Innovative Projects Realized

An Agile monitoring tool integrating risk, safety, and digital data infrastructure management – Year two

An innovative tool is proposed to integrate agile risk, alert, team, safety, and digital data infrastructure management into a Micro Engineering Tech Inc. (METI) current structural health monitoring system (SHM), mobile mapping system (MMS), and building information modeling (BIM) that will be called Agile Monitoring Tool. Agile Monitoring Tool includes a comprehensive project management software (CPMS) package that consists of three systems as follows. First is an SHM; the structure health monitoring development was originally part of a past successful R&D project. Second is a MMS. MMS is a system that can provide accurate surveying measurements of the objects around it. Since it has photogrammetric as well as laser scanning range data, it can provide very accurate yet very fast acquisition to produce geospatial data. TO BE CONT’D

Silica Breccia Supplementary Cement Material Key Properties (phase 2)

The project is focusing on developing a silica breccia product having a superior reactivity that allows

this product to be used widely as an alternative supplementary cementing material in cement mixtures.

The new developed silica breccia product will be tested for effectiveness as a supplementary

cementing material based on the Canadian Standard Association (CSA) test methods prior to

acceptance. Tests on other common supplementary cementing material such as fly ash, silica fume, and

metakaolin will also be conducted on counterpart specimens for comparison. The partner organization

will gain valuable insight about the performance of different silica breccia genesis in cement mixtures.

The project will aid the partner organization to optimize their product development processes and help

them achjeve their business goals.

An Agile monitoring tool integrating risk, safety, and digital data infrastructure management

An innovative tool is proposed to integrate agile risk, alert, team, safety, and digital data infrastructure management into a Micro Engineering Tech Inc. (METI) current structural health monitoring system (SHM), mobile mapping system (MMS), and building information modeling (BIM) that will be called Agile Monitoring Tool. Agile Monitoring Tool includes a comprehensive project management software (CPMS) package that consists of three systems as follows. First is an SHM; the structure health monitoring development was originally part of a past successful R&D project. Second is a MMS. MMS is a system that can provide accurate surveying measurements of the objects around it. Since it has photogrammetric as well as laser scanning range data, it can provide very accurate yet very fast acquisition to produce geospatial data. TO BE CONT’D

PART A- Conversion of CO2 and H2O to Syngas Using Reversible Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (RSOFCs) Technology – Year two

The main objective of this project is to demonstrate the highly promising performance of our world-leading catalysts in a scaled-up solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) system. SOECs can efficiently convert the greenhouse gas, CO2, or mixtures of CO2 and H2O, to useful chemicals and fuels, while running on excess electricity, thus serving to store intermittent electricity generated by wind and solar.
A leading company (ATCO) has identified our technology as being their first choice for the storage of solar/wind energy through CO2 + H2O conversion to syngas (CO + H2) or ultimately to methane. These products will be stored in ATCO’s salt caverns in Northern Alberta for later use as fuels, when energy is needed. We will be collaborating with ATCO to develop next generation SOECs for greening the energy grid.

PART A- Conversion of CO2 and H2O to Syngas Using Reversible Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (RSOFCs) Technology

The main objective of this project is to demonstrate the highly promising performance of our world-leading catalysts in a scaled-up solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) system. SOECs can efficiently convert the greenhouse gas, CO2, or mixtures of CO2 and H2O, to useful chemicals and fuels, while running on excess electricity, thus serving to store intermittent electricity generated by wind and solar.
The SOECs developed to date in our group are based on a family of new catalysts composed of low cost earth-abundant metals. These cells (ca. 1 cm2) have demonstrated exemplary rates of CO2 + H2O conversion. This is sufficient for initial proof-of-concept, however, to move the technology towards commercialization, it is essential that larger cells, up to 5 x 5 cm2 (16 cm2 electrode area), are developed and demonstrated. TO BE CONT’D

Increasing Value: How Best to Recognize and Reward Fish Harvesters and Communities in Newfoundland and Labrador for Sustainable Fisheries Practices

In 2015, Canada exported $6 billion in fish and seafood. Fishing is important not only economically, but also socially, and environmentally. In order to have seafood now and into the future, sustainable development of the fisheries is important. One way to make sure that fishing is being done in this way, is to recognize and reward harvesters for sustainable fishing practices using recommendation lists, eco-labels, and traceability systems. This research will study local management and governance decisions that led to changes for sustainable development in Newfoundland fisheries. This study will then determine which awareness recommendation list, eco-label or traceability system will recognize and reward fish harvesters the most for their sustainable and other valued fishing practices, such as economic returns to harvesters and communities, increased safety, and best handling practices

Nordegg Member source rock quality and Early Jurassic ocean redox conditions based on core analysis and organic/inorganic geochemistry

Unconventional shale gas has become a common source of hydrocarbons in the past few decades with advances in extraction techniques such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. Many hydrocarbon-bearing rocks that were once unobtainable are now available for oil and gas production; the Nordegg Member in northeastern British Columbia is one of these rocks units. Our project will involve characterising the Nordegg Member’s geological structure and geochemistry, as well as performing economic interpretations to assess the future exploration plans within the unit in the near future. In addition to the economic implication which will benefit our partners, geochemical data will shed insight on changes in local and global ocean conditions over the period that the Nordegg Member was deposited.

Real-time Quantitative Analysis of Cannabinoids in Cannabis

The medical marijuana industry has attracted significant attention recently due to its impending legalization in Canada in the coming year. Along with legalization comes the need for accurate and dependable characterization of the components in the product that is to be consumed by the end user. Keystone Labs is a certified cannabis analysis lab with a growing client base. Hence, they are looking to increase their market share by developing a home testing kit that can be used by growers to monitor the plant’s chemical composition as it matures. This will guide the grower’s care plan for the plants such that desired compounds can be enhanced. Once the plant has the desired composition, the plant can then be shipped to Keystone Labs for final analysis and composition certification. TO BE CONT’D

Développement d’une méthode intégrant la modélisation numérique et les résultats expérimentaux de nanoindentation permettant d’extraire les propriétés élastoplastiques des aciers de turbines hydrauliques

La fatigue des matériaux est un phénomène d’endommagement. Ce dernier a donc un impact négatif sur les équipements qui sont sollicités de telle sorte dont les turbines hydrauliques servant à produire l’hydro-électricité. Il devient donc nécessaire d’enrichir les connaissances dans ce domaine pour diminuer l’importance de cette dégradation sur des composants aussi critiques que les turbines hydrauliques. L’acquisition de ces connaissances s’effectuera en partie par l’utilisation d’une nouvelle technique sophistiquée permettant d’obtenir les propriétés intrinsèques du matériau à l’échelle du nanomètre. Les informations recueillies permettront d’en savoir davantage sur le comportement des différents constituants des aciers utilisés dans la fabrication des turbines et par le fait même, de prioriser certains constituants pour acquérir de meilleures propriétés en fatigue.

Image Analysis and Machine Learning for Digital Pathology Images

Histopathology is the study and examination of tissue slides under magnification and is the definitive diagnosis for many diseases including cancer. With the advent of whole-slide scanners and image management software systems, computational pathology tools can be created to measure disease in an efficient and objective manner. This is in contrast to the labourious and subjective manual analysis approaches. In Canada, breast cancer is the 2nd cause of cancer death. With digital pathology, image analysis solutions can be developed to efficiently summarize a large number of breast cancer pathology images with quantitative, reliable measures of disease which may be correlated with other clinical variables to further understanding of progression, etiology and therapeutic response. To score and grade the images, it is important to detect the nuclei and measure various nuclear properties. TO BE CONT’D

Evaluating the possibilities for a new generation light source for infrared spectroscopy and spectromicroscopy

Infrared spectroscopy is a fundamental technique to study novel materials ranging from medicine to semiconductor industry. Regular infrared sources can provide very limited spatial resolution for infrared microscopy experiments. Currently, this limitation can be overcome with the use of synchrotron sources. A recently discovered and now commercially available alternative light source is the Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCLs). Their limitation is that QCLs have a small range of tunability. Bruker Optics has recently acquired a QCL product that may provide comparable characteristics (brightness, small spot size and widely tunable) as a synchrotron. A key advantage of this system is its relative ease of use, compact size and the price. Nonetheless, the real-world performance of this device must be tested against the outstanding performance provided by a synchrotron source. This project aims to test and evaluate the possibilities of implementing QCL sources for infrared spectromicroscopy, thus benefiting the partner organization by…

Conversion of low alcohols to high alcohols through continuous process with highly active multifunctional catalysts

In this project, a series of highly efficient and highly selective multifunctional Guerbet catalysts are developed and will be investigated for the condensation of low alcohols to high alcohols in a continuous-flow reactor. Low energy density bioethanol and methanol will be upgraded to n-butanol and iso-butanol with high energy content comparable to gasoline with high octane number and good miscibility with gasoline. Long chain linear alcohols C6-C10 will also be converted to branched primary alcohols C12-20 with high value application as additives, lubricants and surfactants. Successful development of the present process will not only establish new processes to produce a couple of value added products with low cost, it also strengthens the partner organization’s (Western Maple Bio Resources Inc, or WMB for short) goal of developing green chemical technologies and products to benefit human health. The project will also promote the utilization of renewable resources to build a sustainable economy.