In the project, three interns will work intensively with Philip Beesley Architect Inc. on designing and implementing kinetic architectural envelopes. The envelopes will be presented as sculptural installations and as a dynamic shading system for the Canadian North House entry to the 2009 Solar Decathlon. Parametric modeling of components will be used to explore the conceptual possibilities for the project and establish design alternatives. Solar power and wireless communication technologies will be developed, building on the open source Arduino platform.

A “choice model” is a mathematical tool that can be used to anticipate the behaviour of economic agents when they must choose among several options. We will use this technique to predict airline or railway passenger choices as a means of anticipating demand and optimizing supply with regard to availability and ticket prices. As part of this internship, the intern will develop new models and test their performance using actual data.

Nalcor Energy is in the planning stages of the Lower Churchill Hydroelectric Generation Project, expected to cost between $ 6 and 9 billion dollars. Due to the scale (over 2800 MW) and potential lifespan of this project, consideration needs to be made about the effects of climate change on the available water in the Churchill River. This internship is the jumping off point for a working relationship between Memorial University of Newfoundland and Nalcor Energy.

The use of plasma torches for the gasification of waste products enables the transformation of waste into clean energy with no residual by-products. As a result of the extremely high temperatures generated by plasma torches (from 5,000°C to 20,000°C depending on the type of gas used), torch and reactor modelling represent a technological challenge for designers. Digital modelling of the plasma flare and the electrical arc in the plasma torch will contribute to a better understanding of the degradation of the torch’s internal components.

The proposed research initiative consists of on-site and laboratory tests to evaluate the compaction quality of road sub-soils. To that end, we will use a self-boring pressure-meter to determine the on-site resilient modulus and compare it with results obtained by the Quebec transportation department using triaxial equipment for deviatoric loading in accordance with the LC-22-400 method. Studies demonstrate that the resilient modulus is an essential parameter for road design and analysis.

This project calls for the design and implementation of a power source of 20 kW and 600 V. The power source will serve several functions in the labs at Atlantic Hydrogen Inc. (AHI), chief among which is to create thermal CC plasma with current control capability. The source will consist of a static converter that converts alternating current into direct current (AC-DC), a tri-phased transformer to reduce tension throughout the network and ensure galvanic isolation, several transducers (current, tension), control circuits, and a dedicated digital processor.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles are hybrid vehicles with large batteries that are capable of travelling on electricity but still maintain the reliability of an on‐board internal combustion engine for extended trips. The batteries will typically be recharged from a standard household outlet, thus increasing the demand for electricity. It is important to understand and predict how these vehicles will affect the operation and planning of networks in British Columbia.

The objective of this research is to propose and implement a set of new methodologies to create a 3D hazard map that includes models of structures and obstacles in the airport area. The project uses multiple oblique and nadir views high resolution aerial imageries (pictometery images) to reconstruct such models. Various views of an obstacle are combined using image processing and computer vision algorithms to create an accurate 3D wireframe model of the obstacle. The building blocks of the project include two sub‐systems.

This study aims to improve a process to recover gold in artisanal mining operations by treating a gravity concentrate with cyanide in a closed circuit in a ball mill, trapping gold particles in a capsule of activated carbon in the mill. The main innovation of this process is the use of the activated carbon inside the mill, with no need to remove the balls. Cyanide is safely degraded when the process is complete, with no residual damage to the environment, when the process is carefully applied.

This research project proposes the exploration of various mechanical systems configured in two residential homes in Milton, Ontario. The primary goal is to determine the energy consumption and monetary costs associated with integrating new technologies of both heating and cooling requirements of a new home. Refinement of previously collected data and software modeling are keys to providing successful long term projections on potential savings in energy usage and economic payback periods.