• Prepared fire engineering documentation for the façade replacement, including assessment of the airlock arrangement.
• Supported finalisation of the Performance Based Design Brief and preparation for submission to Fire and Rescue NSW.

Ventilation products, BAL compliance

NSW

Ventilation system products requiring Bushfire Attack Level compliance under the bushfire construction requirements before sale into designated areas.

• Assessed ventilation system products for Bushfire Attack Level compliance under the bushfire construction requirements.
• Authored the compliance report and coordinated the outcome with the client.

Residential alterations, performance solution

Lower North Shore, NSW

Alterations to an existing dwelling that could not meet prescriptive requirements, needing a performance based solution.

• Prepared assessment input, calculations and the report for a performance based solution to residential alterations.

Residential development, fire and evacuation modelling

Inner West, NSW

A multi dwelling residential development whose performance based assessment needed fire and evacuation modelling support.

• Supported the performance based assessment with fire and evacuation modelling and calculations.
• Prepared report documentation through design coordination.

Resource recovery facility

Western Sydney, NSW

A resource recovery facility whose fire risk assessment needed modelling and calculation support for the stored combustible streams.

• Fire risk assessment input supported by fire modelling and calculations.
• Prepared report documentation for the facility.

Heat exchanger performance optimisation

The project assessed the thermal and hydraulic performance of a compact heat exchanger, balancing heat-transfer enhancement against pressure-drop and energy penalties.

• Developed a conjugate heat transfer model of a compact heat exchanger.
• Assessed velocity distribution, pressure drop and thermal performance through the core.
• Compared fin, channel and baffle arrangements to improve heat transfer while controlling the associated pumping or fan-power demand.

Electronics and battery thermal management

The project investigated cooling performance within an electronics enclosure or battery module, with the aim of controlling peak temperatures and improving temperature uniformity.

• Modelled heat generation and convective cooling within electronics enclosures and battery modules, comparing fan, vent and cooling-channel arrangements to support cooling-system selection.

Industrial furnace flow and thermal uniformity

The project examined flow circulation and heat distribution within an industrial furnace or heated chamber to improve product heating uniformity and reduce local thermal variation.

• Prepared a thermal CFD model of a furnace or heated chamber to examine gas circulation, convective heat transfer and temperature distribution around the heated product.
• Identified short-circuiting and non-uniform heating and tested inlet, recirculation or geometry changes intended to improve temperature consistency.

Micro aerial vehicle aerodynamic and thermal optimisation

The project investigated the coupled aerodynamic and thermal behaviour of a compact aerial vehicle, considering both flight performance and temperature-sensitive components.

• Simulated transient external flow and heat transfer around a compact aerial vehicle to assess aerodynamic forces, vortex development and thermal response under representative operating conditions.
• Used the results to evaluate geometry changes affecting stability, drag and component temperatures and to support aerodynamic and thermal optimisation.

Road vehicle drag and wake reduction

The project focused on reducing aerodynamic drag on a road vehicle by investigating external-flow separation, underbody behaviour and the structure of the downstream wake.

• Modelled external airflow around a road vehicle at representative speeds.
• Quantified drag contribution, underbody flow, separation and wake structure.
• Assessed geometry modifications and aerodynamic devices using force coefficients, pressure distribution and wake behaviour to identify drag-reduction opportunities.

Heavy vehicle trailer aerodynamic devices

The project assessed aerodynamic drag-reduction concepts for a heavy vehicle, with emphasis on trailer-side, underbody, gap and rear-wake flow behaviour.

• Simulated the tractor-trailer flow field and compared side skirts, gap treatments and rear boat-tail concepts to identify configurations with improved predicted drag performance.

Coupled fluid-structure interaction solver for flexible systems

The project addressed strongly coupled fluid-structure interaction in flexible systems where unsteady flow loading and structural deformation influence one another.

• Developed a coupled fluid-structure interaction workflow to analyse deformation and load transfer between an unsteady flow field and a flexible component.
• Validated the coupling approach against reference cases.
• Investigated geometry, stiffness and operating-condition sensitivity in strongly coupled multiphysics problems.

Biofluid flow and shape optimisation

The project investigated flow through complex biological passages and how geometric changes could improve flow behaviour or reduce adverse local fluid-dynamic loading.

• Built CFD models of complex biological flow passages and used geometric and optimisation studies to investigate how shape changes influence flow performance and local fluid-dynamic loading.

Biological thermoregulation and conjugate heat transfer

The project explored how body geometry, motion and surrounding airflow influence heat transfer and thermoregulation in biological systems such as insects and birds.

• Investigated conjugate heat transfer around idealised insect and bird geometries to assess the influence of body shape, motion and surrounding flow on thermal regulation.
• Compared transient flow and heat-transfer conditions to quantify cooling mechanisms and identify the geometric or kinematic features governing thermal performance.

Adjoint-based shape optimisation and HPC workflow

The project focused on automated CFD-driven shape optimisation, using sensitivity information and high-performance computing to identify improved geometries efficiently.

• Implemented an automated CFD and adjoint optimisation workflow to evaluate geometry sensitivity and drive design changes toward defined aerodynamic or fluid-performance objectives.
• Ran the workflow on parallel CPU and GPU computing with full automation to reduce simulation turnaround.
• Tracked convergence, scaling and solution robustness throughout.

Industrial mixing and multiphase process simulation

The project investigated mixing and phase distribution within an industrial process vessel to improve circulation, reduce dead zones and support more uniform process conditions.

• Modelled industrial mixing vessels, comparing impeller, inlet and vessel arrangements to improve circulation and mixing uniformity while managing pressure loss, shear and computational cost.

Pedestrian wind comfort assessment for a high-rise development

The project assessed the effect of a proposed high-rise development on pedestrian-level wind conditions around entrances, public spaces, walkways and surrounding streets.

• Developed an atmospheric boundary layer CFD model incorporating the proposed development and surrounding buildings to assess pedestrian-level wind speeds, flow acceleration, recirculation and local high-wind areas.
• Compared design variants and mitigation measures such as podium changes, canopies and screens.
• Mapped wind comfort and safety conditions to support architectural design decisions.

Building wind loads and façade pressure assessment

The project investigated wind-induced pressures and suctions on a tall or geometrically complex building to support structural and façade design.

• Modelled wind flow around a tall or geometrically complex building over representative wind directions to quantify surface pressure coefficients, local suctions and critical roof and façade loading zones.
• Assessed geometry changes and pressure distributions to support structural and cladding design and identify areas requiring targeted refinement or complementary wind tunnel testing.

Exhaust plume dispersion and air intake re-entrainment

The project assessed whether building exhaust discharges could disperse safely without unacceptable re-entrainment into outdoor-air intakes or exposure at occupied areas.

• Simulated exhaust dispersion from rooftop stacks, generators and plant, testing stack height, discharge velocity and location changes to reduce re-entrainment at outdoor-air intakes and occupied areas.