Innovative Projects Realized

Creating a new atlas of welding defects- Updating/editing ASTM Passport to steel and ASME code interpretation databases

A visual atlas of welding defects (defects introduced in the material due to welding) will also be created to aid the weld quality inspectors, instructors, welders, or anyone taking a welding course identify the source(s) of defects, how to prevent defects from occurring, and how to repair weld defects. The ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) passport to steel database and the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) code interpretation database will be updated to make all the new updated standards and interpretations available to users.

Forex data gathering and analysis acceleration

A prototype Forex currency trading system has demonstrated a proof of concept on a static data set. The current project proposes to implement the trading system for real-time applications.

Development of a low cost ultrasonic imaging system

This project will develop a low cost, high-frequency ultrasonic scanner that will provide two dimensional images of small animals. The system is targeted at the academic researchers and small biotechnology firms that use small animals for basic science research or testing of therapeutics. A novel scanning mechanism, currently at prototype stage will be developed and integrated into a full imaging system by the applicant.

The key challenges faced by the applicant in this research are the creation of a hermetically sealed, ergonomic and acoustically transparent housing. The applicant will also conduct fatigue and aging testing of the system and will undertake experiments to determine the tradeoff between the mass of the imaging transducer used in the system and the system’s frame rate. Once the new scanner is incorporated into the system the applicant will participate in further system-level testing to determine overall system capabilities, reliability and robustness.

Effect of dam-rock interface irregularity of the seismic response of gravity dams

Dam failures may lead to catastrophic consequences, extending far beyond the immediate neighbourhood of the dam site due to sudden reservoir release or overtopping. The main objectives of this research project are: (i) to apply state-of-the-art simulation tools to investigate the seismic response of a real dam in Québec to formulate guidelines on the significance of including the effects of the irregularity of dam-rock interface and vertical component of earthquakes in the evaluation of the seismic response of dams. Selected monoliths of the dam are investigated under stochastically uncorrelated horizontal and vertical acceleration components corresponding to seismic hazard in Eastern Canada. A particular attention is devoted to the effect of the irregularity of dam-rock interface. Extensive transient analyses are conducted to obtain response indicators including displacements, shear forces, and tangential displacements at the joints and dam-foundation interfaces. The methodologies and the obtained results are synthesized in a technical report.

Proof of concept for automated mushroom harvesting

Mushrooms for the retail environment are grown in climate-controlled indoor environments. The crop develops very quickly and must be harvested over a period of three or four days. Harvest yield depends to a large extent on the skill of the harvester; if the right mushroom is picked at the right time, a new mushroom can grow in the same place, yielding up to three generations of mushroom from a single seeding. In this project, we will investigate technologies for identifying and gripping mushrooms as a first step towards the development of an automated system for picking mushrooms at the optimal size and ripeness for picking. We will develop a novel gripper design, most likely based on smart materials, and a sensor fusion-based approach to mushroom recognition, using some combination of visual, thermal and hyperspectral imagers.

This project, which provides the seed for a series of largerscale collaborative projects over the next five years, has as its long term goal the development of an automated mushroom harvester that should lead to as much as a 25% increase in harvest efficiency. We will make the solution available to the industrial partner and the wider farming community internationally.

Low-cost complex genome assembly and annotation

There is a pressing need to apply genomics-based tools for rapidly evaluating the impact of industrial and municipal waste management practices and climate change. In order to do this, information about the genome from relevant North American species is needed, yet acquiring these complex genome sequences had been cost and resource prohibitive until recently.

Working together with the partner, the intern will develop a low-cost method for generating complex genome assemblies and annotation that is desperately needed. The target species will be the bullfrog, a global frog species that represents the largest frog family, and is regarded as a “wet canary in the coalmine”. The intern’s involvement will provide essential biochemical and biological knowledge to the project. The developed methods will facilitate the creation of new BC-based jobs, and translate to novel environmental monitoring and assessment tools that will be adopted by environmental consulting firms and regulatory agencies.

Capacity planning at sureshot dispensing systems

AC Dispensing is one of Nova Scotia’s most progressive companies. It has invested in state of the art metal cutting equipment and sophisticated manufacturing planning and scheduling software. This project will assist AC Dispensing in developing mathematical models that will enhance their capabilities in planning production to meet customer demand. The work will involve data modelling, forecasting, mathematical optimization and simulation. The aim is to extend the planning process to medium term issues that allow the company to manage inventory, part purchasing lead times, and customer fulfillment commitments.

AC Dispensing has invested in state of the art manufacturing equipment and manufacturing control software to improve productivity in the manufacturing process of their innovative dispensing equipment. This project will develop mathematical models and simulation and optimization approaches to assist management with forecasting, planning and controlling their inventories, production schedules and customer fulfillment.

Candu nuclear reactor: Civil and mechanical engineering analysis

CANDU 6 is a Canadian technology 700 MWe class nuclear power reactor. CANDU 6 reactors are performing well on four continents with over 150 reactor-years of excellent and safe operation. Candu Energy is a Canadian-based company that is enhancing this reactor design based on the experience and feedback that was gained in the development, design, construction, commissioning and operational support of the 11 CANDU 6 unit fleet operating in five countries.

While retaining the basic features of the CANDU 6 design, the Enhanced CANDU 6 (EC6) reactor incorporates innovative features and state-of-the-art technologies that enhance safety, operation and

performance. The containment structure (which is essential to the protection of the public and  workers in a severe accident) requires design for safety, serviceability and durability during the service life of the structure.

By partnering with universities across Canada, Candu Energy is seeking to advance the state of analytical work for the Enhance CANDU 6 (EC6) program. Through sponsorship at the graduate student level, Candu Energy will enhance our global competitiveness through advancements in the the reactor Containment Structure, specifically by developing

• innovative computer software for seismic analysis of structures under multiple support excitations, while solving the tangible problem of response drift,
• novel design methodologies for the purposes of design comparison of EC6 containment structure with respect to CSA N287.3, ASME and Euro Nuclear Code.

In addition, this project will use computational fluid dynamics methods to advance the understanding of fundamental thermalhydraulic modeling capability for application in nuclear safety analysis. This will include assessing the capability of ASSERT-PV to accurately model the effects of fuel bundle end plates and determine how the sub-channel modelling of fluid mixing can be improved. In doing so, Candu will advance the understanding of a fundamental concern in support of both the existing Candu 6 and EC6 product lines. 

Development of residential HVAC and air conditioning demand management and control systems

This project aims to leverage the TRCA Archetype Sustainable House facilities, the innovative HVAC, DHW and renewable energy equipment and on-site comprehensive monitoring system to identify opportunities for systems integration and optimization and, together with the manufacturing partner and utilities, demonstrate a control module that can both inform homeowners of their energy consumption via a user-friendly display and automate system operation of the on-site equipment. The anticipated outcomes of the project will be the demonstration of the ability of “smart” controls to reduce energy consumption and/or shift loads to off-peak times by optimizing the operation of innovative home HVAC equipment. The outcomes will be of importance to government agencies looking for solutions to climate change (such as NRCan), utilities looking for electrical load shaving and peak load shifting opportunities (such as electrical local distribution companies, THESL, and the Ontario Power Authority) and agencies interested in demand side management opportunities (such as natural gas utilities). The outcomes of the two main subprojects, 1) Peaksaver Benefit Analysis and 2) Development of Smart Dual Fuel Switching System (SDFSS), will provide insights and technologies for our partners, THESL, to better manage their CDM and DR programs. 

Middleware layer for mobile game architecture

Mobile devices are well established at the heart of our digital lives. Today, these devices are utilized as personalized and enterprise application nodes. Moreover, mobile devices support ubiquitous access to data which even makes them a pivotal component in the deployment of applications such as online games. However, there are challenges that have plagued the mobile field. No matter the advances we make, mobile devices still rely on wireless channels to communicate, and these channels experience sporadic disconnections and bandwidth fluctuations. Hence, activities such as online gamification using the mobile as the consumer node experiences setbacks such as loss of data and poor data transmission. In this research, we aim to enhance the mobile gamer experience by proposing a middleware framework that facilitates real time communication exchanges including support for high user throughput.

New rockstar philosophy: an interactive e-book app

An eBook App is a native app that can grant access to all of a book’s content and additionally integrade any functionality to it. It is an interesting option for ebook projects that have access to large amounts of content want to incorporate user-generated data and connect to other digital artifacts. Unlike a pdf an eBook App enables rich and engaging interactions and therefore offers more exciting experiences for the reader. A particularly interesting aspect of the eBook app is deployment on mobile devices that allow not only easy integration with cloud-hosted services but also provide information about the reader’s location. This in turn enables new monetization possibilities for publishers. In this project we will explore the use of InDesign and compare it with building a native mobile app based on the embedded browser pattern using PhoneGap & jQueryMobile and HTML5.

In-depth analysis of deer management in Nova Scotia

This project will support improvements to deer management in Nova Scotia. Improved management and conservation of Nova Scotia’s most important big game species supports wildlife habitat conservation by NS DNR, but is also of importance to the forestry industry, and stakeholders such as the NS Federation of Anglers and Hunters, and the Fur Institute of Canada. The objectives of this project include critiquing current NS DNR deer management policy and suggesting improvements, evaluating current deer data collection and identifying information gaps, assessing the usefulness of Pellet Group Inventories (PGIs) for deer density and population estimates, and investigating the development and application of population indices and population surveys. Improving the knowledge of deer management policies will provide an excellent basis for future deer studies. In addition, this analysis will help guide future management and policy decisions for other large mammals over time.