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Classification of Run Success Data
No full textClassification of run success data for landfill gas visualization tests
Numerical modelling of CLT shear walls with hyperelastic hold-downs
No full textThe provisions of CSA O86 (2019) for Cross-laminated Timber (CLT) shear walls recommend the design of non-dissipative hold-downs with sufficient deformability to facilitate wall rocking. A hyperelastic hold-down system was proposed to satisfy these criteria. In this study, a numerical model was developed to capture the behaviour of CLT shear walls with the hyperelastic hold-down system using data from previous component level and full-scale shear testing. Six hold-down configurations were calibrated using the software OpenSees. Different modelling approaches were attempted; ultimately, a back calibration approach using the shear wall test data produced acceptable results. Calibration parameters were derived for the OpenSees ‘Hysteretic material’ for each hold-down configuration utilizing data from six tests on shear walls with un-coupled panels, and validated with the results from twelve additional tests on shear walls with coupled panels. The average differences between test and model for corner uplift, force at peak lateral displacement and energy dissipation were found to be 7%, 12% and 11%, respectively. A set of equations were proposed to predict calibration parameters of untested configurations. Finally, a two-storey platform-type shear wall was designed and modelled applying the calibrated Hysteretic material for the hyperelastic hold-downs. The developed model can be used to predict the shear wall performance of un-tested configurations
Mapping menstrual equity in Canada - A shared vision: Qualitative research
No full textThe following report, prepared for Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE), presents findings from exploratory research based on qualitative interviews with 31 menstrual equity advocates in Canada. This report is one of three submitted to WAGE: Literature review, Qualitative research and High-level environmental scan. The report begins with providing a brief context related to menstrual equity advocacy and advocates in Canada. It then turns to an overview of the methodology, including the study design, participant recruitment, study tools (e.g. survey, interview guide) and analysis. A detailed overview of the study population is provided. Results are presented by themes: the current landscape of menstrual inequity and distribution, education, advocacy, and research. Results are presented in a largely descriptive fashion with some preliminary links to existing literature. We conclude with a discussion of the strengths and limitations of the present study.Menstrual Cycle Research Grou
When an exact formula is not enough: The counter-intuitive nature of gas flow in anisotropic porous media
No full textLandfills are the most common method of waste management. Inside a landfill facility anaerobic waste decomposition releases gases – including methane and carbon dioxide – which can escape into the environment when mismanaged. Methane in sufficiently high concentrations is explosive, flammable, toxic, and is one of the major contributors to greenhouse gases. Therefore, it is vital to know how the gas flows within the solid waste matrix to allow for adequate collection, safe removal and control of emissions. In particular, a correctly working facility would aim to collect as much gas as possible to prevent inadvertent escape into the environment. Current practices rely on decades of experience; however, there is little to no mathematical analysis readily available. Designers and operators require access to gas flow information to build and manage landfills with efficiency and minimal environmental impacts.
One of the important effects is the intrinsic heterogeneity of the waste matrix. Such types of media are known as anisotropic, since the heterogeneity means the resistance to fluid flow depends on the flow direction. Analytical solutions exist for anisotropic media, describing the fluid flow by giving pressure and velocity at any desired point in simplified geometric settings. However, since the pressure gradient (velocity) varies over four orders of magnitude from the perimeter of the landfill to the centre, traditional methods of visualization, such as isocontours for pressure or arrow representation for the velocity vector field, are ineffective. A custom code was developed in Octave/MATLAB to visualize a large set of configurations with an arbitrary number of sectors and distinct permeabilities. This code implements backward integration of pathlines with customized seeding of starting points and is focused on the ability to accurately locate any present stagnation points and visualize how the gas moves around them.
The code’s robustness was verified by running it for a wide range of sector angles and landfill parameters. The success of these runs was then classified by the qualitative visual features present in each flow field, such as reasonable density, smoothness of pathlines, and efficient coverage of key points in the flow. The code was only deemed robust and ready to use by practitioners once it was able to integrate and plot pathlines for a wide range of parameters. These visuals will provide landfill designers and engineers with crucial information regarding the efficiency of landfill operations. Specifically, the code will make it possible to identify
regions of recirculation and escape, subsequently aiding in the design and optimization of more efficient and environmentally conscious landfills.analytical solutionsanisotropic mediaisocontourslandfill gaslandfill wellpathlinespermeabilityvector
Accessibility of domestic violence services in Canada for South Asian immigrant women
No full textDespite South Asians currently making up the biggest immigrant population in Canada, there are few organizations that are accessible to them and adhere to their unique cultural needs. South Asian immigrant women are highly vulnerable to domestic violence and face a number of challenges when trying to navigate life in a new country, and victim services are rarely culturally sensitive. This exploratory research project first examines the emerging body of literature surrounding domestic violence in the South Asian community through an intersectional and ethno-gender lens to understand the barriers to accessing help. Through the use of a resource inventory, available domestic violence organizations that cater to both the mainstream population and specifically to the South Asian population were analyzed in cities with the highest South Asian populations to see if the cultural, linguistic, immigration, and settlement needs of South Asian immigrant women were met. This project finds that although South Asian domestic violence organizations were more accessible in terms of providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services, they were lacking in availability in each of the cities examined and provided fewer services such as shelters, transitional housing and legal services. South Asian organizations were also not specifically focused on domestic violence services compared to mainstream domestic violence organizations that had a targeted objective to cater to domestic violence victims. Recommendations on how both South Asian organizations and mainstream organizations can bridge the gaps in services are discussed
The socio-legal standing of the LGBTQ+ population throughout Canadian history
No full textThe recent decades have witnessed the emergence of the LGBTQ+ Canadians within mainstream discourse. Significant legal reformation that are aimed to address the marginalized experience that have characterized their lives for a long time within Canada. This is accompanied by a greater celebration for the nuanced identities and diversity that the LGBTQ+ population brings to the broader Canadian society. Although, this modern queer phenomenon is a culmination of successful judicial case decisions that improved the legal statues of sexual and gender minorities. These legal victories were due in part by an increased awareness of the public to the vulnerability that the LGBTQ+ population is experiencing as a result of state sanctioned provisions and measures. The Canadian government through its justice system and actors upheld a “heteronormative hegemony” that brought irrevocable harm to the community which reverberates to the present as it shapes the dominant societal discourse regarding sexual and gender minorities. Therefore, the recent progress made by the Canadian state serves as an act of reparation to amend the damage they have enacted within the past. Albeit the measures taken fall short of responding to the shortcomings of the past as there are issues that persist which continue to marginalize and harm the community