Ice load is a major design concerns for structures in the ice prone region especially for slender, monopole structures such as wind turbine towers where the dynamic load can induce severe vibrations. A careful assessment is essential to demonstrate the economic viability of such projects; however, the current design guidelines does not cover site-specific conditions for ice load and state-of-the-art knowledge on dynamic ice-structure interaction.
The purpose of this project is to take existing state-of-art machine learning techniques and implement them for ice classification in polar seas. Ice classification plays a critical role in any icebreaker voyage. An ice specialist onboard the icebreaker is required to classify all ice environments encountered. This process is tedious and time consuming. This project aims to automate this process. In using cutting edge neural networks, images taken from aboard icebreakers can be used to classify each pixel in an image giving overall context and information about the environment.
The proposed work targets the development of a fiber optic hydrophone array for underwater acoustics detection and recognition, with the potential for applications in national defense. We propose a new concept of using a small-size low-cost fiber optic hydrophone that are nearly undetectable and can be deployed in a dense array across a wide area and depths. The new hydrophone technology will offer a real-time capability and the required dynamic range to detect and track underwater as well as surface vessels.
The real-time monitoring of sea surface wind and wave information are crucial to the safety, performance and efficiency of various weather-sensitive on- and offshore operations, such as oil & gas platform drilling, port operations and offshore wind farming. This project plans to propose an accurate and robust method to estimate sea surface wind and wave parameters (e.g., wind speed, wind direction, wave height, etc) using a type of sensor called X-band marine radar.
Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) and Greenland Halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) located off the east coast of Nunavut (Arctic Canada) are currently harvested by factory freezer vessels using bottom trawls. This fishery is a major contribution to the territory’s economy. However, bottom trawling is not without its ecological impact. Bottom trawl’s footgear, located below the fishing line and in contact with the seabed to protect the netting and to guide animals into the trawl net, can cause an impact to the seabed.
The Canadian government has vowed to reduce their pollutant emissions by 2030 in order to curb the effects of climate change. This means that shipping companies must make strides to reduce their overall emissions. This project will use novel sponge-like frameworks, called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), to remove environmentally toxic pollutants from exhaust gas. The materials currently being utilized for pollutant gas removal (e.g.. limestone) are often are very minimally active by weight, this is not the case for MOFs.
Education has been undergoing a major shift in recent years. With the rise of social media, handheld devices, and the internet itself, schools have been encouraged to adapt to these developments. One aspect of these movements that has not been given as much attention in education, is that of video games. Many video games today have links with various social issues and historical topics, yet they are not often present in social science classrooms.
This proposal outlines research work that will compare the capabilities and accuracy of
a common, fast but approximate approach to computer modelling of geophysical electromagnetic (EM) data with an approach that considers a much more complete description of the modelling problem.
Hurd Solutions develops plant based materials to replace single-use petroleum based plastics. Hemp straw, a residue of hemp processing, is of particular interest to Hurd Solutions as it represents an underutilized value added product that would further reduce the environmental footprint of the hemp industry. This work will perform a comprehensive literature review of the work in phenolic resins from plant-based materials and suggest future directions/work. The py-oil is produced by ABRI-Tech Inc for Hurd Solutions (using hemp straw provided by Hurd Solutions) in a one tonne/d pyrolysis system.
The response to COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders have led to skyrocketing unemployment and various economic impacts. Entrepreneurs are coping up with challenges and conflicts that require solutions to sustain rural communities. With researchers based in Grenfell Campus, Memorial University (MUN) of Newfoundland in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), this study will focus on how enterprise hubs could help entrepreneurship development in rural communities.
