Shot peening is a cold working process widely used to improve the fatigue life of metal components in the aerospace industry and to produce thin components with complex shapes such as wing skins. This process is accomplished by bombarding the surface of a metallic component with shots at a high velocity that induce a layer […]

The H2M project, with the assistance of University of British Columbia Okanagan, will demonstrate a scaled down fuel cell powered rail locomotive (Hydrail) (250 horse power) and solid-state hydrogen storage retrofit solution on a Southern Railway of BC (SRY) diesel-electric switching locomotive. If the scaled down trial is successful, the project will proceed to scale […]

The economic productivity and social quality of life within the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) in general and the Toronto – Waterloo Innovation Corridor in particular depends on a high-quality transportation network that provides cost-effective, attractive mobility to the regions residents and businesses. Expansion of the GGH road and transit networks, however, has not kept up […]

In Canada there are just over 17,000 public rail crossings—17% have gates, 22% just have bells and lights, and the remaining 61% have a white, reflective X crossing sign which at times is accompanied by a stop sign. In the U.S., the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) latest figures (2009) indicate there are 136,041 public rail […]

Over 70% of tasks in manufacturing are still manual; therefore, over 75% of variation in manufacturing comes from human beings. Human errors were the major driver behind $22.1 billion in vehicle recalls in 2016. Currently, when plant operators want to gain an understanding of their manual processes, they send out their highly-paid industrial engineers to […]

Various forms of usability testing can be used to optimize interface design and maximize human-computer interaction principles . A well-integrated, intuitive interface has the capacity to improve human efficiency, mitigate errors or lapses and improve situational awareness. Usability methodologies such as heuristic evaluations and cognitive walkthroughs can be performed at any point in the design […]

The wall-pressure fluctuations induced by turbulent boundary layers (TBL) can be an important source of noise and vibration in different applications. These fluctuations yield the trailing-edge noise, dominant source of wind turbine or marine propeller noise, and others. A correct modeling of the generated wall-pressure fluctuations is the first issue in analyzing this phenomenon. The […]

This research project between the University of Windsor and Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) is focused on a porous composite material used by aircraft engine manufacturers in the design of fancases of turbofan engines. The objective of the project is two-fold and includes 1) experimentally investigating the behavior of the composite material at different loading […]

One of the most vital challenges within the mining and oil sands industries is management of water impacted by resource extraction. Semi-passive biological treatment systems (PTSs) treat water close to the source of contamination and often prevent contamination from occurring in the first place, making them suitable options for management of water impacted by resource […]

A new generation of composites-intensive aircraft designs promises to dramatically accelerate the growth of a market currently valued at more than $7 billion (USD). The objective of this research program is to propose experimental and modeling methodologies to determine endurance limit for damage onset in composite based on fracture mechanics and fatigue crack initiation monitoring […]

Solar panel cost has decreased dramatically over the year, but to fully displace fossil fuels from the power sector panels must further decrease in cost, and must increase in efficiency and durability. TLC is a novel solar panel design that combines high efficiency, high durability and low cost. TLC uses three very-low-cost optical stages to […]

This Mitacs project will develop and determine the structural performance of a novel bridge construction method using precast girders and precast deck slabs made of ultra high-strength and durable concrete. Full-scale tests and computer simulations will be conducted to accomplish the goal of this project. The test data obtained from this study will be analysed […]