Innovative Projects Realized

Welding Assessment and Data Trending

In an effort to ensure pipelines continue to operate in a safe condition, various inspections and assessments are completed on a continual basis during their operating lifespan. These assessments include radiographic or ultrasonic examinations, forms of non-destructive examination (NDE), of circumferential girth welds formed between multiple pipe sections. The purpose of this project is to study the data from various NDE reports of circumferential girth welds in order to determine if any trends or commonalities can be developed for evaluating girth weld defects relative to welding specification, defect types, pipe size, vintage and other useful metrics. These trends can be used to provide inferred conditions of welds that have not been directly examined.

Behavioral Clustering in Big Data with Application in Super Customer Networks

Analyzing customer behavioral patterns and attrition aids organizations in understanding its core customers and improve its decision-making processes in regards to customer attrition and targeted marketing. In this research project, we will develop behavioural analytics super network models and algorithms for behavioural customer segmentation and attrition prediction in the presence of big data. Our models will help our partner organization develop better understanding of its customers and how to better manage their business relationships with them, thus solidifying its market position. At the same time contribute to the advancement of modelling and algorithm development in the new area of behavioural analytics with big data.

Redefining Fatigue: considerations for the calculation of critical power

Humans have a finite capacity for hard exercise. Sports scientists can mathematically determine this capacity by using multiple tests to exhaustion at different exercise intensities and looking at the relationship. However, the current testing protocols assume that once the initial point of fatigue is reached, exercise must be stopped. In the proposed study, we aim to quantify the ability of an athlete to perform work after reaching that initial point of fatigue by gradually decreasing the work rate. This project supports the cutting-edge analytical model called Xert being developed by our collaborative partner Baron Biosystems, Ltd. Furthermore, the results obtained from this study will be used to provide future direction for the software engineers at our partner organization and help them assume a commanding presence in the field of performance data analytics.

Measuring entanglement in quantum magnetic systems with strong long-range correlations

D-Wave systems purports to have designed a quantum processor based on scalable architecture that physically implements quantum annealing, an algorithm that can be used to solve a wide variety of optimization problems. In order for D-Wave devices to exhibit a performance advantage over classical processors, it is necessary that the devices utilize a resource that is inaccessible to any classical algorithm. This resource is generally associated with quantum entanglement. Establishing entanglement in devices operating a large number of quantum bits with strong long-range correlations would be an important milestone in the development of scalable quantum computing architectures. In this project, we will develop measures for quantifying entanglement in such systems, calculate them numerically in simulations of the D-Wave devices, and propose an experimental method that can be used to establish entanglement in the corresponding physical devices. We will then compare the performance of quantum annealing on a D-Wave device to classical algorithms on a classical processor, using a variety of different classes of optimization problems as benchmarks.

Pneumatic Based Clean Powering Options for Buses

This project aims to develop a pneumatic (compressed air) powertrain to be used in a 40-feet bus for municipal transit and school buses. Since the transportation sector is one of the prior contributors of Canada’s GHG emissions ( 24%), any alternative solutions to conventional vehicles carries significant importance to reach the GHG target that Canada promised under Paris agreement. Due to the nature-friendly characteristic of the developed system, it may contribute to achieving the GHG emissions target. Interns involving in this research project will have a significant opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge to the field and get an excellent experience to further develop their abilities. The partner organization will utilize this research to expand the business and have the upper hand over the competitors. On top of all, ecological problems due to GHG emissions and possible solutions will be pointed out once again through this research project.

Assessing the Efficacy of Empathetic Computing

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, it becomes increasingly more important to understand how technology affects cognition, emotion, and behaviour. This rapid growth of technology has also led to the development of empathetic computing programs with the goal of augmenting people’s lives. It is crucial to discover the practical implications of these systems. This project will focus on analyzing Maslo’s (and the industry’s) empathetic computing technologies through the lenses of cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology. The two key questions are: 1) To what degree can the current industry of personalized computing augment human empathy, and 2) What are the best methodologies available to quantify or assess this augmentation? Collectively, this work will inform theories of emotion, attention, and cognition while also impacting empathetic computing design. We will be applying a variety of behavioural measures ranging from interviews to mobile eye tracking.

Automatisation des achats dans les PME

Dans la plupart des organisations, surtout les PME, l’automatisation des achats passe par l’acquisition d’une solution informatique qui supporte les processus d’approvisionnement. Malgré la complexité des achats de services informatiques et l’importance des dépenses associées, on ne connaît pas suffisamment les spécificités de l’achat des solutions TI ni la façon de minimiser les nombreux risques associés à cette acquisition, surtout chez les PME. Le but de cette recherche est de mieux comprendre les besoins, les défis et les options disponibles pour l’automatisation des achats d’une organisation de taille moyenne (70 employés) du secteur de la distribution de quincaillerie industrielle. L’étude approfondie de ce cas permettra de proposer des recommandations pertinentes pour des PME canadiennes intéressées par l’automatisation des achats. La méthodologie choisie est l’étude de cas, à l’aide des entrevues avec les personnes impliquées à l’interne et avec les fournisseurs des solutions.

Personal Visual Analytics for Personal Finance and TimeManagement

Even if people have access to a past history of how they spend their time and

their money, it can be challenging to make sense of past patterns in order to

make decisions about how to better use their time and money in the future. By

enabling past patterns to “pop out” visually, interactive visual representations

have the potential to make analysis of personal data easier. However, many

visualization tools are complex and aimed at experts. Our goal is to understand

how to design visual representations that anyone can understand.

The two interns will explore the design space of visual interfaces for managing

and understanding patterns in personal data (personal finance data and time

management data). They will explore various visual ways to represent the data to

make it easier for everyday people to understand their current use of time /

financial spending behaviour. Exploring the design space will be accomplished

by developing and informally evaluating a series of prototype visual interfaces.

Analysis of the Community Scholars Program for United Way of the Lower Mainland and Simon Fraser University Library

The project will evaluate the Community Scholars Program (CSP) to promote program sustainability, growth and further development. The CSP provides free research database access for 500 community organizations in British Columbia and is a partnership between United Way of the Lower Mainland, Mindset Social Innovation Foundation, and the SFU Library. Now in its second phase, the program was created in 2016 to address the problem of access to research outside of the academic community. While academics in Canada and around the world are studying social problems and possible solutions, their findings are published in peer-reviewed journals that typically require expensive subscriptions that the vast majority of the more than 170,000 non-profit and charitable organizations in Canada cannot afford. (https://www.lib.sfu.ca/about/overview/services-you/community-scholars).

Development of rheological methods to investigate the viscoelastic behavior and stability of paints – Year two

Paints are complex colloidal suspensions that usually contain binders (resins), solvents, pigments and rheological modifiers. From production to applications, these raw materials should remain uniformly mixed and stable during pumping processes and storage, as well as after application with brushes, rollers, spray guns, etc. It is very important to know how the paint behaves under different deformation. Rheology is the study of the deformation and flow of matter. Thus, it can provide some quantitative information, such as yield stress, viscoelastic properties, shear thickening and shear-thinning behavior, which could be useful for the production plant and for establishing correlations between final properties and formulation parameters. Hence, rheological methods will help better control the paint quality. Therefore, the aim of this work is to develop rheological methods that will generate data that could be correlated with empirical test data used in the paint industry and used to guide the production and control the quality of paints. Different from previous work, solvent evaporation will be taken into consideration in order to better simulate the actual condition in this work. The performance of paint on surfaces with different texture and roughness will also be evaluated to better predict the paint behavior after application.

Development of rheological methods to investigate the viscoelastic behavior and stability of paints

Paints are complex colloidal suspensions that usually contain binders (resins), solvents, pigments and rheological modifiers. From production to applications, these raw materials should remain uniformly mixed and stable during pumping processes and storage, as well as after application with brushes, rollers, spray guns, etc. It is very important to know how the paint behaves under different deformation. Rheology is the study of the deformation and flow of matter. Thus, it can provide some quantitative information, such as yield stress, viscoelastic properties, shear thickening and shear-thinning behavior, which could be useful for the production plant and for establishing correlations between final properties and formulation parameters. Hence, rheological methods will help better control the paint quality. Therefore, the aim of this work is to develop rheological methods that will generate data that could be correlated with empirical test data used in the paint industry and used to guide the production and control the quality of paints. Different from previous work, solvent evaporation will be taken into consideration in order to better simulate the actual condition in this work. The performance of paint on surfaces with different texture and roughness will also be evaluated to better predict the paint behavior after application.

Counteracting habitat loss: Comparing the efficacy of major management practices in restoring and maintaining grassland habitats for at risk reptiles

Prescribed fire and mechanical removal of woody vegetation have become popular disturbance methods for restoring globally rare alvar and grassland habitats that support many species at risk, such as reptiles. However, the effects that these restoration efforts have on rare reptiles is largely unknown. This study will identify alterations in habitat usage of endangered snake species by monitoring their presence within habitats, surveying vegetative structure, and monitoring environmental temperatures both before and after management across multiple locations with grassland-alvar habitat. This research will provide insight into which disturbance method results in the highest quality of habitat, specifically in terms of thermal ecology, for rare reptiles in these habitas. Ontario Nature is a not-for-profit conservation organization that is partnering on this project. From the study, they will gain knowledge on the best management practices for grassland and alvar habitats on their 25 properties across Ontario.