Processes Governing Hydrocarbon Movement in Heterogenous Soils

Groundwater contamination by hydrocarbon fuels such as gasoline and diesel fuel is a serious threat to the environment and human health. Sources of this contamination include leaking underground storage tanks, pipleline breaks, tanker truck accidents and train derailments. There is a need for improved understanding of the mobility of hydrocarbon fuels in the subsurface to […]

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Performance evaluation of a Novel “Displacement Buffering System” for Buried Pipelines

ALFA Upgrades recently developed a system for buried pipelines, referred to as “Displacement Buffering System (DBS)”, to redistribute the stress and strain concentrations in a pipe and limit the allowable lateral displacement of the pipe in the incidence of large ground movement. The scope of this project includes performing experimental tests and consequently developing equations […]

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Development of innovative thermal efficient steel studs

With the growing demand for energy efficient buildings, conventional steel wall studs are no longer an appropriate choice for exterior walls. Conventional steel studs cause an inordinately high degree of thermal bridging which lowers the energy efficiency of the building. New building codes are demanding higher energy efficient buildings. To address this concern, Structa Wire […]

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Developing a method for determination of biochemical methane potential and rate of anaerobic degradation of landfill solid wastes

ET-LBC technology (Evapotranspiration-Landfill Biocovers) is the capital intensive emerging modern landfill technology. The acceptance of this technology by landfill regulators and operators, and its possible future participation in carbon credit trading depends on its performance. In order asses the performance of the ET-LBC technology using mathematical models, the anaerobic degradation parameters such as the methane […]

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Development of Integrated Energy and Organic Waste Treatment Model for Rooftop Solar Greenhouse and Grocery Store in a Smart Community

S2E Technologies is a consulting company leading the design and implementation of two Smart communities, to be located in London and Guelph, Ontario. The aim of this research collaboration is to assist S2E with the modeling, design, and analysis of rooftop solar greenhouses integrated with grocery stores, anaerobic digesters and livestock barns. The analysis will […]

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Modularization and Standardization of Pipe Rack Infrastructure

The growing trend of delivering structural design services for industrial structures to foreign countries has often led to designs that reflect the local experience of designers who are part of a construction culture that includes very low-cost labour. The result is that Canadian construction companies such as the research partner company, Waiward Steel LP, are […]

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Benchmarking and improving the energy efficiency of water distribution systems

Water and wastewater utilities typically represent the single largest municipal consumer of electricity. Previous studies have shown the potential to significantly reduce this use through infrastructure and operational improvements, particularly for water distribution. The proposed research seeks to validate and expand the application of energy metrics, developed by the applicant, that describe how energy is […]

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High-rate anaerobic digestion of ozonated waste activated sludge at low temperature

This project will investigate the challenging possibility of operating anaerobic digesters at 20 ºC without the supply of any external heat source by combining anaerobic digestion with sludge ozonation. The hypothesis is that such combination will enable the operation of anaerobic digesters at 20 °C, and achieve higher biosolids reduction, more biogas production, and increased […]

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New Generation of Precast Sandwich Walls Using Ultra-High Performance (UHPC) Concrete and Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Connectors

Precast concrete sandwich panels are commonly used as architectural or structural walls. A typical concrete panel is made of two normal strength concrete wythes and a layer of a rigid insulation sandwiched in between. The purpose of this research is to design and experimentally validate a new generation of precast sandwich panels that are much […]

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Physical Modeling of Debris Load in Extreme Hydrodynamic Conditions

Recent natural disasters, such as the 2005 Hurricane Katrina and the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami, have increased focus on the resilient design of coastal communities to these devastating large-scale hydraulic events. The loads from these events can be separated into hydraulic and debris loads. Debris loads, in particular, are difficult to evaluate in the field and […]

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