Time to volume through efficient multi-site ramp-up

The aim of this thesis was to create a process for all multi-site ramp-up (MSRU) projects in the case company in order to have simultaneous ramp-ups early in the market. The research was done through case study in one company and semi-structured interviews. There are already processes, which are now in use in MSRU-cases. Interviews of 20 ramp-up specialists revealed topics to be improved. Those were project team set up, roles and responsibilities and recommended project organization, communication, product change management practices, competence and know how transfer practices and support model. More R&D support and involvement is needed in MSRU-projects. DCM’s role is very important in the MSRU-projects among PMT-team; he should be the business owner of the project. Recommendation is that product programs could take care of the product and repair training of new products in volume factories. R&D’s participation in competence transfers is essential important in MSRU-projects. Communication in projects could be shared through special intranet commune. Blogging and tweeting could be considered in the communication plan. If hundreds of change notes are open in ramp-up phase, it should be considered not to approve the product into volume ramp-up. PMTs’ supports are also important and MSRU-projects should be planned, budgeted and executed together. Finally a new MSRU-process is presented in this thesis to be used in all MSRU-projects.

Stereo-Based Head Pose Tracking Using Iterative Closest Point and Normal Flow Constraint

In this text, we present two stereo-based head tracking techniques along with a fast 3D model acquisition system. The first tracking technique is a robust implementation of stereo-based head tracking designed for interactive environments with uncontrolled lighting. We integrate fast face detection and drift reduction algorithms with a gradient-based stereo rigid motion tracking technique. Our system can automatically segment and track a user's head under large rotation and illumination variations. Precision and usability of this approach are compared with previous tracking methods for cursor control and target selection in both desktop and interactive room environments. The second tracking technique is designed to improve the robustness of head pose tracking for fast movements. Our iterative hybrid tracker combines constraints from the ICP (Iterative Closest Point) algorithm and normal flow constraint. This new technique is more precise for small movements and noisy depth than ICP alone, and more robust for large movements than the normal flow constraint alone. We present experiments which test the accuracy of our approach on sequences of real and synthetic stereo images. The 3D model acquisition system we present quickly aligns intensity and depth images, and reconstructs a textured 3D mesh. 3D views are registered with shape alignment based on our iterative hybrid tracker. We reconstruct the 3D model using a new Cubic Ray Projection merging algorithm which takes advantage of a novel data structure: the linked voxel space. We present experiments to test the accuracy of our approach on 3D face modelling using real-time stereo images.

L'eficiència relativa de l'ensenyament a través de la videoconferència respecte a l'ensenyament tradicional. 'La eficiencia relativa de la enseñanza a través de la videoconferencia respecto a la enseñanza tradicional'

Resumen tomado del autor

Knowledge-based modelling and simulation of operational problems of microbiological origin in wastewater treatment plants

The activated sludge and anaerobic digestion processes have been modelled in widely accepted models. Nevertheless, these models still have limitations when describing operational problems of microbiological origin. The aim of this thesis is to develop a knowledge-based model to simulate risk of plant-wide operational problems of microbiological origin.For the risk model heuristic knowledge from experts and literature was implemented in a rule-based system. Using fuzzy logic, the system can infer a risk index for the main operational problems of microbiological origin (i.e. filamentous bulking, biological foaming, rising sludge and deflocculation). To show the results of the risk model, it was implemented in the Benchmark Simulation Models. This allowed to study the risk model's response in different scenarios and control strategies. The risk model has shown to be really useful providing a third criterion to evaluate control strategies apart from the economical and environmental criteria.

Impact of land cover changes on the South African climate

The Joint UK Land Environmental Simulator (JULES) was run offline to investigate the sensitivity of land surface type changes over South Africa. Sensitivity tests were made in idealised experiments where the actual land surface cover is replaced by a single homogeneous surface type. The vegetation surface types on which some of the experiments were made are static. Experimental tests were evaluated against the control. The model results show among others that the change of the surface cover results in changes of other variables such as soil moisture, albedo, net radiation and etc. These changes are also visible in the spin up process. The model shows different surfaces spinning up at different cycles. Because JULES is the land surface model of Unified Model, the results could be more physically meaningful if it is coupled to the Unified Model.

Strategisk utveckling och ekonomistyrning : Ett livscykelperspektiv

This dissertation synthesizes previous research and develops a model for the study of strategic development, strategic congruence and management control. The model is used to analyze a longitudinal case study of the Swedish engineering company Atlas Copco. Employing contingency theory, the study confirms that long-term survival of a company requires adaption to contingencies. Three levels of strategy are examined: corporate, business and functional. Previous research suggests that consistency between these levels (strategic congruence) is necessary for a company to be competitive. The dissertation challenges this proposition by using a life-cycle perspective and analyzes strategic congruence in the different phases of a life cycle. It also studies management control from a life-cycle perspective. In this context, two types of management control are examined: formal and informal. From a longitudinal perspective, the study further discusses how these types interact during organizational life cycles. The dissertation shows that strategic development is more complex than previous studies have indicated. It is a long, complex and non-linear process, the results of which cannot always be predicted. Previous models for strategy and management control are based on simple relationships and rarely take into account the fact that companies often go through different phases of strategic development. The case study shows that strategic incongruence may occur at times during organizational life cycles. Furthermore, the use of management control varies over time. In the maturity phase, formal control is in focus, while the use of informal control has a bigger role in both the introduction and decline phases. Research on strategy and management control has intensified in recent years. Still there is a gap regarding the coordination of complex corporate structures. The present study contributes with further knowledge on how companies manage long-term strategic development. Few studies deal with more than two levels of strategy. Moreover, the present study addresses the need to understand strategic congruence from a life-cycle perspective. This is particularly relevant in practice, when management in large companies face difficult issues for which they expect business research to assist them in the decision-making process.

Controlador em modo dual adaptativo robusto - DMARC

The so-called Dual Mode Adaptive Robust Control (DMARC) is proposed. The DMARC is a control strategy which interpolates the Model Reference Adaptive Control (MRAC) and the Variable Structure Model Reference Adaptive Control (VS-MRAC). The main idea is to incorporate the transient performance advantages of the VS-MRAC controller with the smoothness control signal in steady-state of the MRAC controller. Two basic algorithms are developed for the DMARC controller. In the first algorithm the controller's adjustment is made, in real time, through the variation of a parameter in the adaptation law. In the second algorithm the control law is generated, using fuzzy logic with Takagi-Sugeno s model, to obtain a combination of the MRAC and VS-MRAC control laws. In both cases, the combined control structure is shown to be robust to the parametric uncertainties and external disturbances, with a fast transient performance, practically without oscillations, and a smoothness steady-state control signal

Controlador preditivo não linear aplicado ao controle de golfadas em processos de produção de petróleo

Slugging is a well-known slugging phenomenon in multiphase flow, which may cause problems such as vibration in pipeline and high liquid level in the separator. It can be classified according to the place of its occurrence. The most severe, known as slugging in the riser, occurs in the vertical pipe which feeds the platform. Also known as severe slugging, it is capable of causing severe pressure fluctuations in the flow of the process, excessive vibration, flooding in separator tanks, limited production, nonscheduled stop of production, among other negative aspects that motivated the production of this work . A feasible solution to deal with this problem would be to design an effective method for the removal or reduction of the system, a controller. According to the literature, a conventional PID controller did not produce good results due to the high degree of nonlinearity of the process, fueling the development of advanced control techniques. Among these, the model predictive controller (MPC), where the control action results from the solution of an optimization problem, it is robust, can incorporate physical and /or security constraints. The objective of this work is to apply a non-conventional non-linear model predictive control technique to severe slugging, where the amount of liquid mass in the riser is controlled by the production valve and, indirectly, the oscillation of flow and pressure is suppressed, while looking for environmental and economic benefits. The proposed strategy is based on the use of the model linear approximations and repeatedly solving of a quadratic optimization problem, providing solutions that improve at each iteration. In the event where the convergence of this algorithm is satisfied, the predicted values of the process variables are the same as to those obtained by the original nonlinear model, ensuring that the constraints are satisfied for them along the prediction horizon. A mathematical model recently published in the literature, capable of representing characteristics of severe slugging in a real oil well, is used both for simulation and for the project of the proposed controller, whose performance is compared to a linear MPC

Comparison of stress distribution between complete denture and implant-retained overdenture-2D FEA

The aim of this study was to compare the stress distribution induced by posterior functional loads on conventional complete dentures and implant-retained overdentures with different attachment systems using a two-dimentional Finite Element Analysis (FEA-2D). Three models representative of edentulous mandible were constructed on AutoCAD software; Group A (control), a model of edentulous mandible supporting a complete denture; Group B, a model of edentulous mandible supporting an overdenture over two splinted implants connected with the bar-clip system; Group C, a model of edentuluos mandible supporting an overdenture over two unsplinted impants with the O-ring system. Evaluation was conducted on Ansys software, with a vertical force of 100 N applied on the mandibular left first molar. When the stress was evaluated in supporting tissues, groups B (51.0 MPa) and C (52.6 MPa) demonstrated higher stress values than group A (10.1 MPa). Within the limits of this study, it may be conclued that the use of an attachment system increased stress values; furthermore, the use of splinted implants associated with the bar-clip attachment system favoured a lower stress distribution over the supporting tissue than the unsplinted implants with an O-ring abutment to retain the manibular overdenture.

New approach of induction machine drive using an adaptive digital PID controller with gain planning based on artificial neural networks

The present work introduces a new strategy of induction machines speed adjustment using an adaptive PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) digital controller with gain planning based on the artificial neural networks. This digital controller uses an auxiliary variable to determine the ideal induction machine operating conditions and to establish the closed loop gain of the system. The auxiliary variable value can be estimated from the information stored in a general-purpose artificial neural network based on CMAC (Cerebellar Model Articulation Controller).

Biodiversity Can Help Prevent Malaria Outbreaks in Tropical Forests

Background: Plasmodium vivax is a widely distributed, neglected parasite that can cause malaria and death in tropical areas. It is associated with an estimated 80-300 million cases of malaria worldwide. Brazilian tropical rain forests encompass host- and vector-rich communities, in which two hypothetical mechanisms could play a role in the dynamics of malaria transmission. The first mechanism is the dilution effect caused by presence of wild warm-blooded animals, which can act as dead-end hosts to Plasmodium parasites. The second is diffuse mosquito vector competition, in which vector and non-vector mosquito species compete for blood feeding upon a defensive host. Considering that the World Health Organization Malaria Eradication Research Agenda calls for novel strategies to eliminate malaria transmission locally, we used mathematical modeling to assess those two mechanisms in a pristine tropical rain forest, where the primary vector is present but malaria is absent. Methodology/Principal Findings: The Ross-Macdonald model and a biodiversity-oriented model were parameterized using newly collected data and data from the literature. The basic reproduction number (R0) estimated employing Ross-Macdonald model indicated that malaria cases occur in the study location. However, no malaria cases have been reported since 1980. In contrast, the biodiversity-oriented model corroborated the absence of malaria transmission. In addition, the diffuse competition mechanism was negatively correlated with the risk of malaria transmission, which suggests a protective effect provided by the forest ecosystem. There is a non-linear, unimodal correlation between the mechanism of dead-end transmission of parasites and the risk of malaria transmission, suggesting a protective effect only under certain circumstances (e.g., a high abundance of wild warm-blooded animals). Conclusions/Significance: To achieve biological conservation and to eliminate Plasmodium parasites in human populations, the World Health Organization Malaria Eradication Research Agenda should take biodiversity issues into consideration. © 2013 Laporta et al.

Análise da influência dos sistemas de retenção para overdentures implanto-retidas e da espessura e resiliência da fibromucosa na distribuição interna das tensões, através do método de elementos finitos bidimensional

Pós-graduação em Odontologia - FOA

Método AHP como instrumento de apoio à decisão para a manutenção da qualidade da água do reservatório de Ilha Solteira

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Condições de trabalho e saúde dos profissionais da rede de saúde de Botucatu-SP

Pós-graduação em Saúde Coletiva - FMB

Desenvolvimento e avaliação de um modelo de assistência contínuo, paliativo e domiciliar a pacientes com câncer mamário ou ginecológico fora de possibilidade de cura

Pós-graduação em Ginecologia, Obstetrícia e Mastologia - FMB