title: Toward graph layout of large data visualization: algorithms, evaluations and application

contributor:
Pu, Ken
Szlichta, Jaroslaw

subject:
Graph layout
Database visualization

abstract:
Generating layouts for millions of points on a spatially-restricted platform is a difficult
task with a unique set of constraints. These layouts are traditionally generated on a
server out of sight of the user. User-oriented applications would benefit from a real-time
view of layout generation, which can assist user decision making and improve user
experience by introducing interactivity. The literature of constraint resolution and mobile
visualization is briefly surveyed to achieve an understanding of the state of the art for
this problem, and motivate a solution with scenario-based examples. We formally identify
the major constraints associated with this specialized layout generation problem and the
special interplay between them. A pipeline-based layout generation method is defined
algorithmically, coupled with the implementation of the algorithm(s). The quality of
the result is analyzed on a constraint-dependent basis. Applications and future system
improvements and extensions are discussed.


title: Nanostructured carbon-based materials for electrochemical applications

subject:
Carbon
Resorcinol-formaldehyde
Methanol oxidation reaction

abstract:
Mesoporous carbons have been widely studied due to the relevance of these materials for applications in energy storage and conversion devices (batteries, supercapacitors, and fuel cells), mainly due to their high surface area, tunable pore distribution, and good electrical conductivity. Though carbon is chemically stable, mesoporous carbons used in fuel cells are susceptible to corrosion when exposed to high positive overpotential in acid media that result in dissolution and agglomeration of valuable noble catalyst nanoparticles.
In this thesis, high-surface-area mesoporous carbons (~ 600 to 1000 cm2/g) were obtained by carbonization of resorcinol formaldehyde (RF) polymer gels; using poly-diallyl methylammonium chloride and SiO2 (~200 nm diameter) as soft- and hard-template, respectively, to tailor the textural properties of the carbon products. Accelerated ageing tests on platinized samples prepared with mesoporous carbons exposed to different annealing treatments showed a significant improvement in stability after annealing for two hours at 1500oC, over performing an in-house prepared Pt/ Vulcan carbon reference sample. The deposition of TiO2 on carbon was also intended to improve the catalyst/substrate stability at lower annealing temperatures, some preliminary results are also presented in the thesis.
Overall, the thesis has contributed to the implementation of a flexible methodology for the synthesis of organic polymer gels and carbon gels, that it is expected will contribute to the development of novel heteroatom-doped carbons and non-precious metal catalyst materials for renewable energy, photo- and electrocatalysis, sensors, environmental remediation, and waste treatment.

abstract: University of Ontario Institute of Technology


title: The mother-child relationship between motor skills and physical activity

subject:
Physical activity
Fundamental motor skills
Adult motor skills
Children
Perceived motor competence

abstract: Physical activity (PA) can promote health benefits for both children and adults. Important factors that encourage PA levels include fundamental motor skills (FMS), and parental PA patterns. Children who are more proficient at their FMS, tend to be more physically active. Parents who are more physically active, also have children who are more active. The purpose of this study was to examine the parent-child relationship between FMS and PA. The results indicate that dynamic balance in mothers could influence the FMS of their children. In addition, mother PA was not related to child PA engagement. Yet, dynamic balance in mothers influenced their own self-reported PA and when the boys and girls were analyzed separately, the children’s FMS were related to their pedometer-determined PA. The results indicate that mothers can influence the FMS of their children; however, not their PA engagement. Although some aspects of this study did not indicate a relationship between mothers and their children, this could indicate that the mother-child relationship may not be biologically driven. If parents provide opportunity, experience and access, their children may be able to be proficient at their FMS and live a physically active lifestyle.


title: Local dose coefficients for radionuclide contamination in wounds

subject:
MCNP
Wounds
Dose coefficients

abstract: The objective of this research is to create local dose coefficients for radionuclide contaminated wounds to accompany dose coefficients obtained by Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education looking at whole body effects of radionuclide intake from wounds. These dose coefficients can be used to calculate activity limits at the wound site that could lead to a clinically significant dose. This is useful for emergency response to assist in decisions on decorportaion therapy. Wound models were created for injections, lacerations, abrasions, and burns and MCNP was used to simulate the dose received by 38 radionuclides. Mathematical models accounted for biological removal of the radionuclides from the wound site. It was found that radionuclides that are not retained well at the wound site are likely of little concern locally, but for highly retained radionuclides local doses may be concerning.


title: Mechanisms by which exercise promotes hippocampal function in both depressed and non-depressed individuals: A feasibility study

contributor:
Yielder, Paul
Murphy, Bernadette

subject:
Depression
Exercise
Hippocampus
Memory processing

abstract:
Depression is one of the top ten health problems in the world, affecting millions of Canadians. Research indicates that exercise is an effective treatment for depression but it is not clear on exactly how and why it works. Animal studies show that exercise improves the ability of the brain to function. It can even lead to new cell formation in a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is important for memory processing. This study is investigating whether exercise may also improve hippocampal function in depressed humans. One way exercise may improve brain function is by normalizing levels of the hormone cortisol, and its toxic effects on the hippocampus. Exercise may also normalize levels of biochemical markers called cytokines involved in inflammation, while improving levels of growth factors important to brain cell function. This feasibility study aimed to develop protocols to investigate changes in hippocampal activity while participants are performing memory tests involving association of images and words in a functional magnetic resonance scanner before and after a 12 week exercise program. It also aimed to develop and validate protocols to measure changes in cortisol, cytokines and growth factors which are likely to be affected by exercise. Our preliminary imaging results revealed hippocampal dysregulation in the depressed brain, and biomarker analysis revealed abnormal concentrations of interleukin-6, vascular endothelial growth factor and salivary cortisol when compared to normal healthy controls. However, following the 12-week exercise program a more normalized pattern of hippocampal activation associated with successful memory encoding was observed. Additionally, biomarker concentrations either resembled or were closer to normal healthy values. Over the long term, the project arising from this feasibility study has the potential to provide a
tool to improve exercise prescription, to predict exercise responders and to guide development of combined treatment approaches related to biochemical markers in order to optimize depression outcomes for Canadians.


title: Power allocation in energy harvesting two-way relay systems

subject:
Energy harvesting
Two-way relay network
Throughput maximization

abstract: In this thesis, we consider two-way relaying in a wireless communication system with two transceivers and one relay node. In such a model, two scenarios are taken into account: a system with one energy harvesting (EH) relay node and a system with two EH transceivers and one EH relay node. Under these two assumptions, we study the optimization problem of harvesting energy allocation which maximizes the total data throughput of a wireless network under some restrictions at the EH node(s). In the first scenario, only the relay node is powered up by the harvested energy and the other two transceiver nodes are powered up by conventional power supply. We first find that the data transmission rate of the system monotonically increases and is strictly concave in the power of the relay. As a result, we can obtain an optimal power control policy of the relay for maximizing the total throughput. This optimization problem can be solved not only by conventional optimization solvers, but also by a method called breaking-rope. Finally, we propose a novel algorithm to solve the optimization problem based on the breaking-rope. For the case of system with three EH nodes, the problem is more complicated since multiple optimization parameters, which are the transmitting power of three EH nodes, should be taken into account. Because the objective function is not jointly concave in all three parameters, it is difficult to find a feasible solution. Hence, we have to simplify the objective function to overcome the difficulty in solving the original problem. By relaxing the problem, we aim to find the upper bound of the total throughput. It is shown that the upper bound function is concave in one parameter when other two parameters are fixed. Thus, the optimal solution can be obtained by using the iterative Alternate Convex Search method. The performance of the proposed schemes are evaluated by computer simulations. The breaking-rope method is capable of acquiring the optimum policy in the one EH node system. For the three EH node system, we show that our solution based on the Alternate Convex Search method performs closely to the best-case and outperforms the breaking-rope method.


title: Optimization-based mechanism synthesis using multi-objective parallel asynchronous particle swarm optimization

abstract:
A distributed variant of multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) called
multi-objective parallel asynchronous particle swarm optimization (MOPAPSO) is
presented, and the effects of distribution of objective function calculations to slave
processors on the results and performance are investigated and employed for the
synthesis of Grashof mechanisms.
By using a formal multi-objective handling scheme based on Pareto dominance criteria, the need to pre-weight competing systemic objective functions is removed and the optimal solution for a design problem can be selected from a front of candidates after the parameter optimization has been completed.
MOPAPSO's ability to match MOPSO's results using parallelization for improved performance is presented. Results for both four and  ve bar mechanism synthesis
examples are shown.


title: Investigation of a hydrogen production process through aluminum and water chemical reaction

contributor:
Dincer, Ibrahim
Agelin-Chaab, Martin

subject:
Hydrogen production
Aluminum
Water
Energy
Exergy

abstract: This thesis reported a novel hydrogen production experimental set up, which utilized the chemical reaction between aluminum and water to produce hydrogen. The constructed experimental setup had an aluminum powder spraying subsystem integrated within the overall setup. The effectiveness of this experimental set up was improved by using a fine size aluminum powder of 149 microns, and nitrogen gas as the medium to facilitate the spraying of the aluminum powder. In order to remove the oxide layer, this thesis study utilized sodium hydroxide as the reaction promoter. The various experimental conditions implemented during the testing process included changes in water temperature and system performance. The criteria used to evaluate system performance were the conversion efficiency, hydrogen production rate and the overall energy and exergy efficiencies. Although the tap water and additional sodium hydroxide displayed better results, seawater achieved a conversion efficiency of 58.8% which can be considered a viable option for future testing.


title: Flow characteristics and acoustic resonance excitation of finned cylinders in cross-flow

subject:
Vortex shedding
Shear layer instability
Acoustic resonance
Finned tube heat exchangers
Strouhal number

abstract: The flow characteristics and acoustic resonance excitation of bare and finned cylinders of different arrangements in cross-flow were experimentally investigated. In the design phase of finned tube heat exchangers, finned cylinders are treated as bare cylinders with a diameter equivalent to their flow blockage. This technique is used in conjunction with empirical data obtained from bare cylinder measurements to estimate the vibration/acoustic excitation parameters such as the Strouhal number and critical flow velocity at which resonance is expected to materialize. However, detailed particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements revealed that the equivalent diameter approach does not consider the intrinsic changes in the flow characteristics caused by the addition of fins. Dynamic lift force and aeroacoustic response measurements revealed that these changes affected the finned cylinder’s susceptibility to acoustic resonance excitation, different than its equivalent diameter bare cylinder. These variations were amplified when finned cylinders were placed in a tandem arrangement, causing significant changes in the impinging flow mechanism and topology. This resulted in quantitative differences in the excitation parameters between the finned and bare cylinders. These findings ultimately show the need for empirical finned cylinder data in order to reliably estimate excitation parameters in the design phase of heat exchangers. Another simplification made in the design phase of heat exchangers is that the flow is assumed to approach the tube bundle at a zero angle of attack. However, this is not the case in industrial applications. Strouhal periodicities measured using tubes instrumented with pressure taps at different locations within a square tube bundle showed strong dependence on the flow approach angle. This greatly influenced the aeroacoustic response. The viability of non-uniformly distributing the fins along their span to suppress acoustic resonance in the tandem arrangement was studied. Tandem non-uniform finned cylinders reduced the vortex shedding periodicity compared to uniform-finned cylinders with the same number of fins. This led to weaker acoustic resonance associated with the vortex shedding process. However, further work is required to optimize the distribution of the non-uniform fins to control the shear layer instability in the cylinders’ gap, which is the dominant excitation source for pre-coincidence acoustic resonance.


title: Analysis, assessment and optimization of integrated solar energy systems for multigeneration

subject:
Multigeneration
Integrated energy systems
Exergy
Exergoeconomic
Optimization

abstract: The extensive usage of fossil fuel in most of human activities has led to the undesirable effects on the environment starting from global warming and greenhouse effects to the climate changes, acid rain and others. Renewable energy is at the core of most of recent research activities to overcome these environmental challenges. Being an integral part of other renewable resources, solar energy utilization aims to occupy more portion of the world energy framework. Integrated energy systems for multigeneration produces several useful products using the same energy input. Electrical power generation, fresh water, space heating and cooling and domestic hot water are the major commodities that furnish our life activities. Hydrogen is another useful product taken into consideration. The proposed systems in this work cover all these products as a step for achieving a sustainable and environmentally benign community. These systems pose great potential for global warming mitigation. In the work presented, different multigeneration energy systems based on solar energy are introduced. Comprehensive thermodynamic, environmental and economic analyses for the proposed multigeneration energy systems are the main goals of this thesis study. Thermodynamic analyses are based on energy and exergy, associated with the efficiencies of overall and system components performances. For a better understanding of the systems performances and the potential of more improvement in their performances, exergoeconomic and environmental analyses and system optimization are performed. Solar dish based integrated system considering biomass-SOFC as alternative for solar unavailability is the first studied system. The system performance is assessed during solar availability and considering the performance of a 24-hours operation. The second system is based on solar parabolic trough providing concentrated heat to an organic Rankine cycle. The system is integrated with electrolyzer for hydrogen production, a reverse osmosis water desalination unit and absorption chiller system and providing domestic hot water. The third main system is based on heliostat solar system integrated with steam turbine for multigeneration purposes. The system produces cooling, heating, fresh water and hydrogen through electrolysis.


title: Multi-character prediction using attention

subject:
Computational Attention
Convolutional Neural Networks
Recurrent Neural Networks
Multi-Digit Classification
CAPTCHA

abstract: We propose a computational attention approach to localize and classify characters in a sequence in a given image. Our approach combines spatial soft-attention with attention regularization and learns “where-to-look” to carry out the sequence classification task. The image is first passed through a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) that serves as feature extractor. Then at each Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) time step, the attention mechanism attends to the relevant features sequentially to make predictions. The attention mechanism also includes a start and stop state, which instructs the mechanism to start looking and guides it when to stop (e.g., when the sequence has been exhausted). We demonstrate our approach on two sequence detection tasks—multi-digit classification and CAPTCHA unlocking—using the publicly available Street View House Numbers (SVHN) dataset and a custom CAPTCHA dataset. The experiments confirm our hypothesis that the network learns to attend to relevant features by minimizing the loss between the ground truth attention masks and the predicted attention masks.


title: Effect of iron content on electrodeposited Fe-MnOx catalysts for water oxidation

subject:
Electrodeposition
Water oxidation
Catalysis
Water Splitting
Materals characterization

abstract:
MnOx materials are earth-abundant and known to be efficient catalysts for the water
oxidation reaction (WOR). I present the exploration of an optimal method of cathodically
electrodepositing MnOx catalysts on an FTO substrate, allowing for quick synthesis and
a homogeneous coverage of the substrate. I then study WOR activity of the MnOx
catalyst with varying amounts of Fe in the structure. The catalyst structure was probed
using XPS for elemental analysis, FESEM to study the morphology, and a Kelvin probe
for exploration of the work function, and observations are discussed.


title: Effects of physical activity and exercise on physical and mental health outcomes in female older adults with arthritis

subject:
Physical activity
Excercise
Arthritis
Pain
Older adults

abstract: Background: Arthritis is a chronic, degenerative disease, which affects two million older Canadians, of which the majority are older females (65+ years). With no cure, methods to improve arthritic symptoms are essential to maintain physical and mental health. Physical activity (PA) and exercise may be advantageous strategies for improving arthritis-related symptoms and mental health outcomes, yet there is a lack of consistent evidence surrounding these terms. Aims and Significance: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the health-related benefits of PA and exercise and assess the relationship between leisure-time activity levels and pain; discomfort; physical function; range of motion (ROM); mobility, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes in females aged 65 years and older. Methods: 40 older females residing in the Durham Region of Ontario participated in the study of which 60% (N=24) were categorized as active (71 years mean age) and 40% (N=16) were considered inactive (82 years mean age). Self-reported questionnaires were employed to measure health outcomes including a visual analog scale (VAS), a health questionnaire, medical outcomes short form-12 (SF-12) and activity levels questionnaire for older adults (ALQOA). Results: Older active arthritic females reported less pain (p<0.001); less discomfort (p<0.001); higher physical function (p<0.0001); higher ROM (p<0.001); higher mobility (p<0.0001), and higher HRQOL (p<0.0001) scores, in comparison to their inactive counterparts. Conclusion: In support of my hypotheses, older females with arthritis who were active reported significantly: (i) Less pain; (ii) lower discomfort; (iii) higher HRQOL; (iv) higher mobility; (v) higher physical function, and (vi) higher ROM. These preliminary findings suggest that older females with arthritis living an active lifestyles can have both physical and mental health benefits.


title: Automated wavelet-based fault detection and diagnosis for smart distribution systems and microgrids

creator: Sewilam, Tamer Sayed Abdelhamid Abdelgayed

contributor:
Ibrahim, Walid M.
Sidhu, Tarlochan

subject:
Micro-Grid
Fault diagnosis
Feature extraction
Wavelet transforms
Harmony search algorithm

abstract:
The legacy electric power system is defined as a one-way power flow from a centralized
power generation plant to customers (consumers). In the smart distribution systems, the customers
are allowed to produce electricity through the distributed energy resources (e.g. solar
photovoltaics), as well as to consume energy, hence, the smart distribution systems can be defined
as a two-way power flow. The Micro-Grid system is defined as a part of the smart distribution
system that may include distributed energy resources, energy storage systems and loads. In
addition, the Micro-Grid system can operate in two modes, grid-connected or non-grid-connected
(i.e., islanded mode). The protection of the Micro-Grid system represents one of the major
operational challenges, in particular when considering the integration of distributed energy
resources, which may result in different fault current levels, especially in islanding mode.
However, the capability of protection system equipment to be more accurate and dependable for
faults diagnostic in the Micro-Grid is considered a challenge until now.
In this thesis, an automated wavelet-based fault detection and diagnosis technique based on
a combination of Wavelet Transform, Harmony Search Algorithm, and Machine Learning
approaches is developed for fault diagnosing in the Micro-Grid systems. The harmony search
algorithm as an optimization technique is used to identify the optimum wavelet function(s) and the
optimum wavelet decomposition level(s) to extract the most prominent features that are hidden in
the current/voltage waveforms when applying the discrete wavelet transform. This is unlike
previous works in which only one arbitrary wavelet function is used based on a trial and error
process.
In order to automate the fault classification process in Micro-Grid system, and to examine
the effectiveness of the automated wavelet-based fault detection and diagnosis method against
iii
other approaches, two machine learning techniques (i.e. Decision Tree as an eager learner, and KNearest
Neighbor as a lazy learner) are used. The performance of the two classifiers is estimated
using the Monte Carlo stratified cross validation method. The Consortium for Electric Reliability
Technology Solutions Micro-Grid is used as a test-bed system after modelling in Power Systems
Computer Aided Design/Electromagnetic Transient Direct Current software package. The study
also takes into consideration different operating modes, different fault types, different fault
resistances, and also different fault locations.
The results of implementing the proposed automated wavelet-based fault detection and
diagnosis technique shows a significant improvement in the classification accuracy compared to
other previous approaches reaching an overall accuracy of 95.63% in the Micro-Grid test-bed
system. In addition, the proposed technique has been verified experimentally, and the results of
the experimental set-up confirmed the validity/effectiveness of the proposed approach in real-time
implementation.


title: Community-oriented architecture for smart cities

contributor:
El-Khatib, Khalil
McGregor, Carolyn

subject:
Community-oriented architecture
Big data analysis
Community-aware sensing
Internet of Things
Smart cities

abstract:
With the widespread use of smartphone devices, a surge in mobile sensing, progress in wireless communication and networking techniques, as well as the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing, mobile-based community sensing has turned into a leading paradigm for pervasive sensing. Smartphones with embedded sensors have become ubiquitous devices carried by millions of people. Community sensing empowers individuals to collectively sense, analyze and share local observations and mine data in order to determine and map phenomena relating to real world conditions by using mobile devices across many applications, including transportation and healthcare. While there are currently many tools and frameworks that allow researchers and developers to collect and analyze data at the individual user level, a parallel framework for data collection and analysis at the community level does not yet exist. Such a framework would provide the functionality to create various models for building smart city applications for urban planning, sustainable communities, transportation, public health, and public security.
This thesis presents a review of current smart city network architectures, along with their associated technologies, and proposes an architecture for the smart city and its services while considering communities as the main part of the design. Of the different components of the proposed architecture, two are vital for enabling a community structure for the smart city. These two components are community detection and data aggregation. This thesis proposes new methods for community detection and analysis using graphs and clustering algorithms based on the sensor data collected from individuals’ smartphones and IoT sensors. As far as can be ascertained, the proposed method is the first to transform the time series data collected from individuals’ smartphones to correlation networks for community detection. The proposed methods leverage not only the individuals’ groups but effectively discover communities of common interest. Two different case studies were conducted in this thesis in order to show the performance of the proposed methods. In these case studies, the data collected from individuals’ smartphones and vehicles are used and communities of individuals, based on their movement patterns and similarities, are detected. The performance evaluation shows that the proposed methods effectively identify the individuals’ communities with good accuracy.


title: Front underride protection devices: design methodology for heavy vehicle crashworthiness

subject: Crashworthiness FEA Design Structural Optimization

abstract:
North American Heavy Vehicles contribute to a third of all road fatalities in Canada. Head on collisions are one of the most severe, as the mismatch of vehicle weight and sizing intensifies when a passenger vehicle is impacted. To improve crash safety, Front Underride Protection Devices (FUPDs) are a proposed solution to establishing a compatible collision between a passenger vehicle and a heavy vehicle. The European Union is among numerous administrations to regulate FUPDs, yet FUPDs are nonexistent in North America. Current regulations conform to European Cab-over Engine Tractors designs. Implementation of current regulations in North American conflicts with the widely driven Conventional Style Tractor due to the different design space for a FUPDs. This study builds on developing regulations for North America, and establishes a design methodology to developing and optimizing FUPDs for the Conventional Style Tractor enlightening the crashworthy importance of front underride protection devices to improving road safety. Advanced two stage optimization methodology was outlined to ensure industry targets are embedded with in the design to develop lightweight and cost effective devices. Recommendations for the modifications of the ECE R93 for Conventional Style Tractor are outlined; P1 load magnitudes requirements for FUPD stiffness should be increased from the regulated 80 kN to 160 kN to improve small overlap collisions. Regulated geometric parameters were recommended to have a minimal frontal contact height of 240mm, with ground clearance set between 350mm to 400mm. Geometric configurations were outlined and restricted to conform to the aerodynamic curvatures of the tractors bumper. After validation of the
National Crash Analysis Center (NCAC) Toyota Yaris finite element analysis (FEA) model for side impact, the addition of a FUPD enhanced the survivability of passenger vehicle. The work achieved in enhancing the design methodology for industrial implementation and outlining regulations for North America.


title: Analytical modelling of annular flow magnetorheological valves for advanced fluid control

subject:
Magnetorheological fluid
Magnetorheological valve
Fluid valve
Annular flow
Analytical model

abstract: Magnetorheological valves have the potential to disrupt the fluid control industry with their numerous advantages over mechanical valves. The current design and development process of these valves largely leverages computer simulation and experimental analysis. This dependency on physical and computer based models is a process that is both costly and time consuming. In this work, an analytical model was developed to reduce the timeline of development for annular ow magnetorheological valves. The model was validated to simulation and experimental results and an application of the model was demonstrated in the design of an magnetorheological valve. This proposed model will facilitate thorough magnetorheological valve design, reduce the design process dependency on computer modelling software, and decrease development time.


title: Islanding detection in distribution system embedded with renewable-based distributed generation

subject:
Power system
Deregulation
Unidirectional power flow
Distributed generations
DGs
Bi-directional power flow

abstract:
Classical view of power system is characterized by a unidirectional power flow from
centralized generation to consumers. Power system deregulation gave impetus to a
modern view by introducing distributed generations (DGs) into distribution systems,
leading to a bi-directional power flow. Several benefits of embedding DGs into
distribution systems, such as increased reliability and reduced system losses, can be
achieved. However, when a zone of the distribution system remains energized after being
disconnected from the grid, DGs become islanded and early detection is needed to avoid
several operational issues.
In response to this call, a wavelet-based approach that uses the mean voltage index is
proposed in this work to detect islanding operation in distribution systems embedding
DGs. The proposed approach has been tested in several islanding and non-islanding
scenarios using IEEE 13-bus distribution system. The results have shown the
effectiveness of the proposed approach compared to other islanding approaches
previously published in the literature.


title: Investigating the effectiveness of a fundamental motor skill intervention of 4 year old children with autism spectrum disorder

subject:
Autism spectrum disorder
Fundamental motor skills
Adaptive behaviour
Children
Motor intervention

abstract:
Young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience significant delays in
their fundamental motor skills (FMS) yet, FMS are virtually ignored in the intervention
literature as traditional therapies focus on the core challenges in the social,
communicative, and behavioural domains. This study sought to examine the effectiveness
of a FMS intervention at improving the motor skills, adaptive behaviour, and social skills
of 4 year old children with ASD. Motor Outcomes (Manuscript 1): Results
demonstrated significant improvements in motor skills following the intervention; these
improvements were retained at the 6-week follow-up. Adaptive Behaviour and Social
Skill Outcomes (Manuscript 2): Results demonstrated individual gains in adaptive
behaviour and social skills; although no significant group improvements were found.
Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that a FMS intervention can be effective at
improving motor skills, and may result in individual behavioural improvements. These
findings warrant further research with a larger sample.

abstract: University of Ontario Institute of Technology


title: Conceptual design for a re-entrant type fuel channel for supercritical water-cooled nuclear reactors

contributor:
Harvel, Glenn
Pioro, Igor

subject:
SCWR
Fuel-channel
Heat transfer
Re-entrant

abstract:
Current CANDU-type nuclear reactors use a once-through fuel-channel with an annulus gas insulating it from the moderator. The current reference design for a CANDU-type SuperCritical Water-Cooled Reactor (SCWR) is to eliminate the annulus gap and use a ceramic insert to insulate the coolant from the moderator. While such a design may work, alternative fuel-channel design concepts are under development to explore the optimum efficiency of SCWRs. One such alternative approach is called the Re-Entrant fuel-channel.
The Re-Entrant fuel-channel consists of three tubes, the inner tube (flow tube), pressure tube and an outer tube. The fuel bundles are placed in the inner tube. An annulus is formed between the flow and pressure tubes, through which the primary coolant flows. A ceramic insulator is placed between the pressure tube and the outer tube. The coolant flows through the annulus receiving heat from the inner tube from one end of the channel to another. At the far end, the flow will reverse direction and enter the inner tube, and hence the fuel-string. At the inlet, the temperature is 350°C for a high-pressure coolant (pressure of 25 MPa), which is just below the pseudocritical point. At the outlet, the temperature is about 625ºC at the same pressure (the pressure drop is small and can be neglected). The objective of this work was to design the Re-Entrant channel and to estimate the heat loss to the moderator for the proposed new fuel-channel design.
A numerical model was developed and MATLAB was used to calculate the heat loss from the insulated Re-Entrant fuel-channel along with the temperature profiles and the heat transfer coefficients for a given set of flow, pressure, temperature and power boundary conditions. Thermophysical properties were obtained from NIST REFPROP software. With the results from the numerical model, the design of the Re-Entrant fuelchannel was optimized to improve its efficiency


title: Analysis and techniques for non-intrusive appliance load monitoring.

subject:
Non-intrusive load monitoring
Power components
Decision tree classification
Edge detection
Transient feature analysis

abstract: The increased public awareness of energy conservation and the demand for smart metering system have created interests in home energy monitoring. Load disaggregation using a single sensing point is considered a cost-effective way to sense individual appliance operation as opposed to using dedicated sensors for appliance monitoring. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the effectiveness of the analysis methods and techniques used in load disaggregation using a single point sensing. Time-frequency analysis methods such as Wavelet transforms are carefully examined and machine learning classifiers are used to develop the appropriate prediction models. The results have shown that the use of different Wavelet functions can significantly affect the classification accuracy. Among the four wavelets investigated in this thesis, two wavelets (Daubechies and Symlets) are able to provide the highest mean classification accuracy.


title: Investigation of novel ammonia production options using photoelectrochemical hydrogen

subject:
Hydrogen
Ammonia
Renewable energy
Solar energy
Photoelectrochemistry

abstract:
Hydrogen and ammonia are two of the most significant clean fuels, energy carriers and storage media in the near future. Production of these chemicals are desired to be environmentally friendly. Renewable energy, in particular solar energy-based hydrogen and ammonia production technologies bring numerous attractive solutions for sustainable energy production, conversion and utilization. The energy of the sun is endless and the water is a substance which is always accessible and renewable. Ammonia is currently one of the mostly used chemicals throughout the world due to many applications, such as fertilizers, cooling agents, fuel, etc. The Haber-Bosch process is the most dominant ammonia synthesis process which requires very high temperatures and pressures to operate and consumes massive amounts of fossil fuels mainly natural gas leading a non-sustainable process in the long-term. Therefore, alternative methods for ammonia production are in urgent need of development.
This study theoretically and experimentally investigates the photoelectrochemical production of hydrogen and electrochemical synthesis of ammonia in a cleaner and integrated manner. In this respect, the main objective of this thesis is to develop a novel solar energy based ammonia production system integrated to photoelectrochemical hydrogen production. The hybrid system enhances the utilization of sunlight by splitting the spectrum and combining the photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical processes for electricity, hydrogen and ammonia production. The photoelectrochemical reactor is built by electrodeposition of the photosensitive semiconductor (copper oxide) on the photocathode. The characterization of the reactor under solar simulator light, ambient irradiance and concentrated light is accomplished. Furthermore, an electrochemical ammonia synthesis reactor is built using molten salt electrolyte, nickel electrodes and iron-oxide catalyst. The electrochemical synthesis of ammonia is succeeded using hydrogen and nitrogen feed gases above 180°C and at ambient pressures. The photoelectrochemically produced hydrogen is then reacted with nitrogen in the electrochemical reactor to produce clean ammonia.
The comprehensive thermodynamic, thermoeconomic, electrochemical and life cycle models of the integrated system are developed and analyses are performed. The results obtained through models and experiments are comparatively assessed. The spectrum of solar light can be separated for various applications to enhance the overall performance of energy conversion from solar to other useful commodities such as electricity, fuels, heating and cooling. The results of this thesis show that under concentrated and split spectrum, the photoelectrochemical hydrogen production rates and efficiencies are improved. The overall integrated system exergy efficiencies are found to be 7.1% and 4.1% for hydrogen and ammonia production, respectively. The total cost rate of the experimental system for hydrogen and ammonia production is calculated to be 0.61 $/h from exergoeconomic analyses results. The solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of the photoelectrochemical process increases from 5.5% to 6.6% under concentrated and split spectrum. Similarly, the photovoltaic module efficiency can be increased up to 16.5% under concentrated light conditions. Furthermore, the maximum coulombic efficiency of electrochemical ammonia synthesis process is calculated as 14.2% corresponding to NH3 formation rate of 4.41×10-9 mol s-1 cm-2.


title: Impact of potato protein supplementation with dietary fermentable materials on immune measures in Sprague-Dawley rats

subject:
Immunization
Potato protein
Sprague-Dawley
Sex differences

abstract: Bacteria may influence the immune system by fermenting dietary fermentable materials (DFM) that resist digestion and reach the colon intact. This study investigated how resistant protein supplementation could affect the immune systems of female and male Sprague-Dawley rats. Gnaw sticks are a common environmental enrichment tool included here to determine whether they could confound experimental results. Potato protein (PP) increased both total short and branched chain fatty acids (SCFA, BCFA) concentrations. The effects of dietary protein were influenced by combination with dietary starch. The PP supplementation had different effects on some innate and adaptive immune measures between sexes. Diet and sex influenced cytokine concentrations, populations of immune cells, and production of antibodies. Gnaw sticks had opposing effects on sexes in both fermentation and cytokine profiles, and thus they can interfere with data interpretation. Dietary supplementation with resistant protein can increase microbial fermentation and influence the immune system differently between sexes.


title: Development and modeling of novel battery thermal management systems for electric and hybrid electric vehicles

contributor:
Dincer, Ibrahim
Rosen, Marc A.

subject:
Lithium ion batteries
Electric vehicles
Hybrid electric vehicles
Thermal management
Cooling

abstract: Thermal management system is necessary to control the operating temperature of the lithium ion batteries in battery packs for electrical and hybrid electrical vehicles. This thesis studies, develops and models novel battery thermal management systems for the battery packs in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles. The systems’ thermal performances are assessed through thermal and electrochemical models. The performances of the proposed systems are investigated in terms of various performance measures including the maximum temperature in the pack and the temperature distribution throughout the battery pack and through each battery. The results show that pool based systems achieve better performance for cylindrical battery packs than for prismatic battery packs. For a pool system, covering 30% of the battery height reduces the maximum battery temperature by 28% to 40% depending on the fuel type for a high intensity cycle. To achieve 28% to 40% reduction in the prismatic battery maximum temperature from the case where there is no cooling, the pool system has to cover 80% of the battery height. The best performing system for prismatic battery packs is the tube based system, where the aluminum cold plate has tubes completely filled with coolant to maintain the battery temperature within range needed for the best performance possible by the system. The tube cold plate based system maintains 80% less coolant in the battery pack at a time than the direct contact pool based system while achieving a higher performance in terms of the maximum battery temperature and the maximum temperature difference across the battery pack. The response time for the proposed systems reached nearly 10 times faster than liquid and air systems proposed in the literature. Compared with the literature the pool based system response was 1.7% of the cycle time compared to around 17% for the cycle time for the mini channel cold plate cooling system.


title: Design and simulation of MEMS-based insulin micro-pump with integrated micro-needle array

subject:
MEMS
Piezoelectric
Insulin micro-pump
Micro-needle

abstract:
One of the most effective treatments for diabetes type 1 and 2 is the administering Insulin. Single needle mechanical insulin pumps are heavy and painful. A generation of micro-needle-based MEMS-based drug delivery devices can be an excellent solution for insulin dosing. The stackable structure provides minimum dimensions and makes the final product to be patchable in any flat area of human skin and in combination with micro-needle array; it provides a safe, painless and robust injection application.
In this study we address various aspects of design and simulation of a MEMS-based piezoelectric insulin micro-pump including PDMS micro-valves and micro-needle array. We investigate the micro-pump performance for different activating frequencies and different voltage at human skin interfacial pressure to match minimum to maximum deliver targets/requirements for total range of diabetic patients.
COMSOL multiphysics is used to simulate and investigate the performance of a MEMS-based insulin micro-pump with a piezoelectric actuator pumping a viscous Newtonian fluid. The nature of this study is nonlinear therefore we use a fully coupled system with two-way boundary couplings. Fully coupling physics provide real time relationship between different parameters and pump’s outputs. Three simulation modules; Structural Mechanic, Piezoelectric Device and Fluid-Structure Interaction are used to study the 2-D/3-D models of this MEMS based concept. Post processing and ODE also are used to create different required outputs.


title: Development of integrated performance indicators and integrated energy systems for smart cities

subject:
Smart cities
Energy sustainability
Energy systems
Clean fuels
Energy storage

abstract: The urge to develop and innovate net zero energy systems for smart city applications has never been more pressing. As the world population is rapidly growing, the global energy demand expands exponentially. The setback with higher energy consumption is the substantial greenhouse gas emissions associated with using fossil-based fuels, which make up the primary energy sources in the world today. This thesis has two main aspects: it introduces a novel and comprehensive smart city concept composed of 8 domains and 32 indicators, which are computed to make the Smart City Index. On the other hand, it introduces four innovative and integrated net zero energy systems for smart city applications. While simple integration of information communication technology (ICT) applications is integral in the development of smart cities, the concept is much more comprehensive to include smart environment, economy, society, governance, infrastructure, transportation, energy, and pandemic resiliency. In this thesis, 20 cities have been analyzed using four distinct weighing scenarios. Based on the sustainability triad scheme, the city with the highest SCI is Toronto at 0.77, whereas the city with the lowest SCI is Abuja at 0.31. Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal remain part of the top 5 cities in the equal weighting, sustainability triad and energy focused schemes. In fact, the energy focused scheme places four Canadian cities at the highest SCI, with Montreal at the top, scoring 0.7 and Oshawa at 0.66. Life cycle assessment results show that systems 2 and 3 have higher environmental impacts due to their electricity generation through the Organic Rankine Cycle. Human toxicity is the impact category most affected, followed by global warming and acidification. Furthermore, system optimization is completed in order to reach to the optimal design parameters and model selection. System 4 has the highest energy and exergy efficiencies of 74.6% and 62.9% respectively. This system also accounts for the lowest exergy destruction of only 12% of the total systems destruction. Genetic algorithm optimization results reached a plateau after the 20th generation, with the environment, transportation and pandemic categories having the highest scores.


title: Towards secure and privacy preserving e-health data exchanges through consent based access control

subject: e-Health Security Consent Cryptography Privacy

abstract:
How we administer healthcare continues to evolve alongside the advancement of information technology. As we become more connected, the Internet of Things and our want to share information in a timely manner encourage us to redefine and enhance how we exchange health information. A fully integrated, universal health
record system in Canada remains a distant goal. It requires thoughtful legislation, sufficient resources and the best of our technological and security implementation before realization. Nevertheless, we need such a system and are steadily working towards it. While there are a number of obstacles in attempting a universal health record
system, this thesis presents a solution for secure health information exchanges. A valuable component in establishing a complete framework for all health information exchanges. We present two protocols. Consent based access control (CBAC) and a fairness aware privacy preservation protocol (FAPP). These two protocols grant patients control in how their sensitive health information is used and provides avenues for certain third parties to collect patient information without compromising security and privacy.


title: Thermodynamic performance evaluation and experimental study of a Marnoch Heat Engine

contributor:
Naterer, Greg
Dincer, Ibrahim

subject:
Marnoch Heat Engine
Heat recovery
Energy
Exergy
Efficiency
Carnot cycle

abstract:
The Marnoch Heat Engine (MHE) is a recently patented type of new heat engine that
produces electricity from lower temperature heat sources. The MHE utilizes lower
temperature differences to generate electricity than any currently available
conventional technologies. Heat can be recovered from a variety of sources to
generate electricity, i.e., waste heat from thermal power plants, geothermal, or solar
energy. This thesis examines the performance of an MHE demonstration unit, which
uses air and a pneumatic piston assembly to convert mechanical flow work from
pressure differences to electricity. This thesis finds that heat exchangers and the
piston assembly do not need to be co-located, which allows benefits of positioning the
heat exchangers in various configurations. This thesis presents a laboratory-scale,
proof-of-concept device, which has been built and tested at the University of Ontario
Institute of Technology, Canada. It also presents a thermodynamic analysis of the
current system. Based on the MHE results, component modifications are made to
improve the thermal performance and efficiency. The current configuration has an
efficiency of about thirty percent of the maximum efficiency of a Carnot heat engine
operating in the temperature range of 0oC to 100oC. The analysis and experimental
studies allow future scale-up of the MHE into a pre-commercial facility for larger
scale production of electricity from waste heat.


title: Optomal three-time slot distributed beamforming for two-way relaying

subject: OTDB

subject: Optimal three-time slot distributed beamforming

abstract:
In this study, we consider a relay network, with two transceivers and r relay nodes. We
assume that each of relays and the two transceivers have a single antenna. For establishing
the connection between these two transceivers, we propose a two-way relaying scheme
which takes three phases (time slots) to accomplish the exchange of two information
symbols between the two transceivers. In the first and second phases, the transceivers,
transmit their signals, toward the relays, one after other. The signals that are received by
relays are noisy versions of the original signals. Each relay, multiplies its received signal
by a complex beamforming coefficient to adjust the phase and amplitude of the signal.
Then in the third phase, each relay transmits the summation of so-obtained signals to
both transceivers. Our goal is to find the optimal values of transceivers’ transmit powers
and the optimal values of the beamforming coefficients by minimizing the total transmit
power subject to quality of service constraints.
In our approach, we minimize the total transmit power under two constraints. These
two constraints are used to guarantee that the transceivers’ receive Signal-to-Noise Ratios
(SNRs) are above given thresholds.
To solve the underlying optimization problem, we develop two techniques. The first
technique is a combination of a two-dimensional search and Second-Order Convex Cone
Programming (SOCP). More specifically, the set of feasible values of transceivers’ transmit
powers is quantized into a sufficient fine grid. Then, at each vertice of this grid, an
SOCP problem is solved to obtain the beamforming coefficients such that for the given
pair of transceivers’ transmit powers, the total transmit power is minimized. The pair
of the transceivers’ transmit powers, which result in the smallest possible value of the
total transmit power, leads us to the solution of the problem. This approach requires a
two-dimensional search and solving an SOCP problem at each point of the corresponding
two-dimensional grid. Thus, it can be prohibitively expensive in terms of computational
complexity. As a second method, we resort to a gradient based steepest descent technique.
Our simulation results show that this second technique performs very close to the
optimal two-dimensional search based algorithm.
Finally we compare our technique with multi-relay distributed beamforming schemes,
previously developed in literature and show that our three-phase two-way relaying scheme
requires less total power as compared to the two-phase two-way relaying method. On the
other hand, the two-phase two-way relaying achieves higher data rates when compared
with three-phase two-way relaying for the same total transmit power. Also, we observe
that the three-phase scheme has more degrees of freedom while multi-relay distributed
beamforming schemes, previously developed in literature appears to be more bandwidth
efficient.


title: Synthesis and characterization of purely sulphonated and composite membranes for high temperature fuel cells

subject:
Fuel cells
Proton exchange membrane
Sol gel
Composite
Sulphonated polysiloxane

abstract: Fuel cell technologies have developed high interest due to their ability to provide energy in an environmentally friendly method. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEM-FCs) require a PEM for use, where the most accepted PEM used today is Nafion. Nafion is ideal due to its chemical durability and high proton conductivity however it is highly expensive and limited to 80˚C during operation. To target these issues two methods have been developed. One was to synthesize a new membrane material to replace Nafion based upon sulphonated polysiloxanes and the other was to improve Nafion by synthesizing a composite. Both of these methods involved the sulphonated silane 2-4-chlorosulphonylphenethyltrimethoxysilane. Methods to characterize membranes to observe their properties compared to Nafion were thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (used to determine proton conductivity) and fuel cell performance.


title: Educating students about mental illness: ethnic students' perspective of the effectiveness of a web-based educational tool

subject:
Mental health
Web-based
Ethnicity

abstract:
Rationale: Mental health (MH) issues are increasing on post-secondary campuses particularly with ethnic students. This study aimed to establish the effectiveness of web-based MH education.
Methods: A three-phase design was used with non-random sampling. An interest questionnaire addressed students’ (n=42) interest/preferred method of MH education in the first phase. In the second phase, a pre/post knowledge test/attitude scale assessed Mindsight’s (a web-based tool for MH education) effectiveness with ethnic students from the initial sample (n=13). In the final phase, ethnic students provided feedback on Mindsight’s effectiveness during focus groups/telephone interviews.
Results: Most students considered MH education important and would use web-based tools. All students showed an increase in MH knowledge and most showed a decrease in stigmatizing attitudes. Mindsight was considered easy to use and interactive, however lacked in ethnic sensitivity.
Conclusion: Web-based MH education has potential; however, ethnic sensitivity needs to be addressed.


title: Evaluating the impact of "Consent and capacity: everyday decision-making in long-term care" on staff critical thinking disposition.

subject:
Critical thinking disposition
Program evaluation
Long-term care
Continuing education
Multidisciplinary staff

abstract: The ability to think critically is valuable in all aspects of life, but staff critical thinking (CT) is particularly valuable in the challenging long-term care (LTC) setting where there are numerous, complex factors at play. Innovative continuing education programs are essential to support the development of critical thinking in LTC staff. Consent & Capacity: Everyday Decision-Making in Long-Term Care (C&C ED in LTC), is a short training course that addresses matters relevant to the LTC setting, and assists staff with the development of critical thinking disposition (CTD). This pilot study used a pre-test-post-test mixed methodology design to evaluate the impact of C&C ED in LTC on staff CTD. The California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) was used to measure CTD pre and post-C&C ED in LTC. The Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) was also used to triangulate the findings. There were 53 multidisciplinary staff participants from Lakeview Manor, a LTC facility in Beaverton, Ontario. The findings indicated that C&C ED in LTC may have had a positive impact on the development of CTD in LTC staff. This is important because strong CTD may help staff provide better quality care to residents in the challenging LTC environment and may help staff achieve greater job satisfaction. The CCTDI results showed a significant increase in the Openmindedness scale, mean CTD scores were predominantly in the positive CTD qualitative category, Systematicity scores showed an increase in qualitative CTD category, and there was an increase in percentage of staff scoring in the positive and strong positive CTD categories after participating in C&C ED in LTC for five of the CCTDI scales. The quantitative and qualitative RGT results show some relationships with CTD and the components of C&C ED in LTC. Study strengths and limitations were discussed with suggestions for future directions.


title: StoryPass: a system and study for memorable secure passphrases.

subject:
Passphrases
User-authentication
Human -factors
Usable computing

abstract:
The goal of this thesis is to study the implementation of a passphrase system that
implements new creation policies, called StoryPass. We are motivated to do this
research as current text-based authentication methods, such as the password, fail to
provide adequate security and usability. We call our system StoryPass because we
were inspired by previous research which states that information created with stories
can be more memorable. The problem we address is the lack of research on secure and
usable passphrase creation guidelines. Our main contributions include a theoretical
security analysis, a controlled 39-day user study and an estimate of the security
that the resulting passphrases provide. Our security estimates are mainly performed
through an algorithm that uses n-grams to estimate the number of attempts required
to successfully guess passphrases created in StoryPass. We were able to successfully
guess 64% of the passphrases collected during our 39-day user study, but with only
a very large number of attempts. The passphrases which were not guessed generally
contained slang and \non-words" which are words that are not found in standard
dictionaries. Using a sentence-like structure in passphrases greatly improved usability.
Memory errors were the leading cause of failed login; error correction techniques were
used to prevent login failures from typographical errors. This thesis discusses how
results from our user study can be used to help guide future passphrase creation
policies.


title: A heart rate and skin response module for adaptive difficulty in virtual reality

subject:
Virtual reality
Usability
Physiological metrics
Adaptive

abstract: Virtual Reality (VR) is becoming an ubiquitous technology currently being in many areas as it offers simulated realistic environments suitable for training. Despite the advances in VR technology, one-size-fits solutions that do not factor the user variability still prevail. Such approach may impact task completion, immersion, presence and effective of VR. A solution to such a problem involves the use of physiological measures that allow better understanding how users respond to VR experiences. This Thesis presents a module called Physiological Adaptive Module (PAM) that utilizes heart rate and skin responses as customization elements altering the level of difficulty when performing a VR task. The customization additionally changes the audiovisual feedback, while monitoring the biofeedback and time to completion. The proposed Unity module was integrated into the Model for Attenuating Radiation in VR for Nuclear Safety Awareness (MARVIN) VR simulation for radiation attenuation to understand the implementation requirements, challenges, and opportunities. Finally, a preliminary study was conducted to understand usability and cognitive load.


title: ‘Return to roots’: an examination of the re-presentations of rurality within post-apocalyptic survival video games

subject:
Rural
Video games
Post-apocalyptic
Survival
Lethal violence

abstract: Post-apocalyptic survival (PAS) themed video games provide a virtual world that re-presents the realities of current society. Current studies have examined the existence of game culture (Aldred & Greenspan, 2011; Atkins, 2006; Kücklich, 2006), but limited analysis has focused on how these cultures relate to their real world counterparts. This study examines the re-presentations of rural culture, violence, and the production of rural stereotypes within PAS video games applying a cultural criminology foundation and elements of social control theory (Hirschi, 1969). Nine video games were examined or their setting; conflict; rural culture/stereotypes; and social structures using content analysis and coding frames. Results that PAS video games provide mixed views of rural life/culture, but skewed depictions of violence and a continual reproduction of socially constructed stereotypes.


title: The motivational effects of using mobile devices in mathematics classrooms by students with exceptionalities

subject:
Motivation
Students with exceptionalities
Mathematics
Mobile devices
Mobile technology

abstract: Low motivation levels experienced by students with exceptionalities in the area of mathematics are often cited as a major factor negatively affecting their potential for success (Baird & Scott, 2009; Reichrath, de Witte, & Winkens, 2010). In the wake of many ongoing experiments using new mobile technology and tablet devices in schools, this study examines the use of iPads from Apple in a secondary mathematics classroom and its potential effect on the motivation of students with exceptionalities. In addition, the study also takes an exploratory approach to documenting the factors impacting the planning, implementation and student use of mobile devices in the classroom. A total of 16 students, 1 teacher and 1 educational assistant participated in this study. A mixed methodology approach was taken which included collecting evidence from surveys and scales as well as from descriptive journals, interviews and observational field notes. In order to assess the students’ level of motivation, the four attributes from Keller’s 2006 ARCS Model were used as the basic analysis framework. These were: attention, relevance, confidence and satisfaction (Keller, ARCS Model, 2006). Preliminary analysis of the attributes indicates relative consistency over the course of the study, with some minor oddities explained further in the conclusions. An extensive list of exploratory findings regarding planning, implementation and student use of mobile devices in the mathematics classroom with students with exceptionalities indicated both positive and negative aspects regarding the integration of the devices. Some positive aspects include the ability to meet the needs of different levels, and types, of learners with a number of applications, as well as a noticed increase in the collaboration and healthy competition among students. Contrary to this, some negative aspects include the lack of availability of topic-specific applications and the level of frustration experienced by some student in the initial stages of learning a new application.

abstract: University of Ontario Institute of Technology


title: Lateral stability analysis and MPC tracking control for articulated heavy vehicles

subject:
Articulated heavy vehicles
Static stability
Dynamic stability
Trade-off analysis
Autonomous vehicles

abstract: Articulated heavy vehicles (AHVs) exhibit poor maneuverability during curved-path negotiations and low lateral stability under high-speed evasive maneuvers, which may lead to unstable motion modes, e.g., trailer-sway and jackknifing, causing severe accidents. However, vehicle parameters that can improve the static stability may degrade the dynamic stability. Therefore, to design controllers for improving the stability of AHVs, the trade-off between the static and dynamic instabilities is a necessary research topic. To analyze this trade-off, three different trailer payload schemes and two different tractor rear axle arrangements are considered. This trade-off is quantified using numerical simulations. Building upon the above trade-off analysis, this study designs an active safety technique in terms of a tracking-controller based on nonlinear model predictive control (NLMPC) for autonomous AHVs. With the proposed tracking-controller, the AHV tracks the predefined reference path and follows a planned forward speed scheme. Numerical simulation demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed NLMPC tracking-controller.


title: The impact of thin(ner) slicing on deception detection

subject:
Deception detection
Thin slicing
Discrimination
Bias

abstract: I examined whether the length of thin slices (i.e., observations of behavior less than five minutes) affected deception detection. Participants (N = 262) were randomly assigned to one of seven exposure length conditions (i.e., 5-second, 10-second, 15-second, 20-second, 25-second, 30-second, or full-length clips). They attempted to detect the deception of 12 speakers. Participants’ ability to discriminate between truth- and lie-tellers did not significantly differ across conditions. Response biases, decision-making processes, and response times were similarly unaffected by exposure. However, there was some indication that confidence differed for truth- and lie-tellers across exposure lengths. That is, significant differences in confidence for truth- and lie-tellers were observed in the 5- and 10-second conditions, although the direction of effects differed. Therefore, while researchers can be confident that the decision to use long or short thin slices will not affect deception detection, it could affect participants’ confidence in those judgments.


title: Examining the impact of post secondary drug education.

subject:
Prohibition
Drugs
Drug education
Traditional values

abstract: The prohibition of many drugs has led to the development and implementation of drug related education programs that typically exist at the elementary school level. As many of these programs are funded by the Canadian government, it is possible that such education serves as a means of re-enforcing the traditionally held values that are currently reflected in Canadian drug laws.  One alternative form of drug education (DE) occurs at the post-secondary level. The present research examines an alternative form of DE through interviewing four students who attended the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) –two who had taken the 4th level course, Advanced Justice Studies: Drugs and Society Course, and two who had not.  This thesis determines if the students’ views on drug use, drug users, and drug policies differed.  There is some differentiation that occurs between those interviewed; however, this differentiation is not solely attributable to having followed the drug course in question.


title: Experimental and numerical quantification of EV and PHEV battery pack thermal isolation strategies

subject:
Electric vehicle
Energy storage
Thermal management system
Plug-in hybrid
Finite element analysis

abstract:
The objective of this thesis is to quantify the effects of passive thermal management achieved through augmenting thermal isolation incorporated into an electrified vehicle’s energy storage system by design. Temperature changes within the cells are to be minimized over the typical 24 hour daily cycle when exposed to extreme ambient climates. Productionized thermal management solutions take the approach of increasing heat transfer through augmented system power to maintain cell temperatures in their operating range under demanding conditions. The intent of this work is to provide feasible design alternatives that reduce active battery thermal management requirements and thereby parasitic power losses for an electrified vehicle by applying fundamental engineering design principles.
Considering a production intent vehicle envelope as a packing constraint, various methods of increasing thermal isolation are explored. Techniques are evaluated based on their overall effectiveness, as well as their ability to be packaged efficiently within a production energy storage system. Consequent cost and mass increases are considered as limiting factors when presenting the design alternatives.


title: A framework for video-driven crowd synthesis.

subject:
Framework
Data-driven
Crowd analysis
Crowd synthesis

abstract:
We present a framework for video-driven crowd synthesis. The proposed framework
employs motion analysis techniques to extract inter-frame motion vectors from the exemplar
crowd videos. Motion vectors collected over the duration of the video are processed
to compute global motion paths. These paths encode the dominant motions observed
during the course of the video. These paths are then fed into a behavior-based crowd simulation
framework, which is responsible for synthesizing crowd animations that respect
the motion patterns observed in the video. Our system synthesizes 3D virtual crowds
by animating virtual humans along the trajectories returned by the crowd simulation
framework. We also propose a new metric for comparing the \visual similarity" between
the synthesized crowd and exemplar crowd. We demonstrate the proposed approach on
crowd videos collected under di fferent settings and the initial results appear promising.


title: Characterizing the physiological and physical correlates to performance in highly trained artistic swimmers

subject:
Physiology
Physical
Artistic swimming
Performance
Sport

abstract: Artistic swimming (AS) is a unique sport which is characterized by prolonged and repeated bouts of apnea, often while performing vigorous movements. AS made its Olympic debut in 1984 and has changed considerably since then. The demands, duration, and number of teammates competing at one time have all changed over the years. In addition to these changes male athletes have been permitted to compete internationally in mixed doubles since 2015 [1], however this thesis will focus solely on the physiological responses of female AS athletes. Despite AS making its Olympic debut 35 years ago it is a sport poorly represented by the literature. To date no two studies have utilized the same methodology, which makes comparisons between studies challenging. This leaves limited research available to examine the physiological responses present during an AS routine.


title: An investigation of semantic patterns in passwords

contributor:
Collins, Christopher
Thorpe, Julie

subject: Security Passwords Authentication Semantics Guessing

abstract:
The advent of large password leaks in recent years has exposed the
security problems of passwords and enabled deeper empirical investigation
of password patterns. Researchers have only touched the surface
of patterns in password creation, having characterized patterns in
terms of frequency, length, composition rules and, to some extent, syntactic
patterns. The semantics of passwords remain largely unexplored.
In this thesis, we aim to fill this gap by employing Natural Language
Processing techniques to extract and leverage understanding of semantic
patterns in passwords. We present the first framework for segmentation,
semantic classification and semantic generalization of passwords
and a model that captures the semantic essence of password samples.
The results of our investigation demonstrate that the knowledge captured
by our model can be used to crack more passwords than the
state-of-the-art approach. In experiments limited to 3 billion guesses,
our approach can guess 67% more passwords from the LinkedIn leak
and 32% more passwords from the MySpace leak. Furthermore, we
explore the implications of using date patterns in guessing attacks and
investigate the lexical differences between standard English and the
language used in passwords.


title: ‘I was there’ and ‘It happened to me’: an exploratory study of the social organization of killing by military police officers and combat soldiers, 1976-1987

contributor:
Shon, Phillip
Marques, Olga

subject: Soldiers Combatants Pleasure Killing Dissociation

abstract: Various theoretical frameworks have been applied in an attempt to understand the phenomenon of killing. However, while previous studies have examined killing as an outcome-oriented measure, few have explored killing as a socially organized process. Using letters written by soldiers, police officers, and security professionals found in the magazine Soldier of Fortune, this study examines the actual behaviours that occur during the killing process. The present study demonstrates how subjects psychologically adapt to killing through a cognitive mobilization process, experiencing a dissociative state that deactivates one’s emotional reaction. Applicability of findings to other homicides is discussed.


title: Vector occluders: an empirical approximation for rendering global illumination effects in real-time

subject:
Global illumination
Real-time
Shadows
Caustics
Interreflections

abstract:
Precomputation has been previously used as a means to get global illumination effects
in real-time on consumer hardware of the day. Our work uses Sloan’s 2002 PRT method
as a starting point, and builds on it with two new ideas.
We first explore an alternative representation for PRT data. “Cpherical harmonics”
(CH) are introduced as an alternative to spherical harmonics, by substituting the
Chebyshev polynomial in the place of the Legendre polynomial as the orthogonal
polynomial in the spherical harmonics definition. We show that CH can be used instead
of SH for PRT with near-equivalent performance.
“Vector occluders” (VO) are introduced as a novel, precomputed, real-time, empirical
technique for adding global illumination effects including shadows, caustics and
interreflections to a locally illuminated scene on static geometry. VO encodes PRT data
as simple vectors instead of using SH. VO can handle point lights, whereas a standard
SH implementation cannot.


title: Applications and numerical investigation of differential-algebraic equations

contributor:
Berg, Peter
Staley, Mark

subject:
Numerical method
Differential-algebraic equation
Oil production
Traffic modelling

abstract:
Differential-algebraic equations (DAEs) result in many areas of science and engineer-
ing. In this thesis, numerical methods for solving DAEs are compared for two prob-
lems, energy-economic models and traffic flow models. An energy-economic model is
presented based on the Hubbert model of oil production and is extended to include
economic factors for the first time. Using numerical methods to simulate the DAE
model, the resulting graphs break the symmetry of the traditional Hubbert curve.
For the traffic flow models, a numerical method is developed to solve the steady-state
flow pattern including the linearly unstable regime, i.e. solutions which cannot be
found with an initial value solver.


title: Tissue classification from electric impedance spectroscopy for haptic feedback in minimally invasive surgery

subject:
Electric impedance spectroscopy
Haptics
Surgical robots
Tissue classification

abstract: Haptic feedback is missing in teleoperated surgical robots creating a sensory disconnect from the surgeon and their patient. This thesis proposes using the electric impedance of tissues, instead of the traditionally used mechanical impedance, to develop haptic feedback for surgical robots. Electric impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and a modified surgical needle were successfully able to measure the electric impedance for gel-based phantoms, ex-vivo tissue, and freshly excised organs. Processes for fitting the electric impedance of these tissues to the double-dispersion Cole model were developed including stochastic and deterministic approaches. The tissues were classified with least square error, k-Nearest Neighbour and Naïve Bayes using the measured electric impedance and the extracted model parameter values. The thesis culminates in applications of using EIS as part of implementing vibrotactile and force feedback applications involving sets of user trials to validate its effectiveness in identifying the tissue through haptic feedback.


title: Multiphase flow and chemical reactor thermodynamics for hydrolysis and thermochemical production

subject:
Hydrogen production
Thermofluids
Chemical equilibrium

abstract:
Current techniques of hydrogen production (primarily reformation of fossil fuels) are
unsustainable, releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, as well as consuming limited reserves
of fossil fuels. The copper-chlorine cycle is a promising thermochemical process which
can cost-effectively produce hydrogen with less environmental impact. In this thesis, new
predictive formulations and experimental data are presented to improve the conversion
extent and reaction rates of the hydrolysis reactor in the Cu-Cl cycle. This reactor has
critical implications for the design, operation, and efficiency of the Cu-Cl cycle and
hydrogen production. The relatively high temperature needed to drive the reaction
requires a significant input of thermal energy. This thesis focuses on methods and
analysis to reduce the unreacted steam in the hydrolysis reactor, in order to reduce the
thermal energy input and improve the cycle’s thermal efficiency. A key outcome from
this thesis is the experimental verification of reducing the steam to copper chloride ratio
from 16:1 (past studies) to about 3:1. The results of this thesis provide key new data to
design a more efficient hydrolysis reactor that can be effectively integrated within the
Cu-Cl cycle.


title: Modified Nafion membranes for hydrogen production in Cu-Cl thermochemical cycle

subject:
Thermochemical cycle
Cu-Cl cycle
Polypyrrole
Polyaniline
Hydrogen production

abstract:
The decomposition of water by a thermochemical cycle is a promising green method of producing hydrogen on a large scale. A thermochemical cycle is a combination of thermal and chemical reactions that ultimately leads to splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. The Cu-Cl cycle, which is one of the most promising hybrid cycles, has many potential advantages. First, all the copper chloride compounds used in the cycle are recyclable. Second, the copper chlorine cycle has relatively low operating temperatures (500-600 °C) compared to other thermochemical cycles. Third, it can have high energy efficiency by utilizing low-grade waste heat. One step in the Cu- Cl cycle employs an electrochemical process where Cu(I) is oxidized to Cu(II) at the anode and hydrogen is generated at the cathode. The electrochemical cell used is similar to a water electrolysis cell and employs a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) that utilizes a proton exchange membrane (PEM). Nafion, the most widely used PEM, is permeable to cations and neutral species. Because of this, Cu can permeate the membrane and enter the cathode where it is readily oxidized to metallic copper and deposited on Pt catalytic sites. This drastically reduces cathode efficiency as well as the whole cell.
In this research, we have modified Nafion membranes, with different thicknesses, by in situ polymerization with pyrrole and aniline compounds. Ex situ permeation experiments were performed along with impedance spectroscopy to investigate the rate of the copper crossover and the proton conductivity of the composite membranes, respectively. The electrochemical behavior of the composite membranes was investigated using a full copper chlorine electrolytic cell. The efficiency of both copper conversion and hydrogen production were used as indicators of the membrane performance.


title: Design and implementation of a universal onboard battery fast charger for transportation electrification applications

subject:
AC-DC power converters
Battery chargers
Soft-switching (SS)
Power electronics
Zero voltage switching (ZVS)

abstract:
Electric vehicles (EVs) have signaled a new era in the transportation sector. One key area that is still in development and has a future scope for advancement is the efficient charging systems of the EVs. Due to safety limitations and the lack of charging infrastructure, most of EVs are opted with a two-stage on-board charger (OBC) that allows charging of battery packs from standard utility sockets (85-265 V) as per SAE J1772. Existing EVs such as Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs), Plug-in-hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), forklifts, golf kart, and buses have different operating voltages, power levels and vehicle ranges. The output voltage of the OBC falls under one of the three possible ranges, 36-72 V, 72-150 V, and 200-450 V, depending on the type of electric vehicle mentioned above.
This thesis presents the design of a universal on-board charger that can address the wide range of battery pack voltages. In a two-stage OBC, this requirement is achieved by varying the AC/DC converter output voltage using the concept of variable DC link rather than fixed DC link in conventional converters. An interleaved boost cascaded-by-buck (IBCBB) power factor correction (PFC) converter has been proposed as an AC/DC converter. Small signal analysis of the converter for the design of the closed loop control structure is also presented. The design consideration for component selection in hardware implementation is also presented. A 1.0 kW system of proposed converter has been designed for proof-of concept.
The detailed current stress analysis and loss modelling of the proposed converter was done using empirical calculations and verified using PSIM. To enhance the efficiency of the converter, a simple zero current switching (ZCS) method is applied to most operated boost switch to reduce the turn-off losses. The peak efficiency of 96.4% was observed on proposed soft switched converter. A 1.0 kW system for proof-of concept was implemented.
To reduce the turn-on and turn-off losses of the converter and enhance the efficiency of converter further, a simple auxiliary resonant circuit has been implemented to most operated boost switch. This auxiliary circuit provides the zero voltage transition (ZVT) and zero current transition (ZCT) of the boost switch and the remaining components are also soft switched. The detailed timing waveforms of converter operation is presented. The peak efficiency of 97.4% is observed on a 1.0 kW proof-of-concept prototype.
Finally, an existing zero voltage switching (ZVS) phase shifted DC-DC converter with the designed high frequency transformer is integrated to the proposed AC/DC converter for wide range of output voltages. Simulations of the overall system is presented and a proof-of-concept is also implemented.


title: Development of a knowledge base using human experience semantic network for instructive texts

subject:
Knowledge-base
Natural language processing
Human experience semantic network
Entity relationship extraction
Knowledge representation

abstract: An organized knowledge base plays a vital role in retaining knowledge. Instructive text (iText) consists of a set of instructions to accomplish a task or operation. In the case of iText, storing only entities and their relationships is not enough for capturing knowledge from iTexts. iTexts consists of parameters and attributes of different entities and their actions based on different operations. The values differ for every operation or procedure for the same entity. As a result, existing approaches created limitations in capturing knowledge from iTexts. This research presents a knowledge base for capturing and retaining knowledge from iTexts existing in operational documents. From each iTexts, small pieces of knowledge are extracted and represented as nodes and edges in the form of a knowledge network called the human experience semantic network (HESN). The knowledge base also consists of domain knowledge having different classified terms and key phrases of the specific domain.


title: Informing the creation of an evidence-based app for daily physical activity in schools

contributor:
Dogra, Shilpa
Wattie, Nick

subject:
Children
Youth
Education
mhealth
App store

abstract: It has been well document that physical activity has positive effects on physical health and well-being, as well as academic performance. In contrast, sedentary behaviour has been associated with negative health implications, such as increased prevalence of diabetes and obesity. As children are leading a physical inactive lifestyle, an intervention is required. Daily physical activity (DPA) is a mandated 20 minute policy that was implemented in school systems with the goal of increasing activity levels of students in the classroom. However, implementing DPA is challenging for a number of reasons. Technology, specifically a mobile application, is a potential resource that could increase the feasibility DPA and physical activity levels in children. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis was to complete an environmental scan of the app market to identify strengths and weaknesses of existing apps relevant to DPA. Through an environmental scan and focus group interviews it was determined that apps that were gamified and included a greater number of behavior change techniques exhibited a higher perceived quality than those excluding gamification techniques. Further, it was identified that teachers face various constraints in the classroom and have inadequate resources to properly implement DPA in the classroom. These findings can inform the creation of a physical activity based app for the classroom.


title: Design and evaluation of integrated waste to energy multigenerational systems

subject: Ethanol Gasification Geothermal Hydrogen Power

abstract: This thesis study develops three renewable energy-based waste-to-energy multigeneration systems and examine them thermodynamically and economically. The first system uses solar-based energy and animal manure waste, and the second system utilizes waste tires with geothermal energy. Finally, the third system is an underground coal gasification system in which low-grade lignite is considered waste and used as fuel. Hydrogen, ethanol, electricity, heating, cooling, and sulfuric acid are produced for the communities in Konya in Turkey, Tuscany in Italy, and Kutahya in Turkey. All suggested systems are developed, modelled, and analyzed using thermodynamic-based sensitive simulations and software. According to the calculations, multigeneration system 2 provides the best performance results, and the overall system energy and exergy efficiencies are 71.45% and 69.87%, respectively. Integration of waste-to-energy systems with renewable energy sources leads to the prevention of waste generation and the development of more environmentally benign systems.

abstract: University of Ontario Institute of Technology


title: On deep learning in physics

contributor:
Tamblyn, Isaac
van Veen, Lennaert

subject:
Machine learning
Reinforcement learning
Materials science
Deep neural networks
Deep learning

abstract: Machine learning, and most notably deep neural networks, have seen unprecedented success in recent years due to their ability to learn complex nonlinear mappings by ingesting large amounts of data through the process of training. This learning-by-example approach has slowly made its way into the physical sciences in recent years. In this dissertation I present a collection of contributions at the intersection of the fields of physics and deep learning. These contributions constitute some of the earlier introductions of deep learning to the physical sciences, and comprises a range of machine learning techniques, such as feed forward neural networks, generative models, and reinforcement learning. A focus will be placed on the lessons and techniques learned along the way that would influence future research projects.


title: Does mental context reinstatement mitigate Retrieval Induced Forgetting in eyewitnesses?

subject:
RIF
MCR
Memory
Investigation
Forensic psychology

abstract: The current study sought to examine Retrieval Induced Forgetting (RIF) as it may occur within an investigative setting, while also assessing Mental Context Reinstatement (MCR) as a tool to mitigate this forgetting. Various methodological shortcomings of similar past research were addressed and systematically altered to better replicate the procedures of a real investigation. Participants were exposed to a mock-crime involving two offenders. Subsequently, half of the participants received follow-up questioning regarding 5 of 10 possible characteristics for one offender, all participants completed a distractor task, before finally completing a final recall of offender characteristics. Prior to final questioning, half the participants received MCR. While RIF was not observed, MCR was effective in reducing the rate at which forgetting occurred. Results suggest that RIF may not be as problematic in a forensic setting as once thought, and that MCR is an effective memory facilitative tool. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.


title: Energy ans exergy analysis of biomass co-firing in pulverized coal power generation

contributor:
Reddy, Bale V.
Rosen, Marc A.

subject: Biomass Coal Co-firing Energy Exergy Emissions

abstract:
Biomass co-firing with coal exhibits great potential for large scale utilization of biomass
energy in the near future. In the present work, energy and exergy analyses are carried out
for a co-firing based power generation system to investigate the impacts of biomass cofiring
on system performance and gaseous emissions of CO2, NOx, and SOx. The power
generation system considered is a typical pulverized coal-fired steam cycle system, while
four biomass fuels (rice husk, pine sawdust, chicken litter, and refuse derived fuel) and
two coals (bituminous coal and lignite) are chosen for the analysis. System performance
is evaluated in terms of important performance parameters for different combinations of
fuel at different co-firing conditions and for the two cases considered. The results indicate
that plant energy and exergy efficiencies decrease with increase of biomass proportion in
the fuel mixture. The extent of decrease in energy and exergy efficiencies depends on
specific properties of the chosen biomass types. The results also show that the increased
fraction of biomass significantly reduces the net CO2 emissions for all types of selected
biomass. However, gross CO2 emissions increase for all blends except bituminous
coal/refuse derived fuel blend, lignite/chicken litter blend and lignite/refuse derived fuel
blend. The reduction in NOx emissions depends on the nitrogen content of the biomass
fuel. Likewise, the decrease in SOx emissions depends on the sulphur content of the
biomass fuel. The most appropriate biomass in terms of NOx and SOx reduction is
sawdust because of its negligible nitrogen and sulphur contents.


title: Increasing experience sharing through regulation instructions

subject:
Empathy
Experience sharing
Psychopathy
Facial electromyography

abstract: Experience sharing is an individual’s tendency to resonate with and take on the sensory, motor, and affective experiences of others. While traditional conceptualizations of this process argue its automaticity, recent literature suggests it may have a motivational component. This study aimed to investigate whether individuals can be motivated to increase experience sharing through deliberate instructions. This study also investigated the role of individual differences such as psychopathic traits in this upregulation process. To this end, healthy undergraduates completed two experience sharing-related tasks while having subjective and physiological metrics of experience sharing collected. The results of the study suggest that experience sharing can be increased through deliberate instructions, depending on the valence of the stimulus presented. Moreover, psychopathic traits were associated with greater physiological experience sharing.


title: “I decided to change the world”: a case study on three girls’ perceived abilities in STEM

subject:
STEM
Girls
Education
Perceived abilities
Internet of Things

abstract: This qualitative, case-study research is intended to contribute to the literature about the factors that influence young girls to envision themselves as individuals who are valued and capable in the realm of STEM. Through the implementation of maker pedagogies, this research addresses the question of how motivation, passion, and environmental factors (including the kinds of technology they interact with), impact the self-perception that three young girls have of their abilities in STEM, and in turn, their self-perceived STEM identity. This research took place over the course of a week, during a March Break camp, at Ontario Tech University’s Faculty of Education. Findings suggest that throughout the week, as the participants engaged with ‘making,’ became more comfortable with their chosen ‘deep-dive’ technology and created their passion projects, they became more motivated in their abilities to create critically meaningful things with the Internet of Things (IoT). This increased motivation led to improved confidence to create with IoT, which ultimately, had a positive impact on their self-efficacy in STEM.


title: Youth and at-risk behavior: the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in the Caribbean Island of Dominica

subject: Youth Risk-behavior Caribbean Hurricane Aspiration

abstract: Hurricane devastation in the Caribbean has become a very common phenomenon over the past decades, and the destruction that follows comes with severe implications for the people directly affected by it. This study aims to explore the experiences and perspectives of youth in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria on the island of Dominica concerning deviant behaviors in youth, educational aspirations, and choice. The challenges in the aftermath of a hurricane in the Caribbean are unique for many reasons. Due to these unique challenges, this study is necessary to understand how the youth in developing Caribbean islands respond to destruction after a hurricane. In general, the youth describe increased involvement in deviant behavior after the hurricane. There was also a shift in choice and an increase in educational aspirations after the hurricane. These changes have important policy implications which are relevant to youth in the Caribbean after a natural disaster.


title: Predicted safety & excavation progress algorithms for autonomous excavation

subject:
Autonomous excavator
Predicted safety algorithm
Excavation progress
Occlusion area
5D mapping

abstract:
Excavation is the process of moving earth and is considered to be one of the primary projects in the construction industry. The adoption of various cutting-edge technologies for full automation can be a solution to the various ongoing issues in construction equipment used for excavation such as safety, monitoring, and productivity.
To address this, this project developed advanced safety algorithms and methodologies in ground mapping and estimation of excavation progress, which can accelerate autonomous excavation.
For autonomous excavation, safety is a significant concern to reduce accidents and machinery damage. Considering this point, this thesis deals with tracking, motion prediction, and track management of the detected objects that can improve the safety function of autonomous excavators. The proposed safety algorithms can evaluate the degree of a potential collision risk by using the information of predicted motion of detected objects, working areas of the excavator, and safety indices calculation.
The second component of this project covers the volume estimation for excavation progress estimation, occlusion problem for ground mapping, and 5D mapping. The volume estimation comprises of ground excavation volume and bucket volume estimation. To overcome the problem of an occlusion area that may result in incorrect mapping and estimation of excavation progress, sensing data of proprioceptive and exteroceptive sensors were integrated. Finally, we proposed the idea of 5D mapping to provide a broad spectrum of the excavated ground info that includes the coordinates and material type and properties using a 3D ground map, LiDAR’s beam reflectivity, and force index.