Research Profiles

The aim is to develop safety and health framework to advance safety training strategies for the prevention of respirable silica dust occupational exposure among construction workers.  

The aim of the study is to develop an early warning system around workplace accident related to extreme heat in the construction industry.  

The study concludes that timely strengthening of workplace safety culture and visible management approach to safety is important for occupational safety improvement in the industry. In addition to this, there is the need for policy realignment to aid in the promotion of safety culture and adherence to safety standards within the industry as practiced in other countries. The study concludes that timely strengthening of workplace safety culture and visible management approach to safety is important for occupational safety improvement in the industry. In addition to this, there is the need for policy realignment to aid in the promotion of safety culture and adherence to safety standards within the industry as practiced in other countries.

Energy generation leads to generation of waste energy particularly in the form of heat. This heat can be harvested through the use of thermoelectric materials. Thermoelectric materials can produce electrical power from a temperature gradient developed due to waste heat. Therefore, we propose to prepare various inorganic and organic (polymer) based thermoelectric systems to generate voltage from a temperature gradient. Polymer based thermoelectric materials generate voltage from a temperature gradient developed close to human body temperature (37 °C). This proposal aims to train and educate high school students in the multidisciplinary areas of chemistry, polymer science, physics, and materials science.

Triton X-100 (TX-100) and sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) are common, commercially available surfactants capable of forming aggregates known as micelles. These micelles have proven to have enormous potential in many diverse fields, including drug delivery. Investigation of micelles as a possible means of drug delivery is a current and active field of research, the long-term results of which could have enormous impact upon the fields of biomedical research. Pyrene will be encapsulated inside micellar systems of TX-100 and SDBS and will be analyzed using Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and fluorescence spectroscopy. Through study of pyrene fluorescence and DLS for each of these micellar systems, a great deal can be learned for improving our knowledge of these micelles for drug delivery systems. Additionally, fluorescence and DLS data will be useful as a general resource for the many further uses of these micellar systems.

The aim of the study is to assess the conservation status of Qatar’s endemic flora by understanding its floristic distribution and composition using modern GIS (Geographical Information System) and niche modelling techniques which involved obtaining high-spectral resolution imagery and bioclimatic layers. The study includes identification of current and possible future niches of important plants, such as Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs), and their distribution across Qatar in the possible microclimates of various edaphic characteristics. Part of the study constitutes evaluation of the therapeutic values of these endemic plants. Moreover, soil and water samples will be collected from various sites and analyzed. The soil samples will be tested for determining the nutrient content, water content, alkalinity, acidity, salinity, etc. The data obtained could be used to improve not just the understandings of our current knowledge of the changing climate of Qatar but will also help us to prepare ourselves for the future changing climate by suitable adaptation and mitigation measures.

Antimony trioxide (ATO) is used as flame retardant (FR) in polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-based cable and wire insulation formulations. However, ATO is carcinogenic and is also bio-accumulative. To limit the use of toxic ATO in PVC, we propose to explore the possibility of using eco-friendly gallic acid (GA) to coat Aluminum trihydroxide (ATH) particles and use the ATH-GA complex as an alternative to toxic ATO as FR for PVC. GA is a naturally occurring polyphenol, which has good FR properties, and ATH is known to be a FR. ATH-GA is expected to reduce the use of toxic ATO in PVC formulations.

Antimony trioxide (ATO) is used as flame retardant (FR) in polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-based cable and wire insulation formulations. However, ATO is carcinogenic and is also bio-accumulative. To limit the use of toxic ATO in PVC, we propose to explore the possibility of using eco-friendly gallic acid (GA) to coat Aluminum trihydroxide (ATH) particles and use the ATH-GA complex as an alternative to toxic ATO as FR for PVC. GA is a naturally occurring polyphenol, which has good FR properties, and ATH is known to be a FR. ATH-GA is expected to reduce the use of toxic ATO in PVC formulations.

Over the past several decades the world has seen a tremendous growth in renewable energy sources, however the majority of our power is produced using fossil fuels. In addition, energy generation leads to generation of waste energy particularly in the form of heat. The waste energy in the form of heat can be harvested through the use of thermoelectric materials. These thermoelectric materials can produce electrical power from a temperature gradient developed due to waste heat. If the waste energy could be reclaimed, then it could be utilized to power a radio or charge a battery in a vehicle. For this type of usage scenario, an inorganic thermoelectric material which works only at high temperatures can be used as the temperature of the engine is very high. Therefore, we propose to prepare various p-type/n-type metal/metal based thermoelectric systems to generate voltage from a high temperature gradient. The metal/metal inorganic-based thermoelectric systems will also be characterized by measuring their electrical resistance and Seebeck voltage. However, for scenarios where the temperature difference is lower, organic thermoelectric materials which can work at human body temperature (37 °C) can be used in order to effectively generate electricity with a smaller temperature gradient. Organic thermoelectric materials are fabricated with conducting polymers. Therefore, we propose to prepare polypyrrole (a conducting polymer) based thermoelectric material and use them to generate voltage from a low temperature gradient. Polypyrrole films will be prepared on glass and plastic substrates using iron chloride or iron tosylate as catalyst by vapor phase and solution casting techniques. UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy will be performed to confirm the formation of polypyrrole films. The electrical resistance and Seebeck voltage of the films will be measured. In addition, the electrical voltage and electrical power obtained from the thermoelectric devices will also be measured.

Facing the exponential growth of the intradatacenter traffic, the traditional Data-Center Network (DCN) architectures are not capable to stay ahead of the demand in terms of scalability and lowering costs. In this project, we address the routing problem of the intra-datacenter traffic inside CamCube-based server-only DCNs. The latter are composed of servers only and no additional network equipments are employed. Following the SDN paradigm, we firstly propose a new architecture in which the control plane is hosted in an SDN controller. Next, we propose to emulate the whole DCN using the versatile "Mininet" platform. Then, we formulate the path computation problem, considering the Quality-of-Service (QoS) in terms of the requested bandwidth, as multi-objective combinatorial optimization problem. Next, we propose a thoughtful reformulation for the problem which can be solved using the Branch-and-Cut algorithm. Our proposal, named CamCube Routing Protocol (CRP), yields the optimal routing paths for the considered traffic flows that keep a balanced load on the DCN. Based on extensive emulations using "Mininet" and the "ONOS" SDN controller, the obtained results are very good, compared with the shortest-path approach, in terms of packet error rate and latency.

In a Communication Based Train Control System (CBTC), a central zone controller server (ZC) exchanges signaling messages with on-board carborne controllers (CC) inside the trains through a wireless technology. The ZC calculates and sends periodically to each train its Limit of Movement Authority (LMA), i.e. how far the train can proceed. A CC triggers an emergency break (EB) if no message is received within a certain time interval to avoid collision. Clearly, it is not desired to have an EB due to signaling messages losses (called spurious EB) and not to real risks for the trains. Quantifying the rate of spurious EBs and predicting correctly CBTC system performance are hard tasks with important industrial relevance. This work aims at lling this gap using simulation to better predict CBTC system performance and avoid extra provisioning before deployment. A typical CBTC system implementation for metro by Alstom Transport is considered. New ns-3 modules (CBTC protocol, Video trac generator, multi-channel scanning mechanism, 3D antennas patterns) are developed and a piece of existing code is enhanced. The simulation is also used to investigate the dimension of the radio access networks in a realistic environment (specic modems and access point antennas, radio frequencies, train and track models), another aspect also ignored in the previous literature. Last, our approach can be useful to validate some analytical works.

This research project is an extension to Corrosion Atlas Project  which was part of the collaboration agreement “Establishing a Corrosion Atlas for Qatar Petroleum – Phase II Chloride Stress Corrosion Cracking (CSCC)” between College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CNAQ) and Qatar Petroleum”. The objective of the project is to examine the resistance of different corrosion resistant materials to chloride stress corrosion cracking (CSCC). In this project, corroded samples that were exposed to different environmental condition in QP sites will be collected, examined, tested, and corrosion severity will be evaluated. Exposed specimens of 321, 316 L, lean duplex stainless steel, 904 L, 25% Cr alloy, and alloy 825 will be evaluated for time of failure as these alloys were already exposed to the corrosive environment at the QP sites.

In this research three stainless steel alloys commonly used in the oil and gas industry in Qatar will be investigated. The purpose is to perform a comparative study about the corrosivity of the three alloys in sea water. The alloys are 304, 316, and duplex stainless steel. These alloys are very popular in applications that require good corrosion resistance. However, obtaining practical date related to their corrosion resistance in Qatar where the environmental conditions have a great effect on any material properties is very essential for good material selection process.

The ASTRID (Addressing Threats for virtualized services) project focuses on addressing cybersecurity threats in virtualized services by implementing a conceptual architecture centered around security orchestration. This architecture encompasses service management and situational awareness as core elements. One of the primary objectives of ASTRID is the transition from traditional infrastructure-centric cybersecurity frameworks to embedded service-centric frameworks. This shift allows for more effective and comprehensive security measures that are specifically tailored to the needs of virtualized services. ASTRID also emphasizes the importance of in-kernel processing for efficient inspection and enforcement of security measures. By implementing in-kernel processing capabilities, the project aims to achieve fast and reliable detection of threats, as well as effective enforcement of security protocols. Overall, the ASTRID project aims to enhance cybersecurity in virtualized services by leveraging security orchestration, transitioning to embedded service-centric frameworks, and implementing in-kernel processing for rapid inspection and enforcement.

Monitoring the condition of power transformers plays a decisive role in the reliability of power systems operations. Oil and paper represent the main insulation system within a power transformer. Dissolved gas in oil analysis (DGA) using gas chromatography has been proven to be very effective over the years in detecting faults in transformers. DGA can detect levels of various gases that are formed through decomposition of oil and paper insulation. It is believed that deterioration of paper is a key indicator of damage of transformer insulation, which is measured by observing the degree of polymerization (DP) of paper.  However, it is impractical to collect paper samples from an operating transformer to make such measurements. Hence, the degree of polymerization is only indirectly determined by measuring degradation products from the paper. These include gases, as well as furan compounds in the transformer oil (mainly 2-furaldehyde; 2-FAL) which are analysed using the oil chromatography technique. For conventional insulating paper (Manila Kraft) and mineral oils (i.e. Shell Diala, Nynax etc) this method provides an excellent indication of the loss of the paper’s tensile strength. However, recently developed thermally upgraded insulating paper retains cellulosic bonding more than conventional Manila-Kraft papers. These upgraded papers release very little furanic compounds until the solid insulation undergoes significant deterioration. Some studies conducted by European utilities suggest that methanol (MeOH) could be used as a diagnostic indicator for early detection of paper degradation in place of the furans. However, the correlation between MeOH concentration in oil and the level of paper degradation has not been investigated yet. Moreover, there is no simple, cost effective and online technique to detect MeOH in oil as the current technique through headspace measurement using gas chromatography and mass selector in electron impact mode is very complex, time consuming and expensive. This research is aimed at developing a novel reliable cost effective technique to assess the oil-paper insulation condition in power transformers equipped with either normal or upgraded solid insulation.

Due to the huge renewable energy penetration, including photovoltaic systems and wind turbines, the old power system is getting restructured and re-architected aiming to make a carbon-neutral society. However, the intermittency and stochastic nature of renewable sources trigger many typical problems of power system, including voltage and frequency stabilities which may even lead to a wide-scale blackout if an adequate preventive measure is not considered. The renewable power sources that are replacing conventional synchronous generators make a significant loss of system inertia as they are fully or partially decoupled from power network. The only feasible solution is to play with the spinning reserve in case of an under-frequency scenario or take advantage of the energy storage system to absorb renewable power fluctuations and also participate in a demand management program.