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Proposer des solutions permettant de concevoir et de fabriquer des pièces automobiles performantes mais également respectueuses de l’environnement est devenu un enjeu majeur pour les équipementiers automobiles. Ces travaux de thèse s’inscrivent donc dans ce contexte de compréhension et d’amélioration des matériaux composites non-tissés aiguilletées renforcés par des fibres végétales. À partir d’un même matériau de base, il est possible d’obtenir des structures et des propriétés différentes grâce au contrôle du taux de porosités dans le matériau. On peut ainsi conférer au composite de bonne propriétés d’absorption acoustique à des taux de porosités élevés (50%) ou au contrainte privilégier la tenue mécanique du produit en les limitant. La structure du matériau et la liaison fibre/matrice vont évoluer avec la fraction de porosités et en résulteront des comportements mécaniques bien différents. Suivant le taux de porosité, les performances mécaniques seront donc principalement gouvernées par des paramètres différents tels que la liaison interfaciale ou le renfort. Dans un environnement automobile, les conditions climatiques (humidité et température) jouent un rôle prépondérant dans les performances des biocomposites non-tissés. En effet, l’adhérence fibre/matrice est essentiellement liée aux contraintes radiales compressives, qui sont largement influencées par l’état hygrométrique du renfort. Enfin, la valorisation les chutes de fabrication issues de la thermocompression pour modifier la structure du composite non-tissé a permis de développer un produit présentant un gain en rigidité significatif. / Proposing solutions to produce more efficient and environmentally friendly automotive parts has become a major challenge for tier one suppliers. The work described in this thesis is about understanding and improving composite materials made with commingled plant fibre nonwovens. From the same initial nonwoven, it is possible to obtain very distinct material structures by controlling porosity content. One can then give to the material enhanced acoustic properties with high porosity content (50%) or in the contrary show good mechanical properties by limiting porosities. Material structure will evolve with porosity as well as its mechanical behavior. Thus, as function of porosity, interfacial adhesion of fibre mechanical properties will govern composite mechanical properties. Biocomposite automotive parts are exposed to a large range of climatic environments and their mechanical properties can vary significantly. Indeed, radial stresses are drastically influenced by the reinforcement hygroscopic state. Finally, the idea developing an innovative material structure from compression moulding wastes has helped enhancing material rigidity.

Thesis (M. Sc. ( Physics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / In this work, we present first-principles calculation on the structural, thermodynamic, mechanical and electronic stabilities of Fe-Al and FeAl-X (X: Pt, Pd, Ru and Ag) alloys at lower and high temperatures. These systems have recently attracted a lot of attention for both scientific and possible technological application in turbines, Steel-It coating, energy sector, boilers, pipes and automotive parts as a potential replacement of steel due to their excellent resistance to oxidation at high temperatures. However, they suffer limited room temperature ductility and a sharp drop in strength above 873 K. We determined the lattice parameters, heats of formation, elastic constants, bulk to shear moduli, density of states, phonon dispersion curve and X-ray diffraction pattern for binary and ternary system at various concentrations between 0 ≤ x ≤ 10. Furthermore, the lattice expansion, elastic constants, Gibbs free energy, X-ray diffraction pattern and radial distribution function were done on the most stable systems to determine the melting point of FeAl-X ternary systems. A systematic investigation was performed on the stability of the Fe-Al alloys at zero K. We employed CASTEP code to evaluate the thermodynamic, elastic and electronic stability. Virtual crystal approximation was used to determine various atomic concentrations (0 ≤ x ≤ 5) of both Pt and Ru; this allowed more precise predictions on the materials’ behaviour. Further analysis was done on the density of states to describe the behaviour of each phase near the Fermi level; these phases were observed at different percentage compositions. A supercell approach, DMol3 was also used to evaluate these systems at a larger scale (0 ≤ x ≤ 50). VASP and LAMMPS codes were used to determine the stability of these FeAl-X ternary systems at concentrations (0 ≤ x ≤ 10). It was found that the equilibrium lattice parameters of the binary systems are in good agreement to within 2% with the available experimental data. The heats of formation showed that β2 FeAl phase was the most energetically stable system since it displayed the lowest value compared to all other binary systems. This observation accord well with the experimental phase diagram. It was also confirmed from the corresponding electronic DOS behaviour near the Fermi level. Furthermore, the shear modulus (C’) of these Fe-Al binary systems, i.e. FeAl, Fe2Al5, Fe4Al13, Fe5Al8, Fe2Al and FeAl3 were found to be positive fulfilling the condition of stability. The Fe2Al5 system was found to be the second most stable phase, followed by the monoclinic structure Fe4Al13. This observation was confirmed from the total DOS (where the Fermi level falls in the pseudogap, condition of stability). We further employed virtual crystal approximation and supercell approaches to model various atomic compositions at 0 ≤ x ≤1 and 0 ≤ x ≤ 50 for Ag, Pt, Pd and Ru. The heats of formation, density of states and elastic constants were determined to describe the structural, thermodynamic and mechanical stability of these systems. It was found that the addition of Ag, Pt, Pd and Ru enhances the stability at lower atomic percentage composition below 0.5%. Interestingly, the addition of Pt and Ru was found to significantly improve the ductility of the ternary FeAl-X compound for 0.2 and 0.5 at. % compositions. These systems showed that the Fe-sublattice was the preferred doping site with promising improvement in strength on the properties. It was further deduced that Ag and Pd stabilize the FeAl-X system at atomic percentage compositions of 0.5 and 0.7 respectively. Furthermore, a molecular dynamics-based LAMMPS-EAM was employed to model Fe50-XXXAl doped systems with either Ag, Pt or Pd. The lattice site preferences of the dopant were deduced from their energy landscape. More importantly, Ag and Pd doped systems gave comparable transition temperatures to experimental findings of 1273 K and 1073 K, respectively. Their thermodynamic and mechanical stability trends showed promising properties for industrial applications, displaying stability at a high temperature below 1300 K. This was evident for Ag, Pt (0.5 at %) and Pd (0.7 at %) doping as was the most stable systems with respect to Cij, ΔG, and RDF’s which indicated to influence the elastic instability above 1200 K as well as the ductility of these systems. The XRD confirmed that the doped systems preserved the structural symmetry as expected.

This research focuses on a contemporary Operations Performance Management System (OPMS) designed for a leading global automotive parts supplier. It synthesises an integrated and holistic OPMS to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the automotive parts supplier to ultimately improve financial margin. The study is motivated by the need of an process-oriented automotive parts supplier to excel in regards to its operations management to ultimately secure a best-in-class cost basis in times of significant changes in the automotive industry. The research design is based on a qualitative single case-study and deploys semistructured interviews with the management of the case-study organisation. In addition, hundreds of documents were analysed to evidence the creation of the OPMS. Finally, participant observation was used to allow for triangulation and contextualisation of findings. The findings reveal a contemporary OPMS. It presents an intelligent and integrated steering logic from corporate level to single operational processes. It integrates performance measurement and management in acknowledgement of the specific needs to the case-study organisation. The overall aim of this thesis is to make a practical contribution to this area as achieved by the presented OPMS. This study extends the existing literature by contributing a customised, highlyintegrated OPMS for a process-oriented automotive parts supply industry. It embeds the ‘Target Costing Methodology’ as an example for a performance management tool into the OPMS. Furthermore, the study explores the impact of digitalisation on OPMS. This research has synthesised an OPMS that emphasises a shift towards intelligent performance measurement for achieving value in the chain, in areas such as procurement and manufacturing. This shift is strongly influenced by digital transformation, which is not yet holistically commanded by the case-study organisation. The research does shed light upon how to optimise resource utilisation based on increased operational focus and managerial accountability. This approach will lead to continual organisational learning as part of the ‘Plan-Do-Check-Action’ management process.

This diploma thesis is focused on the design of a robotic workstation for laser marking of aluminium hinges for the automotive industry. Robots remove wheel hinges from palettes at the end of a preassembly line, mark them a sort them. At first, selected marking technologies used in the automotive industry are introduced. Afterwards, a few robot and process simulation software are described. Subsequently, several layout variants are created as viable options for process handling and the chosen variant is designed in detail. Using RobotStudio software, a simulation of the robotic marking cell is made for process verification. Finally, a technical - economic evaluation is performed.