Dean’s Research Awards - Faculty of Engineering - University of Alberta

This project aims to create a closed loop control to keep the welding torch always at the same distance from the work being welded. This involves Arduino prototyping of the electrical circuit and programming to control an existing linear-action servomotor. This project also involves the reliable measurement of current and voltage to use as input signals in the control system. If successful, this project will open the door for high-level automation and control in manufacturing operations at an affordable cost. The student(s) involved will gain invaluable experience in the practical implementati

The CCWJ just received its 9 kW laser (the most powerful laser of its class in Canada). This laser is integrated to an 8 degree of freedom robot, and to a specialized head to deliver the laser beam and depositing powders for adding material. Laser, robot, and head come together at the end of the robotic arm. The goal of this DRA project is to design the adapter to allow this integration (this involves CAD and perhaps finite-element proof of concept, to program our existing CNC mill to machine the part, and to assemble and test the adapter. Through involvement in this project the students will

Diffusible hydrogen testing is essential for determining the propensity of materials to crack during welding. The CCWJ has one of the most advanced hydrogen testers available. This project aims to create weld samples (methods can include manual welding, mechanized welding, and/or robotic welding), and testing them to determine the sensitivity and reproducibility of the equipment. This project involves becoming familiar with the practice, and standards of hydrogen testing, operating the CCWJ welding equipment, perhaps programming the CCWJ’s existing FANUC robot, testing the samples in our gas c

Impact testing is at the core of most materials qualifications in Alberta. The CCWJ has the most sophisticated instrumented impact tester in Canada. This project aims to create Charpy samples for testing reproducibility of the equipment. This project involves becoming familiar with the practice, and standards of Charpy testing, programming the CCWJ’s existing CNC mill to machine samples, testing the samples in the instrumented impact tester, and then performing the statistical analysis to determine repeatability. The student will learn much about one of the most common testing methods (Charpy)

The goal of this project is to characterize the stress-concentration factor (SCF) for a partially completed weld under transverse bending conditions. Numerical simulations of joint geometry will identify the relationship between dependence of the SCF on 4 critical parameters: plate thickness (d), weld width (g), weld thickness (t), and hi-lo offset (δ). Desired final outcome from this research will be a set of equations or curves relating the SCF to some combination of these parameters. Applicants should be familiar with 2D finite-element analysis eg ABAQUS/Solidworks/ANSY

Perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury is responsible for a spectrum of neurological impairments, inclusive of motor, behavioral and/or intellectual. CP in full-term and premature infants is 2.5 and 22 per 1000 births. There are currently no specific therapies that address the issue of perinatal brain injury. Primary Hypothesis: Developed NPs, carrying therapeutic agents (in this case Sildenafil) will target and release these agents based on changes in the microenvironment.

The ultimate goal of this project is to predict the properties of thermal plasmas at atmospheric pressure. This type of plasmas are crucial for technological applications such as welding, circuit breakers, cutting tools, and more. Despite their importance, they currently cannot be treated with engineering tools such as formulae or tabulated data. This project will focus on modeling the coupled physics in the welding arc, with a focus on providing a general quantitative set of formulas and tabulated data useful both in research and industry. Such work will generalize current data that is curren

The City of Edmonton has been expanding its cycling network steadily in the past two years. An assessment of the use of the new infrastructure is needed to help shape future planning. In this project, we use mapping tools (ArcGIS) to evaluate route choices described by survey participants. The student will be involved in GIS data cleaning and the preliminary analysis of cycling routes.

Transportation infrastructure to support natural resource development in Northern Canada is subject to unique, significant challenges and uncertainties. Decision-making involves enormously costly investments. In this project, we work directly with a major mining company to perform an assessment of their data, in order to gauge the sufficiency of their data to support transportation infrastructure decision models.

Steel and reinforced concrete structural elements are commonly connected to each other using plates embedded into the concrete surface. Although commonly used, embedded plates have several different (and contradictory) approaches to how they are designed and their design is rarely addressed in undergraduate courses. In this project, DRA students will compare results from previously completed experimental tests to those from different design codes and guides to gain an understanding of the accuracy and suitability of different design guides for embedded plates.

Industrial construction projects face many challenges, including meeting their planned cost and schedule targets. Due to complexity of industrial construction projects, lack of predictability, and types and levels of stakeholder interactions, new methods are necessary for project planning and control, such as Advanced Work Packaging (AWP). The NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Strategic Construction Modeling and Delivery has developed a methodology to quantify the costs and benefits of AWP on industrial construction project. This project will involve implementing the research in software form

Precast concrete insulated walls are commonly used as exterior cladding in North America. These walls consist of two layers of concrete connected by shear connectors through a layer of insulation. The stiffness of the shear connectors heavily influences the structural performance of these walls. However, shear connection stiffness is not incorporated into wall design, leading to walls not being utilized to their full structural potential.

The student will use previous research to develop simplified expressions accounting for connector stiffness in precast concrete insulated wall panels.

Structural ice is used in several applications in colder regions. Within Canada, ice is used for structures that are primarily aesthetic/tourism focused (e.g. ice castle in Hawrelak Park) as well as functional (e.g. ice roads, temporary foundations). The structural behaviour of ice is little understood, particularly reinforced ice. In this project, DRA students will construct small beams made with ice reinforced using bars typically used for reinforcing concrete to investigate how reinforcement improves the flexural strength of ice, allowing for longer spans than what is currently achievable.

Fast chargers for electric vehicles are a focus of rapid innovation. To charge a battery in a few minutes at a charger station, 3-phase power is being considered and the adoption of higher voltage battery systems. This evolution is causing a rethink on how to achieve the rap[id charging goals to limit the current being drawn and to make for a safe vehicle to charger interface, This project will involve a review of the start of the art and testing of a propmising techology. Should the charger be put on board with 3 phase being supplied to the vehicle or should the charger station provide the d.

Help design University of Alberta's second satellite. At the heart of a satellite is an embedded system with 5+ networked processors. Participate in firmware, circuit design, communications, power systems. or a number of instruments.
AlbertaSat.ca

Although global warming presents a problem worldwide, only a few studies have addressed the impacts of climatic changes on indoor built environments. In addition, the extent of climate change varies greatly by geographic region. In this study, climatic changes, ambient air pollution, and their influences on indoor areas in Alberta will be quantified and evaluated. The finding of this work will help engineers design efficient and protective building systems to improve the health of Albertans.

We are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic student to take up a project for designing and building a robotic arm. The ideal student would have knowledge of Solidworks and would be interested in hands on working for building a robotic arms with 6 DOF for additive manufacturing applications.

We are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic student to take up a project for designing and building a robotic arm. The ideal student would have knowledge of Solidworks and would be interested in hands on working for building a robotic arms with 6 DOF for additive manufacturing applications.

We looking for a student with excellent skills in Solidworks to join our wire-arc additive manufacturing research group. You will be working with researchers o upgrade and redesign the existing system with a new state of the art wire feed system. You will primarily work on redesign specific parts of the assembly and will be involved in manufacturing operations.
The ideal student will be a mechanical engineering student with excellent Solidworks skills and should have taken MECE 265, 260, and 360. Having taken MECE 364 or MECE 464 will be advantageous.

This project deals with developing and implementing task automation algorithms for multi-physics simulation in finite element analysis software.

The students would preferably be from Electrical, computer engineering, engineering physics, or computer science. Students from other departments with strong experience and affinity for programming may also apply.

The students should have excellenet skills in atleast one of the following languages:
- Python
- C++
- Java
- Mathematica

The project involves the design of a device for heating and temperature control of composite tube samples during mechanical testing. The student will work with the supervisor and a group of students who are engaged in the testing of polymer composite samples using a multiaxial testing load frame. The heating device needs to be adapted to the testing machine and specimen configuration to create safe and reliable heating of a sample during testing. The target is to have the heating device designed by the end of Q4 2018, and built early in Q1 2019.

Classroom environments play a significant role in students’ health and study performance, such as attendance, attention, comprehension, and learning levels. This study will measure indoor environmental quality (e.g., temperature, humidity, CO2, air flow, sound level, and so on) of some classrooms in several UofA buildings, which will help us to obtain enhanced knowledge of effective institutional indoor environmental design.

We are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic student from computer engineering/electrical engineering/engineering physics to take up a project for designing and building control system for a robotic arm. The ideal student would have taken relevant courses and would have knowledge of micro controller/micro processor/PLC control, and hands on knowledge of stepper/servo motor control.
The opportunity would give students practical experience of working with mechatronic systems.

A 5-axis manipulator robot need retrofitting. This project will research new interface and design for the old robot. The robot need to be able to pick and place operations.

A low-cost mobile robot system is required in LIMDA Lab. Student interested in the project should demonstrate good abilities in SolidWorks and Programming.

Workers in the construction manufacturing industry are often exposed to the three primary causes of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs): awkward body posture, forceful exertion, and repetition motion. The investigation of physical demands of body movement is thus needed during the design of machines and workstations to minimize WMSDs. Virtual reality (VR) can be implemented to help to conduct the mentioned physical demand analysis as VR allows mimicking an actual working environment under laboratory circumstances. In this context, the student will assist the research team to develop

In-field assessment of walking is of crucial importance for the clinical walking analysis. Our research group collected motion data using inertial measurement units (IMU) and pressure insoles from healthy people during over-treadmill walking. This project aims to detect walking phases using these sensors. We are looking for an enthusiastic student with previous experience in MATLAB coding to develop/implement algorithms to this end.