Nov_Dec_AMP_Digital

iTSSe TSS A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 0 4 1 iTSSe TSS leading tomicrobial destruction and a higher inactivation rate. In addition, direct contact between the oxide-free cold sprayed copper surface and themicroorganism is another possible fac- tor that promotes higher inactivation rates [9] . THE PARTNERS To achieve the goal to rapidly develop, validate, and de- ploy this antiviral solution, a team of researchers from McGill University in the medicine and materials engineering depart- ments and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) have assembled to develop the proposed coating technology. A team of engineers from 5N Plus, Polycontrols, and Hatch, which cover the entire supply chain, will validate and deploy the developed technology. 5N Plus is tailoring optimized cold spray Cu/Cu alloy powders, and Polycontrols is addressing up- scaling and production challenges and will be in a position to produce the coatings and to offer turnkey cold spray solutions to others. Hatch is integrating the antiviral coating approach for retrofitting high-touch surface components in diverse pub- lic buildings. Arrangements are underway to have several of these coated components tested in situ in Hatch’s client infra- structures, at least in one major Canadian airport, and in one mass transit rail facility for evaluation purposes. McGill University is Canada’s top-ranked medical doctor- al university and its researchers from departments, institutes, and hospitals have initiated and led a wide range of projects with the goal of discovering solutions for the COVID-19 pan- demic, from developing innovative diagnostics to discovering and testing effective treatments and implementing and inves- tigating prevention strategies. McGill’s Department of Mining and Material Engineering has been working collaboratively on cold spray technology with the NRC since 2006 and they share a state-of-the-art cold spray facility hosted at the NRC in Boucherville, QC. The NRC is Canada’s largest federal research and devel- opment organization, which partners with industry to advance research from the lab to the marketplace. This market-driven focus is designed to shorten the time between early-stage re- search and development and commercialization while also addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges. 5N Plus is a global producer of engineered materials and specialty chemicals with integrated recycling and refin- ing assets to manage the sustainability of its business model. The unique technology of 5N Plus Micro Powders enables the preparation of spherical powders with low oxygen content and uniform size distributions. The flexibility of the process facilitates the production of tailored optimized copper alloy powders suitable for cold spray that is paramount for this re- search. 5N Plus has capacity for large-scale production of the optimized powders. Polycontrols is a small andmedium-sized enterprise with over 35 years of experience in instrumentation, calibration, au- tomation, robotics, integrated manufacturing solutions, and surface engineering. Recently, they built PolyCSAM [10] , a new industrial-scale hybrid cold spray additive manufacturing fa- cility to address production and industrialization challenges. PolyCSAM, located at the NRC, will be the cornerstone of the industrialization of the solution to be developed by the Mc- Gill-NRC team. Hatch Ltd. is a global engineering, procurement, con- struction, and project management services company. Their network of over 9000 professionals works from over 60 offices around the world on some of the world’s toughest technical, economic, and environmental challenges. A significant part of Hatch’s work involves the planning, development, design, and upgrading of public infrastructure, including subways, transit facilities, airport terminals, civil works, and commercial devel- opments, whose end users could benefit from this initiative. THE PROJECT The objectives of this project are: (1) to tailor the micro- structure and surface state of Cu/Cu alloy cold spray coatings to maximize the antiviral activity and provide an economically viable solution that can be rapidly upscaled and industrialized; (2) to identify the most relevant high-touch surface components based on a systematic data-driven analysis and simulation of public infrastructure usage; and (3) to demonstrate viable pro- duction capability with real component demonstrators to be installed in public transport facilities for in situ testing. The influence of the coating microstructural properties and post deposition finishing and texturing on the antivi- ral properties is being correlated. For quick screening of the coatings, the antiviral performance is assessed initially by testing against the human coronavirus HCoV-229E, which is a level 2 pathogen that causes the common cold and belongs to the same virus family as SARS-CoV-2. For the most promis- ing coatings, time-dependent virus inactivation rates against SARS-CoV-2 will be determined at the Research Institute of McGill University Health Centre biosafety level 3 COVID facility. A preliminary evaluation of contact by pedestrians and facili- ty users with surfaces and components will be conducted by Hatch using a combination of in-house data and discrete event simulator models to determine the best candidates for field testing of copper-coated accessories. Such items may include door handles (Fig. 1), push plates, washroom fixtures, hand- rails, elevator controls, check-in counters, charging stations, arm rests, and tabletops. Themost representative surfaces will be selected for in situ testing based on the number and fre- quency of contacts, suitability for cold-spray coating, as well FEATURE 5 ONE ECONOMICALLY VIABLE AND MORE PRACTICAL APPROACH TO THE USE OF SOLID ANTIMICROBIAL Cu/Cu ALLOYS IS TO USE COATINGS.