Projets novateurs réalisés

Validating and improving predictive models using spectral reflectance measurements for the estimation of Methylene Blue Index of soft tailings

Annually, large number of tailings samples are collected by operators and sent to laboratories for measurement of Methylene Blue Index (MBI). This procedure is costly, time-consuming, and results are a function of the methods used and personnel expertise. In prior research we developed predictive models for the quick and consistent estimation of tailings MBI from hyperspectral measurements using a limited number of dry samples. The proposed research focuses on assessment of the robustness of the established models to tailings composition and adapting the spectral models to be applicable on saturated tailings. This would enable the industrial partners to quickly estimate MBI in a wide range of tailings observation conditions including on-site and in-situ on saturated samples and could significantly reduce the costs and inconsistencies associated with laboratory measurements.

Spatial and Temporal Variability of Primary and Secondary Production in the Salish Sea from a Coupled Model (SalishSeaCast with SMELT)

The Pacific Salmon Foundation is leading a multi-year project: Salish Sea Marine Survival Program (SSMSP) to determine what is affecting the survival of juvenile salmon and steelhead in the Salish Sea. There are three hypotheses to investigate. The impact of availability of food for the fish, the predation on the fish and other factors including habitat loss. In this project we will use a model of the Strait of Georgia to help evaluate availability of food. The model divides the Strait into little boxes (500 m x 500 m horizontal and 1 m vertical) and solves for the water movement, salinity, temperature and the water nutrients, phytoplankton (plant) growth and zooplankton (small animals eaten by fish). We will use the model to investigate the seasonal variations and year to year variations of phytoplankton and zooplankton.

Evaluation of the Ever Active Schools Physical Literacy Project

SHAPE will work alongside an initiative called Ever Active Schools, who is involved with promoting and supporting healthy and active school communities through a comprehensive school approach. One of the projects SHAPE and Ever Active Schools is working on is a professional mentoring opportunity named Physical Literacy in Residence that is being implemented in 72 in-need primary and secondary schools across Alberta. The proposed study is an evaluation of this Physical Literacy in Residence project. The research will be coordinated by an intern and will involve interviewing the teachers and evaluating survey results. The data collection will occur from September to April of the 2017/2018 school year. After the research is concluded, the findings will be published in an academic journal. The results will also be reported to SHAPE/ Ever Active Schools and the funder of the project, Jumpstart.

Création d’un algorithme dynamique pour raffiner le Plan d’expérience pour améliorer l’efficacité de la production de protéine de “Tenebrio Molitor”

Les plans d’expérience (PE) sont très importants pour améliorer le contrôle de la ligne de production parce qu’ils aident à décider quel facteur sont les plus influents pour obtenir le résultat finales par rapport les critères de souhaité. Cependant, les PE actuel ne sont pas capables d’accepter de nouvelles données d’entrée sans obliger le chercheur à faire un nouvelle PE. Notre problématique est donc développer un plan d’expérience dynamique qui soit capable de raffiner la fonction mathématique qui définit le comportement d’un processus dont le contrôle est souhaité en acceptant des nouvelles données d’entrée sans nous obliger à faire un nouvelle PE. En ce cas, résultat finales est l’efficacité de la productivité de protéine. TO BE CONT’D

Modelling transient flow in hydropower stations

Modelling the movement of water through a hydropower station is an important tool for understanding this very complex behaviour, where water is pushed and pulled through long tunnels and spinning turbines, resulting in a vast range of pressures and speeds. There are generally two types of models: 1-dimensional (1D) models, which are simple and cost-effective, but do not provide adequate detail for the more complex features in the power station. The second type is 3-dimensional (3D) models, which are very detailed but cost both time and money. The proposed research plans to use the strengths of these two types of models by applying them where they would be most beneficial, for instance 1D models are best suited for simple parts of the station such as long pipes. The final product will hopefully inform better decisions around the operation and management of these valuable public assets.

Risk minimizing hedging strategy of variable annuity guarantees under stochastic interestrates

A hedge is an investment position intended to offset potential losses, or in our case to pay off potential liabilities.

Interest rates play an important role in hedging strategies and risk management for variable annuities and other

long-term products. Financial institutions have an urgent need for practical and affordable dynamic hedging

strategies. We propose a realistic interest rates model and the so-called risk minimization hedging strategy. This

strategy uses the underlying stock and bond as hedging instruments and minimizes the ongoing costs

associated with variable annuity contracts for issuers. The payoff of the target products may have a flexible

form, such as single payment at maturity or a sequence of payments. The optimal portfolio will tell the issuers

how to construct the hedging portfolio such that they would be able to pay off all liabilities arising from the

contracts towards the policyholders. The performance of this risk minimizing strategy will be compared to other

dynamic hedging methods, such …

Aging and life prediction of Li-ion batteries

In this project, the effective life of advanced Li-ion batteries will be assessed using experimental tools and predictive modeling. Li-ion batteries have emerged as an alternative source of energy on-board cars, i.e., electric vehicles (EVs). Unlike internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, EVs suffer from performance degradation over driving and idle time posing limitations on their widespread deployment in the market. The life target for Li-ion batteries determined by the Department of Energy is in the range of 8 to 10 years of service with 80% of cell capacity being considered as the end of life. Examining battery performance degradation experimentally over such a long period of time is extremely costly and, even if doable, would fall behind in the examination of new technologies. As such, predictive modeling comes in use as a powerful approach to reduce cost and shorten the investigation time for a particular battery technology. TO BE CONT’D

System Engineering Methodology for Implementation of Networked Aircraft Control Systems on Distributed Integrated Modular Architecture

Bombardier started a few years ago the development of new architectures for aircraft control systems in a of a larger Internal R&D activity named XDIMA: Highly Integrated Control Systems on Distributed Integrated Modular Architecture. The main hurtle along this activity has been the increase in complexity which requires changes of best engineering practice. One of the main objectives of the proposed R&D project is the definition and evaluation of a novel approach to complex systems design: Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE). MBSE will be used to explore new Aircraft systems Architectures. This methodology will help in particular at coping with the complexity of the integration of several real-time embedded Control systems of mixed criticality addressing the challenges of using shared processing and networking resources. The sub-project focuses on methodology development for the optimization of control function assignment on an existing architecture for the use case of the environmental control system.

Utilisation de filtres à scories pour l’enlèvement du phosphore des eaux usées domestiques dans les applications décentralisées

Ce projet concerne le développement de nouvelles technologies de traitement de l’eau usée, en particulier celles pour l’enlèvement du phosphore. Récemment, la compagnie québécois Bionest a développé une no technologie de traitement à base de filtres à scories, qui sont un résidu de l’industrie de l’acier. La technologie est efficace pour enlever le phosphore et sa mise en marché est prévue pour 2019. Les filtres à scories sont efficaces pour enlever le phosphore, mais les scories s’épuisent progressivement, ce qui occasionne une chute soudaine d’efficacité d’enlèvement. La durée de vie des filtres à scories est mal connue, et une bonne connaissance de cette durée de vie est un élément essentiel pour une mise en marché réussie du produit. TO BE CONT’D

Étude sur l’intégration des enjeux d’étalement urbain et de changements climatiques dans les stratégies de planification du territoire à l’échelle supra-municipale

Les documents portant sur l’étalement urbain en rapport aux changements climatiques sont abondants et couvrent un large spectre (textes de politiques publiques; écrits prônant les “bonnes pratiques”; écrits scientifiques produisant de la connaissance sur cette question complexe et multidimensionnelle). Cette diversité de documents est souvent source de confusion chez les acteurs de planification territoriale à l’échelle supra-municipale (Communautés métropolitaines de Québec et de Montréal, et municipalités régionales de comté). La présente étude propose une synthèse de ces différents types de documents, en clarifiant leur statut et en les analysant pour présenter un état de l’art et des connaissances. L’information utile pour le développement de politiques publiques et pour la gestion du développement à l’échelle régionale dans une perspective d’adaptation aux CC sera privilégiée, en appui notamment à l’élaboration ou à la révision de plans d’aménagement et de développement du territoire.

Evaluating salmon carcass swabbing as a non-invasive sampling method in comparison with hair to monitor bear foraging ecology and population health in coastal British Columbia

Grizzly bears are an iconic species and the focus of a growing eco-tourism industry in First Nations communities in coastal British Columbia, Canada. Monitoring the effects of eco-tourism and other human activities on bear population health is essential to establish practices that minimally influence bears. This project aims to investigate a novel, rapid approach for monitoring bears using trace amounts of DNA collected from carcasses of salmon chewed on by bears in comparison with the more traditional approach for monitoring bears using hair samples. Information generated by this work will inform conservation of bears and their habitat and will guide further development of eco-tourism.

Research on Robust Face Recognition Algorithms

In recent years, face recognition algorithms based on deep neural networks have achieved human-level performance when tested on face recognition database. However, when put into real-world application, those algorithms are not robust enough, due to factors such as different lighting conditions, camera distance, and face orientations. In this project, the university team and the partner organization will work together to improve the performance of the partner’s existing face recognition algorithms, by investigating methods such as triplet loss function, dense facial feature points, and designing novel neural network architectures. The results from this project will improve the competitiveness of the partner’s product on the market.