Innovative Projects Realized

Improving Automated Clay Seam Tracking for GPR-on-borer Systems Used in Potash Mining

This project will attempt to improve knowledge of the condition of the roof of mining rooms in potash mining. Typically a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) systems pointing overhead and connected to a mining machine is used to assess the conditions of the roof. This is important in order to avoid rock falls which endanger lives, equipment and the operations of potash mining. The goal of this project is to improve the algorithms that are used to determine the stability of the roof so that dangerous situations can be more easily recognized by operators of mining machines through advanced signal and image processing.

Temperature and dosage dependence of biological damage induced by ultraviolet germicidal irradiation on pathogens and comparison with conventional chemical wipes

Healthcare acquired infections (HAIs) represent a common complication for hospitalized patients and can produce significant financial implications for the health care system. Unfortunately, mobile and handheld devices are recognized as a hub for bacteria and viruses that can cause these infections. To aid in a remedy for this, ultraviolet light is an emerging technology that is becoming increasingly popular for germicidal surface disinfection in healthcare. It has the advantages of being chemical-free, more reliable and faster than existing sanitization protocol, which involves the use of germicidal wipes. Though UV has been used for decades for water disinfection, due to its recent development in the surface disinfection space, there is a lack of scientific data or papers that thoroughly study its effectiveness. TO BE CONT’D

Overshoot Voltage Mitigation in the Long-Cable Fed Induction Motor Drives using Modular Multilevel Converters (MMCs)

A major part of the generated electrical energy in the power systems is consumed by the electric machines to support the required mechanical energy for the clients in various applications such as pumps, oil and gas, household, electric vehicles, etc. In large scales, higher efficiency, reliability, and life time of the employed electric machines in the network results in less burnt fossil fuel in the generation stations. Accordingly, a lower amount of carbon dioxide emission is predicted in this case and less health problems related to the greenhouse gases emissions are expected. In this research, a novel advantage of using new converter topologies in power systems to make the electric machines to be more efficient and live longer is developed and presented.

Development of forest legacy-based mine reclamation techniques for recolonizing the soil food web and promoting vegetation establishment

The August 2014 tailings dam breach at the Mount Polley Mine, BC severely disturbed downstream forest ecosystems through erosion and tailings deposition. The impacted area presents an opportunity to research using ecosystem legacies (components that survive a disturbance) to rehabilitate disturbed sites. A field trial at Mount Polley is testing seedling establishment and soil food web recolonization using three soil legacy reclamation methods: transplants of forest soil into seedling planting holes; spatial belowground connection with the undisturbed forest; and bringing forest floor buried by tailings to the surface. Greenhouse experiments are investigating the volume of soil to transplant, the role of the soil biological community in soil transplants, and the potential for seedlings to regenerate soil legacies, promoting growth of the next generation of trees. TO BE CONT’D

Investigation of a Hybrid Cascaded Modular Multilevel Converter

A high-voltage, direct current (HVDC) transmission system provides an efficient, reliable, economical and environment-friendly solution to interconnect between different power systems. HVDC permits electric power to be distributed to remote areas, which benefits the community with economic electricity usage and the government with extra financial revenues. This proposed project aims to investigate novel methods to further improve the efficiency of the HVDC transmission systems. The proposed partner organizations, HVDC Research Center and Manitoba Hydro, are world-renowned companies specializing in the HVDC transmission solution and power system planning. By combining the research facilities/experiences of both the University of Manitoba and the HVDC center, this project will provide novel techniques to further improve the HVDC transmission system and consequently make contributions to Canada’s stance a world-leader in energy.

Application of a new method for recovery of gold from electronic waste

Annually, around 50 million tonnes of electronic wastes is produced worldwide which contains valuable metals such as gold, copper, silver and palladium. Due to the lack of a suitable recycling technology, more than 80% of these wastes end up in landfills. The economic driving force for e-waste recycling has been recovery of precious metals, especially gold, in which more than 80% of the total value is attributed to gold alone. The current industrial processes for recovery of precious metals from electronic scraps are energy intensive, expensive, time consuming, and non-efficient. Finding a suitable recycling method to extract the maximum amount of valuable metals from e-wastes is a major challenge facing the electronic waste recycling industry today. Recently, we have developed a process using acetic acid that recovers gold selectively from gold plated electronic scraps like printed circuit boards (PCBs) with very high efficiencies. TO BE CONT’D

Improving the mechanical properties of thermoplastic blends using nanoadditives

Blending different polymers in order to produce new engineering material with added value is a standard method in polymer industry. Incompatibility between immiscible polymers is the main challenge in preparing these blends. This incompatibility can result in poor mechanical and morphological properties. Using compatibilizers and nanoadditives are two main methods of compatibilizing immiscible polymer blends. There are several studies that have used nanoadditives such as carbon nanofibers in thermoplastic and thermoset polymers; however, usage of these additives to compatibilize and strengthen different thermoplastic blends based on virgin and recycled blends has not been reported yet. The main objective of this study is to use nanoadditives alongside commercial and synthesized new compatibilizers in order to favor interactions in thermoplastic blends and eventually use the best method for blends based on recycled resins.

Using Canadian natural zeolite to develop a multifunctional filter medium for removal of microorganisms and toxic heavy metals from polluted drinking water

The main goal of this research project is to develop an inexpensive multifunctional filtering medium for purifying contaminated drinking water using modified Canadian natural zeolite with different metal elements such as zinc, copper and silver. In this project, a filter material will be developed which has the ability to kill bacteria from drinking water sources. This filter will also be useful for removal of toxic heavy metals from contaminated drinking water. Canadian Zeolite Corp (CZC) is a Vancouver-based company involved in the exploration, development and production of the industrial mineral zeolite. CZC is a producer of natural zeolite from its own deposits in British Columbia, Canada. Through this research project, CZC will be able to obtain recent experimental results of zeolite properties along with the filter medium, which will be beneficial for expansion of their business into water treatment.

Evaluation of botanical extract formulations for greenhouse pest management

The development of additional pesticides which minimize negative effects on the environment and beneficial insects is imperative for successful long-term management and enhanced sustainability of agricultural systems. Utilizing plant based essential oils, which generally have low toxicity to humans and other mammals, could increase sustainable pest management options. The chemical complexity of plant-based essential oils may contribute to their broad effectiveness, yet understanding the individual contributions of different chemical components in pest suppression could increase the precision by which these products are deployed. The identification of such compounds and their synergistic interactions are the goals of the proposed work. An increased understanding of direct and indirect effects of insect control products on beneficial predaceous insects will inform integrated pest management of agricultural pests.

Understanding the cellular mechanisms sustaining functional capacity improvement with prehabilitation in colorectal cancer patients

Cancer is associated with weight loss, decreased muscle strength and inflammation. This has a tremendous impact on daily activity, autonomy and quality of life, involving both patients and care-givers. I previously worked on a preoperative intervention called ‘pre-habilitation’, a personalized exercise and nutritional supplementation delivered before surgery. The main idea is to prevent postoperative complications utilizing the time before surgery to put the patient in a better physical, nutritional and emotional state. In previous studies, I have shown that, with pre-habilitation, patients can undergo surgery in a better condition and recover faster. My future directions point towards the understanding of the cellular mechanism sustaining pre-habilitation. I plan to study mitochondria, the small organelles that play a key role in muscle deconditioning and inflammation, in muscle biopsies before and after intervention. Understanding the molecular mechanisms to favor faster recovery from surgery for cancer is a must needed in oncologic care.

Improving sustainability and operations in residential development and its relationship to community resilience

The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate how productivity improvements in a local company could contribute to its municipality’s (community) sustainability goals, and, by extension, to local community resilience. I will be using an action research (AR) methodology to create positive change and productivity improvements in the case of a company as the basis for inductively understanding what mechanisms and impacts lead to sustainability and community resilience. The local company will benefit by implementing productivity improvements and sustainability. The community will benefit by having its local industry gain new skills, innovations, and capacity, which are critical to resilience.

Process quality control in electropolishing

Passive Action (PA) has established know-how and technology to finish metal parts for a wide range of applications (e.g. storage racks for the pharmaceutical industry). They use an electropolishing to achieve this finish of metal parts. This technology has shown its economic advantages over other conventional techniques for surface smoothening and deburring (remove sharp edges).

Currently, PA is transforming their finishing technologies towards more automated processes. This will lead to increased process repeatability and control of their technologies to better serve their clients. The proposed project aims to contribute to the automation of their electropolishing process by adding sensors to measure key parameters for process control to maintain a high quality. The intern will work on sensor integration and data evaluation for process optimization. PA will assist the intern with the outlined work both by providing daily supervision and other resources (e.g. equipment) to accomplish the project objectives.