A cost study of common surface finish systems for steel structures

This paper presents part of a study aimed at finding a suitable, yet cost-effective, surface finish for a steel structure subject to the car washing environment and corrosive chemicals. The initial, life cycle and average equivalent annual (AEAC) costs for surface finishing methods were calculated for a steel structure using the LCCC algorithm developed by American Galvanizers Association (AGA). The cost study consisted of 45 common surface finish systems including: hot-dip galvanization (HDG), metallization, acrylic, alkyd and epoxy as well as duplex coatings such as epoxy zinc and inorganic zinc (IOZ). The results show that initial, life cycle and AEAC costs for hot dip galvanization are the lowest among all the other methods, followed by coal tar epoxy painting. The annual average cost of HDG for this structure was estimated about €0.22/m2, while the other cost-effective alternatives were: IOZ, polyurea, epoxy waterborne and IOZ/epoxy duplex coating.

Construção de um manual de codificação e interpretação de memórias autobiográficas

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Psicologia

Prognostics health management: perspectives in engineering systems reliability prognostics

The Prognostic Health Management (PHM) has been asserting itself as the most promising methodology to enhance the effective reliability and availability of a product or system during its life-cycle conditions by detecting current and approaching failures, thus, providing mitigation of the system risks with reduced logistics and support costs. However, PHM is at an early stage of development, it also expresses some concerns about possible shortcomings of its methods, tools, metrics and standardization. These factors have been severely restricting the applicability of PHM and its adoption by the industry. This paper presents a comprehensive literature review about the PHM main general weaknesses. Exploring the research opportunities present in some recent publications, are discussed and outlined the general guide-lines for finding the answer to these issues.

Materiais de isolamento térmico de edifícios. Para além da energia operacional

The use of thermal insulation materials for the achievement of energy efficient buildings intended, in most cases, the fulfilment of the required heating and cooling needs of the operational phase. The main goal of this paper is â by using exploratory methodology, namely literature review â identify more sustainable insulating materials and, concomitantly, exposing the paradoxical effect of other insulation materials with high Global Warming Potential (GWP) highlighting the role of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Ecodesign and Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) tools for the framing, comparison and selection of materials. As a main conclusion, it is noticed the lack of environmental information from the producers which, together with acquisition prices that do not internalize Life Cycle Costs (LCC), has led to the use of insulation materials with high carbon footprint and to the "isolation paradox" as well.

Adolescent parents’ values: the role played by retrospective perceptions of the family-of-origin

Family-of-origin is an important system in individual’s lives, and its influence is extensive over the life cycle. The aim of this study was to investigate, in a sample of adolescents’ parents, whether their retrospective perceptions of parenting and relationship qualities within their families-of-origin during adolescence predicted their current collectivist and individualist values. Participants included 110 Portuguese adults with a mean age of 46.86 years old. The results of structural equation modeling supported that retrospective perceptions of parenting and relationship qualities in the family-of-origin predicted the adults’ collectivist values but not their individualist values. This study highlights the importance of retrospective perceptions of supporting and non-rejecting parenting for value acquisition. The results also suggest that values that preserve and protect family connections and collaborations are more likely to be socialized by families. Implications for practice and for the theories on parenting, values, family-of-origin influences and family intergenerational transmission are discussed.

Sustentabilidade no Design: uma abordagem aos resíduos limpos das indústrias do calçado

Dissertação de mestrado em Design e Marketing

The role of automatic shape and position recognitionin streamlining manufacturing

The main features of most components consist of simple basic functional geometries: planes, cylinders, spheres and cones. Shape and position recognition of these geometries is essential for dimensional characterization of components, and represent an important contribution in the life cycle of the product, concerning in particular the manufacturing and inspection processes of the final product. This work aims to establish an algorithm to automatically recognize such geometries, without operator intervention. Using differential geometry large volumes of data can be treated and the basic functional geometries to be dealt recognized. The original data can be obtained by rapid acquisition methods, such as 3D survey or photography, and then converted into Cartesian coordinates. The satisfaction of intrinsic decision conditions allows different geometries to be fast identified, without operator intervention. Since inspection is generally a time consuming task, this method reduces operator intervention in the process. The algorithm was first tested using geometric data generated in MATLAB and then through a set of data points acquired by measuring with a coordinate measuring machine and a 3D scan on real physical surfaces. Comparison time spent in measuring is presented to show the advantage of the method. The results validated the suitability and potential of the algorithm hereby proposed

Desenvolvimento de rede neuronal artificial para o diagnóstico de doenças neurodegenerativas

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Eletrónica Industrial e Computadores

Career barriers influencing career success: A focus on academics’ perceptions and experiences

Purpose – Few research has addressed the factors that undermine people’s subjective perceptions of career success. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to further illuminate the issue of career barriers in perceptions of career success for a specific group of professionals: academics. Design/methodology/approach – This study adopts an interpretative-social constructionist methodology. Complementarily, it was employed a phenomenological method in data gathering and analysis – with the use of in-depth interviews and a theme analysis. The research was undertaken with a group of 87 Portuguese academics of both sexes and in different stages of their academic careers. Findings – The findings pinpoint the existence of multi-level barriers encountered by the academics when trying to succeed in their careers. The interviewees mentioned particularly the organizational-professional career barriers pertaining to three general themes: poor collegiality and workplace relationships; the lack of organizational support and employment precariousness; and the career progression standards and expectations. At the individual life cycle level the interviewees referred to the theme of finding balance; at the same time, the gender structure was also a theme mentioned as an important career barrier in career success, particularly by the women interviewed. Research limitations/implications – One of the limitations of this research is related to the impossibility of generalizability of its findings for the general population. Nevertheless, the researcher provides enough detail that grants the reader with the ability to judge of its similarity to other research contexts. Practical implications – This research highlights the role played by distinct career barriers for a specific professional group: academics. This has implications for higher education policy-makers and for human resources managers in higher education institutions. Originality/value – The current study extends the literature on career success by offering detailed anecdotal evidence on how negative work experiences might hinder career success. This research shows that to understand career barriers to success it is useful to consider multi-level factors: organizational-level factors (e.g. poor collegiality and workplace relationships); individual-level factors (e.g. life-cycle factors such as age/career stage); and structural-level factors (e.g. gender).

Desenvolvimento de modelos numéricos e análise experimental de subestruturas soldadas de transformadores de potência, sujeitas a forças de curto-circuito em regime transitório

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Mecânica

Racionalização e redução de custos das TIC na Administração Pública: o caso da PSP

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia e Gestão de Sistemas de Informação

Ciclo de vida do produto: desenvolvimento e produção: estudo de caso

Dissertação de mestrado em Design e Marketing

Análise do ciclo de vida usando Lourenço modelo: caso da cidade de Damasco (1960-2015)

Dissertação de mestrado Internacional em Ambiente Construído Sustentável

Influência do filer e da borracha no comportamento do mástique asfáltico

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Civil

Análise de ciclo de vida de empreendimentos Turísticos no PNPG

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Civil