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The work presented in this thesis is a culmination of a collaborative venture between Matra BAe Dynamics and the Department of Enterprise Integration at Cranfield University. Initially the thesis examines the Engineering Doctorate philosophy, before describing the collaborator's history and the background to the decision to formulate a structured process to aid investment in manufacturing technology. The findings of an extensive literature review are described accompanied by the results of two supporting industrial studies initiated to complement the theoretical work. The literature review and studies revealed a concern about the degree of planning conducted prior to the adoption of manufacturing technology and how insufficient planning can have a negative impact on the implementation of the chosen investment. Further investigation highlighted an awarenesso f this being the problem within industry, yet it also revealed a lack of time and resources to take corrective action. The thesis then extends to the development of a process model constructed using the findings from the literature review and the industrial studies. The process model presents a structured process for investing in manufacturing technology consisting of a series of activities designed to guide managers through the planning and implementation stages of an investment. A third stage is proposed consisting of activities designed to encourage planning for future investments using the results from past investments as guides. Following a review of possible techniques for developing a process aid from the process model, HTML was selected and, based on a series of established requirements, a process aid was constructed. An industrial case study was undertaken to validate the process model and prove that the process is robust. Finally, recommendations for future work are presented and proposals for future developments are outlined.

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This thesis is concerned with the theoretical and esqjerimental aspects of low temperature infra red spectroscopic studies of ionic solvation. Isotopically dilute methanolic and aqueous solutions were investigated in the fundamental infra red region, particularly in the 0-H stretching region of the spectrum. Systematic room temperature investigations were undertaken for aqueous and methanolic electrolyte solutions as a fimction of the salt concentrations. These results provided certain trends regarding solvent- solute interactions which the low temperature experiments on the same solutions confirmed so that cation and anion solvation models could be put forward. ParticiiLar attention was given to the study of methanolic and aqueous polyatomic ion solutions to provide further evidence as to whether these anions cause the formation of free or weakly bonded 0-H groups. Infra red studies of the tetrahydroborate anion in various pure solvents and binary mixtures suggested an interaction between BH.;and water protons which had spectroscopic characteristics of hydrogenbonding. Finally vibrational studies of methanolic tetraalkylammonium halide solutions in inert and bulk solvent solutions produced a range of anion solvates where both primary and secondary solvation could be observed.

A review of the previous work on the mechanics of vibratory conveying is given., It is found that several theoretical studies have been made in the past but the predictions of the theories and the comparisons of these' with experimental results have only been applicable to a very limited range of the relevant variables. In the present work, a theoretical analysis is described which enables the mean conveying velocity of a component on a conventional vibratory conveyor to be determined for'a wide range of the relevant variables. Since an alternative method of vibration is discussed, "conventional" refers' to vibratory conveyors which are commercially available. The results of this theory are compared with the results of experimental work conducted on apparatus specially designed for the purpose. Within practical limits, good agreement is obtained. From this work it is concluded that fundamental limitations eXist in conventional vibratory conveying, the most important of which are that the conveying velocity is very sensitive to changes in the coefficient of friction between the component and the track and for low coefficients of friction, the conveying velocity for steady conveying is inadequate. • A further analysis is then described which considers the mechanics of Vibratory conveying where a phase difference exists between the normal and parallel motions of the track, (known as "out of phase" conveying). Again, within certain limits, the new theory is in good agreement with experimental results. It is apparent from this work that with the correct phase relationship between the two components of vibration, definite practical advantages exist over conventional conveying. With "out of phase" conveying, the component velocity is virtually independent of the nature of the component and track materials and conveying velocities significantly higher than those obtainable on a conventional vibratory conveyor axe possible. Further, with this vibration system, components can be conveyed separately and without erratic motion up an inclined track. A practical method of obtaining an "out of phase" vibration on the track of a vibratory bowl feeder is suggested. The results of performance tests on two commercially available vibratory bowl feeders with conventional drives are presented and it is shown that in both cases their performance is very sensitive to changes in the bowl load. A method for reducing this effect by re-tuning the bowl spring support system is demonstrated. Some suggestions for improving the performance of conventional bowl feeders are discussed which include details of how the track angle, vibration. angle, track material and suspension spring stiffness should be determined.

M.Ing. (Electrical And Electronic) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

With the world's population expected to reach nine billion by 2050, agricultural production will have to double to meet this growing demand. Hence, a need for better infrastructure to enhance farming efficiency becomes apparent. There are a number of solutions that have been developed to date that are commercially available. They range from genetically modified seeds and bio/green fertilizers to advanced farming machinery amongst others. However most of the farming equipment developed has drawbacks such as: heavy weight – this leads to reduced yields due to soil compacting; human dependency – constant monitoring and controlling is needed; light dependency – excludes usage during the night or when visibility is poor. Therefore, a possible solution will be researched to enhance the evolution of farming equipment. Furthermore, a model will be developed for testing and verifying the research.

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