Innovative Projects Realized

Brazing Metallurgies and Processes for Attaching Sintered Carbide Tiles

A two-year study on brazing technologies used for sintered tungsten carbide tiles is proposed to address the following technical objectives: 1) brazing metallurgy for sintered tungsten carbide and substrate high strength steel, 2) adherence mechanisms between different braze compositions and carbide tiles, 3) brazing parameters for optimized brazed joint performance, and 4) the mechanical stresses developed through the brazing process. The goals of the project will be 1) a full understanding of the current technologies used to braze carbide tiles, and 2) recommendations for the selection of braze metallurgies for optimum brazed tungsten carbide performance. The findings in this project will be used as a foundation for a guideline on brazing technologies. InnoTech Alberta, our funding partner, will use the findings to oil companies and equipment manufactures, leading to increased durability and reliability of mining equipment.

Monitoring of Thermal Treatments

Treatments generating ablation and coagulation of tissues by applying lasers, microwaves, radiofrequency currents or focused ultrasound have many advantages over scalpel-based and other mechanistic surgical methods. These advantages have consequently motivated the clinical application of the various ablation techniques in a myriad of medical specialities, such as oncology, electrophysiology, and ophthalmology. Despite these advances, most procedures are not done with an appropriate feedback control, resulting in difficulties discerning the critical parameters of the created lesion during the ablation process. The project goal is focused on the development of appropriate imaging and dynamic feedback approaches that can precisely monitor and control the ablation parameters with high temporal and spatial resolution during the treatment. This will ultimately increase efficacy and safety of these treatments and reduce the number of redo procedures.

Valuation of an oil processing facility

The development of Canada’s energy infrastructure requires significant investment at all

levels. Energy companies considering such investments require a complete understanding of

the projected value of the prospective asset, as well as the associated risks. Often, a

significant portion of the value comes from the flexibility provided by the asset. This project

will use option pricing techniques to value transportation assets for crude oil in Western

Canada. In this case, the flexibility consists of the ability to market the oil to different locations

around the world. The model developed in this project will allow Nexen to assess the value of

this optionality under different market conditions.

Process Development of Atomic Layer Deposition Cobalt and Ruthenium Metal Films – Year two

Next-generation integrated circuits require the innovation of new interconnect materials in order to maintain the performance improvements of Moore’s Law scaling. Cobalt (Co) and ruthenium (Ru) are two specific metals that are garnering strong interest for use in the filling of interconnects because of their better electrical performance and reliability at the extremely scaled dimensions required by sub-10 nm technology nodes. Hence, through the collaboration between Synthergy and the University of Alberta, this research fellowship aims to exploit the high conformality and precise film thickness control capabilities of atomic layer deposition (ALD) to deposit thin Co and Ru metal films suitable for these semiconductor applications and Synthergy’s potential end customers. To that end, the main objectives will be to develop improved, robust ALD Co and Ru processes with an emphasis on realising thin metal films with high purity, good conformality, and low resistivity.

Process Development of Atomic Layer Deposition Cobalt and Ruthenium Metal Films

Next-generation integrated circuits require the innovation of new interconnect materials in order to maintain the performance improvements of Moore’s Law scaling. Cobalt (Co) and ruthenium (Ru) are two specific metals that are garnering strong interest for use in the filling of interconnects because of their better electrical performance and reliability at the extremely scaled dimensions required by sub-10 nm technology nodes. Hence, through the collaboration between Synthergy and the University of Alberta, this research fellowship aims to exploit the high conformality and precise film thickness control capabilities of atomic layer deposition (ALD) to deposit thin Co and Ru metal films suitable for these semiconductor applications and Synthergy’s potential end customers. To that end, the main objectives will be to develop improved, robust ALD Co and Ru processes with an emphasis on realising thin metal films with high purity, good conformality, and low resistivity.

Tinnitus alleviation by activation of dendritic IA channels

Chronic tinnitus, a constant ringing in the ear, is a major cause of disability in modern society. In particular, hearing loss-induced tinnitus is often present with various comorbidities including insomnia, deficits in attention, anxiety and depression which severely affect the quality of life. Unfortunately, there are limited therapeutic treatments to alleviate tinnitus. Currently, it is known that tinnitus is involved in neuronal excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance which is largely modulated by ion channels and receptors along the auditory pathway. Here, we propose a strategy for tinnitus treatment by activating A-type potassium channels (IA) localized along the dendrites of cortical neurons. Our preliminary data in animals with hearing loss-induced tinnitus indicates a down-regulation of IA channels in auditory cortical neurons. These channels can shape neuronal excitability and therefore the circuits underlying tinnitus. We will employ advanced techniques including two-photon calcium imaging, glutamate uncaging, virus transfusion, and tinnitus animal models; these tools will identify the functional role of IA on tinnitus. This result will provide a thorough mechanistic account of tinnitus and insight into the possible pharmaceutical benefit of an IA enhancer to alleviate tinnitus.

Soutenir le développement et le déploiement d’offres alimentaires distinctives et adaptées aux consommateurs en restauration : GastronomiQc Lab

Les restaurants sont des entreprises dynamiques qui doivent innover pour s’adapter aux grandes tendances de consommation tout en conservant le caractère distinctif de leur offre alimentaire/culinaire. La recherche proposée fournira des connaissances en appui au développement, au déploiement et à l’adoption de ces innovations. Plusieurs objectifs seront atteints dans le cadre de sous-projets, tels que : Mieux comprendre le réseau de commercialisation des produits de la mer au Québec afin d’identifier des pratiques favorisant l’accès des restaurateurs québécois à des produits locaux de qualité; Par la mise en commun de méthodes et savoirs issus du design et des sciences des aliments, développer une approche permettant d’évaluer et de développer efficacement une offre alimentaire innovante adaptée aux besoins des consommateurs (allergies, végétarisme, etc.) en contexte de restaurant; Caractériser des produits sauvages nordiques distinctifs du Québec et en proposer des usages culinaires innovants; Développer des pratiques sécuritaires pour effectuer des lactofermentations en contexte de restaurant. Ensemble, ils permettront de bonifier l’offre alimentaire attendue par le consommateur.

Pediatric Neurosurgical Training in Virtual Reality Using a Formalized Ontology Approach

The proposed project is to create a virtual reality application for training healthcare staff simulataneously in performing several common neurosurgical procedures. The application will mimic an operating room including equipment and will ask the healthcare team to perform one of several neurosurgical procedures for treating hydrocephalus in pediatric patients. Data collection will be in a formal manner such that the performance of the operating team can be analyzed and compared with real data. This will allow training a full healthcare team for use with current technology, and evaluate virtual reality as a training tool.

Development of Remedial Action Objectives for McKay River Watershed Impacted by Open Mines and Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainages

Since the 1960s, the lands of several indigenous communities such as the Fort McKay Métis have been largely impacted by open mines and steam assisted gravity drainages (SAGDs). Such oil sands operations have disturbed large areas, changed geology, hydrogeology, hydrology, aquatic and terrestrial environment, and created a linear disturbance. This research project will map and analyze the contaminants of particular concern within the McKay river watershed which will be used to develop remedial action objectives (RAOs). Specifically, this project will develop a consistent approach to interpret baseline aquatic environment data collected using indigenous knowledge (IK) and contemporary western environmental science. Besides, areas of greatest risk will be identified through robust watershed models combined by chemical simulation modules. Finally, a decision support system will be developed to help the community develop feasible RAOs. These RAOs will: a) protect human health and the environment from contaminants that may cause significant risk.; b) comply with applicable, relevant, and appropriate regulations; c) be cost-effective; and d) consider a long-term remedy whenever practical while being consistent with planned future land use. The research derived from this project will assist Fort McKay Métis community to adopt sustainable development strategies while strengthening vulnerable areas and increasing resiliency.

Process enhancement for conversion of municipal wastewater residuals into effective sorbents

Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) generate a large amount of sewage sludge which requires tremendous operating costs for handling and treatment, and the final disposal of biosolids for land applications becomes less feasible because of the potential hazards (e.g., heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants) in the biosolids. In addition, some emerging contaminants have caused growing concerns as indicated by and outlined in the in the Canadian Water Network March 2018 National Expert Panel Report Canada’s Challenges and Opportunities to Address Contaminants in Wastewater. This research proposes an innovative solution to these two problems. The general objective is to synthesize sewage sludge-based activated carbon (SBAC) for effectively removing contaminants of emerging concerns from WWTP effluent. The SBAC will be synthesized by pyrolysis at 400-500ºC for 1-2 hours using different starting materials including thickened secondary sludge, biosolids, and mixed primary and secondary sludge. TO BE CONT’D

Architecture Exploration for High-Integrated and Low-Cost Avionic Systems

Digital avionics systems of today are designed for the most part with embedded computers. These

computers run safety-critical real-time applications such as flight management systems (FMS) and

flight control systems (FCS). Even if avionics use conservative technologies, economic concerns are

constantly pushing for changes. Space, weight, power and cooling (SWaP-C) considerations are

gaining importance in the aviation industry. High fuel and maintenance costs encourage aircraft

manufacturers to reduce the footprint of new models. For many years, avionics systems have been

designed to run a single application on dedicated hardware in tightly coupled hardware/software

architecture. These federated systems are no longer economical, given the duplication of hardware

they incur. Modern airplanes like the Airbus A-380 use Integrated and Modular Avionic (IMA)

architecture to reduce the footprint of new avionics systems by combining several applications within

a single computer hardware unit. The interns in this project will work on the IMA development

environment and design a platform demonstrator to help our partners make………………….

Tectonics of Mount Abu Granitoid, Rajasthan, India

The proposed research will take place in Mt. Abu, Sirohi district of Rajasthan in Western India. Mt Abu is a batholith and consists of granite. The project will analyze the 735 Ma old Mt. Abu Granitoid batholithic pluton that is situated at the southern tip of NE trending in the Aravalli Mountain Range. The purpose of the study is to determine whether shear zones in Mt. Abu are a product of cratonic collision or were formed as a later tectonic product. Despite being one of the oldest regions, the cause for deformation in Mt. Abu has not been identified.

This research topic was chosen due to recent identification of ductile and brittle shear zones in the Mount Abu rocks. The objective of the study is to analyze shear zones in Mt. Abu through documenting structural data to ultimately develop a new model of deformation for the grantioid. A model for deformation will provide better insight on the plate tectonics of the region and serves an academic as well as industrial purpose.