Projets novateurs réalisés

Punching Shear Behavior of Glass Fiber-Reinforced polymer Reinforced Concrete Slab-Column Edge Connections Under Lateral Cyclic Loading

The applicability of reinforcing slab-column edge connections with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars in resisting gravity loads has been validated through several investigations. The elastic nature of FRP reinforcement raises concerns about the feasibility of using this type of reinforcement in reinforced concrete (RC) structures in seismic regions. To date, only one study has been conducted to investigate the seismic response of glass (G) FRP-RC slab-column edge connections. In addition, current limitations of FRP design codes concerning the seismic resistance may lead to a highly conservative and uneconomical design due to the lack of experimental evidence.
Therefore, this project consists of developing analytical models for FRP-RC slab-column edge connections (validated with experimental data) which will be used to conduct seismic performance assessment to investigate the safety and accuracy of current design methods. The main objective is set to support North America’s codes with essential experimental and analytical data towards developing a clause for FRP-RC slab-column edge connections and to provide engineers with reliable design guidelines and confident in adopting such element in construction. This in return will benefit the industrial partner (SFTec Inc.) as a leading producer and supplier of FRP bars worldwide.

micro laboratoire de sciences et technologie

Contexte : La collaboration en robotique entre le laboratoire de robotique pédagogique de l’université de Montréal et l’université du Maine est vielle de plus de 20 ans entre Pierre Nonnon de l’Université de Montréal et Pascal Leroux de l’Université du Maine avec notamment l’organisation de coprésidence de 8 congrès sur la robotique pédagogique.

Objectif : Fournir aux étudiants une formation en microlab de sciences et technologie. Plus spécifiquement, le stage portera sur la conception de systèmes de mesure de nouveaux capteurs.

Eng/aging and HIV: Knowledge Exchange between Older Adults Living with HIV and Big Data Researchers in British Columbia – Year two

To an unprecedented degree in the history of HIV/AIDS, people with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) are aging largely owing to the success of treatment. As a relatively new phenomenon, research on HIV/AIDS and aging is only just emerging, and remains largely epidemiological in focus. One leading epidemiological study called COAST comes from the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, a world-renowned HIV/AIDS research organization. COAST assembles administrative epidemiological data to examine aging PLHIV health trends in B.C. Missing in this research is the knowledge and experience of those being studied who actually live the challenges of aging with HIV. Canada-wide there has been a push in health research for an ethical practice that emphasizes collaboration amongst those directly affected by a health issue and researchers (e.g. CIHR 2019).

My research will engage aging PLHIV with COAST, leveraging their perspectives and lived experiences to identify community-relevant research questions and answer them using COAST data. This project stands to enrich the knowledge produced by COAST scientists, improve the inclusivity of their professional networks, and enhance the management and contribution of the COAST study itself. It is established that “patient-oriented research” improves healthcare, and this project will improve health services and health outcomes for PLHIV.

Improving Metal Cleanliness of Magnesium Alloy Castings for AutomotiveApplications

For the automotive industry, the need to promote sustainable materials to meet the increasing

pressures of climate change and consumer demand for improved fuel efficiencies has promoted the use

of lightweight, recyclable materials such as magnesium (Mg) alloys to reduce vehicle component

weight. Magnesium is 35 % lighter than aluminum and 78 % lighter than steel and its use has brought

about positive changes in reducing carbon emissions for automotive vehicles. However magnesium is

prone to absorbing many impurities during manufacturing making recycling difficult and expensive.

This project examines various metal cleaning techniques to the quality and recyclability of magnesium

and its alloys. The project is in collaboration with the Centre of Urban Energy at Ryerson University

which funds research initiatives related to energy conservation, electric vehicles and power generation.

Since magnesium alloys are used as lightweight materials for automotive vehicles (gasoline to pure

electric and hydrogen), the current project enables more energy conservative vehicles to enable

sustainable transportation for society.

Eng/aging and HIV: Knowledge Exchange Between Administrative Data Project and Aging Individuals with HIV/AIDS in British Columbia

To an unprecedented degree in the history of HIV/AIDS, people with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) are aging largely owing to the success of treatment. As a relatively new phenomenon, research on HIV/AIDS and aging is only just emerging, and remains largely epidemiological in focus. One leading epidemiological study called COAST comes from the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, a world-renowned HIV/AIDS research organization. COAST assembles administrative epidemiological data to examine aging PLHIV health trends in B.C. Missing in this research is the knowledge and experience of those being studied who actually live the challenges of aging with HIV. Canada-wide there has been a push in health research for an ethical practice that emphasizes collaboration amongst those directly affected by a health issue and researchers (e.g. CIHR 2019).

My research will engage aging PLHIV with COAST, leveraging their perspectives and lived experiences to identify community-relevant research questions and answer them using COAST data. This project stands to enrich the knowledge produced by COAST scientists, improve the inclusivity of their professional networks, and enhance the management and contribution of the COAST study itself. It is established that “patient-oriented research” improves healthcare, and this project will improve health services and health outcomes for PLHIV.

Unraveling the electrophysiological basis of auditory entrainment from a gender perspective

An important challenge in developmental psychiatric research is to understand which are the neural mechanisms underlying language acquisition and speech comprehension. Auditory entrainment is the mechanism by which the brain faithfully entrains electrophysiological activity to rhythmically modulated stimuli, and it is seen as the mechanism that the listening brain use to attune to acoustic regularities and to enhance the representation of attended stimuli. Although it has being proposed as a potential biomarker of neurodevelopmental disorders, very little is known about the neuronal mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. Here we aim at dissecting the circuit and functional basis of normal and abnormal auditory circuit function underlying auditory entrainment, paying special attention to sex differences and hormonal effect. At Csisvari’s lab I will record single cells firing activity in the auditory cortex and identify their putative role in synchronizing electrophysiological activity during auditory perception. Using optogenetic technology we will be able to identify firing patterns of fast spiking/PV+ and somatostatin interneurons and study their participation in auditory entrainment in control subjects.

Gather: Testing and upscaling a Referrals Management Tool

There are currently no effective free, open-source tools in place to facilitate the resource management referral process at the community-level in British Columbia, Canada. There is a clear need to research, design, develop, implement, and evaluate tools and mechanisms that could streamline the duty to consult between government, proponents and First Nation communities, as well as facilitate the management and decision-making relating to the referral process. This proposed project will build on work completed over the past two years that, together with community partners, has successfully designed and programmed a community referrals tool called Gather. We will: develop training materials; deliver training workshops; evaluate Gather’s usability during these workshops; improve the cultural appropriateness and functionality of Gather from the community evaluations; and develop and implement marketing and sustainability plans in order to make Gather a viable open source tool for Canadian First Nations in the long-term.

Adsorbent screening for CO2, N2, and O2 for Landfill Gas separation by Adsorption

The proposed project would seek to develop a technology and identify adsorbents that are better able to remove impurities such as carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen (N2), and oxygen (O2) from biogas (mostly CH4, also referred to as natural gas) produced from landfills, using adsorption technology. Interns will be carrying out adsorbent screening, by determining kinetics and binary and multi-component adsorption behaviour. Promising adsorbents will then be selected and tested under cyclic conditions to determine their life cycle. We will be in a position to propose the best adsorbent for this application. Model will be developed and validated for this separation. This model will be used to design larger scale separation systems. This technology has the potential of valorizing the biogas generated in anaerobic digesters and helps in efforts to divert food and organic waste away from landfills and reduce the amount of food waste going into landfills.

Paving the way to concrete 3D printing for sustainable housing in cold regions

These two first units are sub-projects of a larger feasibility study that looks to solve the challenges that prevent the construction of housing in remote northern areas of Canada despite overwhelming need. Using 3D printing to accomplish quality housing projects in remote climates requires further research prior to being deployed. The larger context pf this project is to establish the technology, methodology and practices of building appropriate housing in Northern communities.

Développement, implantation et étude des retombées de capsules vidéoorthophoniques sur l’autonomisation des personnes vivant avec la maladiede Parkinson

La maladie de Parkinson touche plus de 1,5% des personnes de plus de 65 ans et jusqu’à 90 % des personnes atteintes développent des difficultés à avaler ou à s’exprimer au courant de leur maladie. Ces difficultés nuisent aux relations sociales des personnes qui vivent avec cette maladie. Des thérapies en orthophonie peuvent aider à préserver les fonctions d’avaler et de parler, mais l’accès aux soins est limité au Québec et dans le monde.
Le projet consiste en la création de capsules vidéo, en collaboration avec l’association Parkinson Québec, qui expliquent et démontrent des exercices et stratégies orthophoniques, mise à disposition des personnes vivant avec la maladie de Parkinson via le site de Parkinson Québec. Cela pourrait avoir des retombées positives sur le sentiment d’autonomie et sur le maintien des fonctions d’avaler et de parler qui sont cruciales pour la participation sociale.

Corporate Behaviour and Voluntary Energy Programs: Influences on Voluntary Participation.

The purpose of this research is to reveal the factors that motivate firms to participate in voluntary energy programs, with reference to the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Toronto Conservation and Demand Management (CDM) Program. The program directed incentive funds to reduce electricity demand in large Toronto commercial buildings and provided a $60 million subsidy for building owners and tenants to conduct energy conservation projects. The study will examine whether the subsidy was the primary motivator in a company’s participation, or whether there were other underlying influences, such as public recognition/publicity, competitive advantages; to strengthen a company’s environmental practices; or to improve stakeholder relations. The results will aid Hydro One in determining the strengths and weaknesses of this particular energy program and may offer solutions in the improvement of current or existing voluntary CDM programs.

Detection and recognition of crisis using Markov models and Case-based reasoning

This project pertains to the modeling, detection and monitoring of crises in geopolitical

dynamiC environments. As risks are inherent to crises, we need tools to cope with the

uncertainty factors involved in these situations. The objective of this project is to conduct

research activities to support the understanding of crisis situations and to model their

potential evolution. Our main goal is to explore how to find patterns from episodes of

conflicts that can be reused as templates by human operators in th~ir analysis process.

The technologies targeted for this project are Markov models and Case-Based reasoning

. (CBR). Markov models are efficient tools for modeling sequences of events as they

capture the uncertainty inherent to a process. Various extensions, such as Hidden Markov

models (HMM), are available for modeling complex stochastic processes with partial

information. CBR is a framework, originating from artificial intelligence, which can be used

to find similarities in situations and to help in the interpretation~ of these situations….