ENCYCLOPÉDIE DE LA RECHERCHE SUR L’ALUMINIUM AU QUÉBEC 2013 | Page 7

INTRODUCTION // INTRODUCTION

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It is our pleasure, as Chairman of the 12th International aluminium conference (INALCO 2013) and as
Director of the Aluminium Research Centre - REGAL to present the 10th edition of the Encyclopedia of
Research on Aluminium in Quebec.
As a matter of fact, it has been ten years that the students from the member institutions of the
Aluminium Research Centre - REGAL also known as Regroupement Aluminium, REGAL (École de
technologie supérieure, École Polytechnique de Montréal, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi,
Université Laval, McGill University, Université de Sherbrooke and Cégep de Trois-Rivières), have been
gathered together each year, under the supervision of their research directors, to present the results
of their research work to the industry, researchers and other students.
This year, several hundred people consisting of students, researchers, industry people and
representatives of governments gathered at the Palais des congrès de Montréal on October 22nd 2013
for the tenth REGAL Students’ Day which was held conjointly with the 12th International Conference
of Aluminium (INALCO), 2013 Edition. This INALCO conference which came to Canada for the first
time, gave our students occasions of exposure and contacts with worldwide and well known leading
researchers on aluminium transformation and utilisation, pioneers of the INALCO conference such as
Professor Federico Mazzolani, expert of structural design and engineering from University of Naples
Federico II, in Italy, and Professor Frans Soetens, Chair Aluminium Structures at the Department of the
Built Environment of Eindhoven University of Technology, in the Netherlands. Our students therefore
were able to appreciate best worldwide aluminium transformation and use in engineering (especially
in Europe and in the USA). They also learnt about the state of aluminium in Canada during the keynote
presentation of Mr Jean Simard, President and General Manager, Aluminium Association of Canada
(AAC). During his conference, Mr. John R. McDougall, President of the National Research Council
Canada (NRC), informed to the students of the opportunities and encouragements provided by the
federal government. They now know they can make a career in aluminum production, processing or
use in engineering.
This year, once again, just like the last ten years, the students have worked hard and came in
great number for this special day which is theirs : six (6) student conferences were presented and
sixty-five  (65) posters summarizing results of their research works, were produced and presented
including two from Cegep de Trois-Rivières and one from an undergraduate student, so, from the next
generation. Of these posters, seventeen (17) were awarded for their quality, content and presentation;
their authors received a total of $ 17,000 in prizes.
It is therefore with great pleasure that we present to you, as if you were there, all the research
works of those students, members of REGAL, exposed at the JER 2013, the abstracts of conferences
presented by selected students and the REGAL Students Days’ award winners. This encyclopedia is
classified according to the three main themes of Aluminium research Centre - REGAL : 1-Production
of aluminum; 2 - New products and materials based on aluminum and 3 - Development, optimization
and integration of manufacturing processes and design.
Special thanks to our partners and sponsors : Fonds de recherche du Québec - Nature et technologies
(FRQNT), Aluminium Association of Canada (AAC), Alouette, Alcoa, RioTintoAlcan, INALCO, Canadian
International Aluminium Conference (CIAC), Aluminium Research and Devel