Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / This thesis describes the design and implementation of a software platform for software defined radio (SDR). This platform was to form part of an experimental satellite payload. Several other experiments were also housed on this platfrom and subsequently had to be incorporated into the design. The hardware components of the payload were already de- termined at the start of the project but firmware had to be created as part of the project. The software platform was based on the Linux kernel. Device drivers had to be designed for the hardware and firmware components. These drivers were designed so that standard Unix utilities could be used to interact with them. This allowed for easy testing of the system and the programs running on it. The use of the platform for modulation and demodulation of analogue signals was demonstrated using a proof-of-concept SDR application.

A Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos, de 2010, representou um novo paradigma para a gestão de resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos, responsabilizando fabricantes, importadores, distribuidores e comerciantes pela coleta e destinação adequada desses resíduos por meio de sistemas de logística reversa. Dentro do cenário nacional, o Estado de São Paulo encontra-se em uma posição pioneira frente à implementação da logística reversa. Em âmbito internacional, destacam-se os casos japonês e europeu como referência na gestão de tais resíduos. Nesse contexto, esta dissertação tem o objetivo principal de desenvolver um conjunto de indicadores para avaliação de sistemas de logística reversa de resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos, com a finalidade de contribuir para o acompanhamento e avaliação de tais sistemas pelos órgãos ambientais. Foram realizadas revisão bibliográfica e pesquisa documental sobre os modelos de gestão de resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos e os sistemas de logística reversa na Europa, no Japão e no Brasil, e sobre indicadores e critérios para avaliação de sistemas de logística reversa desses resíduos. Em seguida, foram aplicados questionários para identificar quais indicadores são utilizados para os sistemas europeus e japoneses, quais são sugeridos por especialistas e pelas entidades gestoras nacionais. Como resultado, foi proposto um conjunto de indicadores para avaliação de sistemas de logística reversa de resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos, o qual foi submetido à validação de especialistas por meio da técnica Delphi. O conjunto proposto após a etapa de validação é composto por cinco parâmetros que exprimem uma caracterização básica do sistema e por 31 indicadores, classificados em seis dimensões: i) abrangência, ii) representatividade, iii) parcerias, iv) coleta, v) destinação e disposição final, e vi) custos e investimentos. Por fim, foi proposto um modelo de relatório para tais sistemas, integrado ao conjunto, para fornecer os dados necessários aos indicadores. / The National Solid Waste Policy of 2010 represented a new paradigm for the management of waste electrical and electronic equipment, making manufacturers, importers, distributors and merchants accountable for the collection and proper disposal of these wastes through take-back systems. Within the national scenario, the State of São Paulo is in a pioneering position regarding the implementation of reverse logistics. At the international level, the Japanese and European cases stand out as a reference in the management of such waste. In this context, the research proposed herein has the main objective of developing a set of indicators for the evaluation of waste electrical and electronic equipment take-back systems, with the purpose of contributing to the monitoring and evaluation of such systems by environmental agencies. A bibliographic review and documentary research were carried out on models of waste electrical and electronic equipment management and take-back systems in Europe, Japan and Brazil, and on indicators and criteria for the evaluation of take-back systems of such waste. Questionnaires were then applied to identify which indicators are used for the European and Japanese systems and which are suggested by experts and national producer responsibility organizations. As a result, a set of indicators was proposed for the evaluation of waste electrical and electronic equipment take-back systems, which was submitted to the validation of specialists through the Delphi method. The set proposed after the validation step is composed of five parameters that express a basic characterization of the system and 31 indicators, classified into six dimensions: i) comprehensiveness, ii) representativeness, iii) partnerships, iv) collection, v) recycling and disposal, and vi) costs and investments. Finally, a reporting model for such systems, integrated with the set of indicators, was proposed to provide the necessary data for the indicators.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2016-11-18T10:45:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Alcio Souza Diniz Junior_.pdf: 2390058 bytes, checksum: c21eb457a5c4d114db4d36d965058652 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-18T10:45:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Alcio Souza Diniz Junior_.pdf: 2390058 bytes, checksum: c21eb457a5c4d114db4d36d965058652 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-06-15 / Nenhuma / O conceito de sustentabilidade corporativa é constituído por três pilares: econômico, social e ambiental. Este conceito determina, resumidamente, que organizações devem considerar a inclusão de critérios ambientais, sociais e econômicos em seus processos de decisão e que o resultado destas decisões seja positivo nas três dimensões da sustentabilidade. De forma geral, o setor econômico tem adotado estratégias ambientais, seja focando produtos, processos ou cultura organizacional. Os motivadores para estes movimentos podem ser cultural, econômico, legal ou um conjunto entre todos. Este trabalho, relacionado ao amplo tema da sustentabilidade corporativa, tem como objeto de pesquisa os modelos de tratamento de Resíduo de Equipamentos Eletro Eletrônicos (REEE) adotados no Japão, Estados Unidos, Suíça e a proposta brasileira, elaborada junto ao Conselho Nacional do Meio Ambiente (CONAMA). Seu objetivo é identificar e analisar fatores e aspectos relevantes para a sustentabilidade econômica de um sistema reverso que trata REEE assim como aspectos que potencializem a contribuição ambiental das atividades de um sistema reverso para tratamento de REEE. A abordagem de pesquisa utilizada segue o paradigma indutivista, sendo baseada na estratégia de estudo de caso por meio de entrevistas com especialistas. As principais contribuições produzidas indicam, tanto do ponto de vista teórico como real, a existência de fragilidade econômica de sistemas reversos e obstáculos organizacionais, culturais e de priorização para se potencializar a contribuição ambiental destes sistemas. / The corporate sustainability concept is based on three different pillars: economic, social and environmental. This concept determinates in resume that organizations should consider including environmental, social and economic criteria in the decision making processes. In fact, the economic sector has adopted environmental strategies, by focusing products, processes and organizational culture. The drivers motivating this kind of movement towards sustainability go from economic identified opportunities until the obedience to new regulations. This study is to the wide sustainability theme related and it has, as the object of analysis the Waste of Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) models adopted in Japan, EUA, Switzerland and the Brazilian proposal gathered by the National Environmental Council (CONAMA). The main goal of this research is to identify key factors and aspects that support de economic sustainability of any reverse system as well the ones which create possibilities for the reverse systems to contribute effectively to the natural environment. The research approach follows the indutivism paradigm, utilizing the case study strategy based on interviews with specialists. The main contributions, theoretical as practical, indicate that the reverse systems are fragile in respect to the economic dimension as well as the existence of organizational, cultural and prioritization barriers which determinates a low level of environmental contribution of theses systems.

The biggest obstacle to robust color image processing of wood is in developing a color model that represents all possible defect colors. When the color model is too general or too specific, defect recognition fails because too many or too few non-defect pixels match the model, respectively. Because a color image of wood contains far more clear and clear-grain colored pixels than grain-knot and knot colored pixels, it is beneficial to first statistically identify and remove the clear and clear-grain colors and to use the accumulated data to simultaneously enhance and normalize the remaining grainknot and knot colored pixels. This process is here called adaptive color correlation. The normal image processing strategy is to search and test for defect features directly. The strategy proposed and developed here is to instead classify all wood pixels containing non-defect colors first, and then identify defect features. Once non-defect features are removed from an image, the task of finding candidate defects becomes easier and faster. This improvement is realized in a sigmoid-shaped color correlation implemented as an adaptive look-up table. As wood has become more expensive relative to manufacturing costs, more efficient methods of maximizing the recovery of clear wood in every board are sought. Optimization, in the present context, is a broad term for selecting products that are made from wood boards so the value of products produced is maximized for a given production requirement. Wood contains random defects which prohibit the production of some products. The normal optimization strategy is to mathematically change the value of under/over-produced products directly. The strategy proposed and developed here is to instead separate optimization into two steps: 1) determine all possible product solutions for a board; and 2) select the single best solution that satisfies value and production goals. Maximum utilization of clear wood is achieved because the solution is "frozen" before mathematically changing the value of products. Recovering long-lengths of clear wood is achieved because various length-based valuation strategies may be implemented as postsolution processes. Separating the product selection process from the solution generation process is shown by this work (simulation) to maximize value recovery.

In the past years supply chain integration has become focus of interest, due to the discussion in the literature, that a positive direct relationship exists between higher supply chain integration and higher performance. Additionally, the environmental and social performance of supply chains gained much interest based on the new sustainability focus in the 21st century. The production of electrical and electronic equipment is one of the fastest growing global manufacturing activities. However, due to technological advancements, the quick obsolescence of electronics result in increased generation of waste of electrical and electronic equipment. Germany is one of the leading electrical and electronic equipment markets within Europe and is strongly affected by the EU directives and regulations, which aim not only to protect human health but also to improve the environmental performance of the electrical and electronic equipment operators in particular. Therefore, the environmental and social performance of German electrical and electronic equipment manufacturers is increasingly gaining importance. Respectively, the purpose of this study is to investigate what effect the depth of upstream supply chain integration has on the environmental and social performance of German electrical and electronic equipment manufacturers. This study is based on the quantitative research method. The required empirical data is generated through an online questionnaire, which has been sent to German electrical and electronic equipment manufacturers. An initial operationalization of upstream supply chain integration depth and environmental and social performance is used as a foundation for the questionnaire. It can be concluded that German electrical and electronic equipment manufacturers seem to have a coordinative upstream supply chain integration and presumably have a Abstract 4 moderate environmental and social performance. Furthermore, it can be assumed that the upstream supply chain integration depth has an effect on the environmental and social performance of German electrical and electronic equipment manufacturers.

Submitted by Claudinei Pracidelli (cpracide@ipen.br) on 2016-06-22T12:49:00Z No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-22T12:49:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Dissertação (Mestrado em Tecnologia Nuclear) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

A Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos, de 2010, representou um novo paradigma para a gestão de resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos, responsabilizando fabricantes, importadores, distribuidores e comerciantes pela coleta e destinação adequada desses resíduos por meio de sistemas de logística reversa. Dentro do cenário nacional, o Estado de São Paulo encontra-se em uma posição pioneira frente à implementação da logística reversa. Em âmbito internacional, destacam-se os casos japonês e europeu como referência na gestão de tais resíduos. Nesse contexto, esta dissertação tem o objetivo principal de desenvolver um conjunto de indicadores para avaliação de sistemas de logística reversa de resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos, com a finalidade de contribuir para o acompanhamento e avaliação de tais sistemas pelos órgãos ambientais. Foram realizadas revisão bibliográfica e pesquisa documental sobre os modelos de gestão de resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos e os sistemas de logística reversa na Europa, no Japão e no Brasil, e sobre indicadores e critérios para avaliação de sistemas de logística reversa desses resíduos. Em seguida, foram aplicados questionários para identificar quais indicadores são utilizados para os sistemas europeus e japoneses, quais são sugeridos por especialistas e pelas entidades gestoras nacionais. Como resultado, foi proposto um conjunto de indicadores para avaliação de sistemas de logística reversa de resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos, o qual foi submetido à validação de especialistas por meio da técnica Delphi. O conjunto proposto após a etapa de validação é composto por cinco parâmetros que exprimem uma caracterização básica do sistema e por 31 indicadores, classificados em seis dimensões: i) abrangência, ii) representatividade, iii) parcerias, iv) coleta, v) destinação e disposição final, e vi) custos e investimentos. Por fim, foi proposto um modelo de relatório para tais sistemas, integrado ao conjunto, para fornecer os dados necessários aos indicadores. / The National Solid Waste Policy of 2010 represented a new paradigm for the management of waste electrical and electronic equipment, making manufacturers, importers, distributors and merchants accountable for the collection and proper disposal of these wastes through take-back systems. Within the national scenario, the State of São Paulo is in a pioneering position regarding the implementation of reverse logistics. At the international level, the Japanese and European cases stand out as a reference in the management of such waste. In this context, the research proposed herein has the main objective of developing a set of indicators for the evaluation of waste electrical and electronic equipment take-back systems, with the purpose of contributing to the monitoring and evaluation of such systems by environmental agencies. A bibliographic review and documentary research were carried out on models of waste electrical and electronic equipment management and take-back systems in Europe, Japan and Brazil, and on indicators and criteria for the evaluation of take-back systems of such waste. Questionnaires were then applied to identify which indicators are used for the European and Japanese systems and which are suggested by experts and national producer responsibility organizations. As a result, a set of indicators was proposed for the evaluation of waste electrical and electronic equipment take-back systems, which was submitted to the validation of specialists through the Delphi method. The set proposed after the validation step is composed of five parameters that express a basic characterization of the system and 31 indicators, classified into six dimensions: i) comprehensiveness, ii) representativeness, iii) partnerships, iv) collection, v) recycling and disposal, and vi) costs and investments. Finally, a reporting model for such systems, integrated with the set of indicators, was proposed to provide the necessary data for the indicators.

Submitted by Claudinei Pracidelli (cpracide@ipen.br) on 2016-06-22T12:49:00Z No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-22T12:49:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Na presente dissertação, foi desenvolvido um equipamento para tomografia com nêutrons que está operacional e instalado no canal de irradiação 14 do Reator Nuclear de Pesquisas IEA-R1 do IPEN-CNEN/SP. As imagens apresentadas neste trabalho, são de objetos que foram selecionados de modo a realçarem uma das principais aplicações da técnica, que é o estudo de materiais hidrogenados mesmo se envoltos por espessa camada de alguns metais. Neste equipamento, uma tomografia completa pode ser obtida em 400 s, com uma resolução espacial máxima de 205 μm. Estas características são comparáveis às dos equipamentos mais desenvolvidos em operação em outros países, e propiciam imagens com qualidade suficiente para que sejam realizadas análises tanto qualitativas quanto quantitativas dos objetos inspecionados. A implementação da técnica da tomografia com nêutrons abre a possibilidade de novas linhas de pesquisa, pois disponibiliza uma nova ferramenta para inspeção de objetos, que fornece uma visão da sua estrutura interna, que nem sempre é possível por métodos de imageamento bidimensional. / Dissertação (Mestrado em Tecnologia Nuclear) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Abstract Electronic industry is developing advanced and versatile products to satisfy customers' needs. It is also creating new needs, which expand the market further. This highly competitive field forces companies to produce continuously better, and hence more complex, products at an increasingly fast rate. This is particularly true of the mobile phone industry, which pursues higher volumes and penetration rates throughout the world. Very high volumes and extreme complexity require intensive research and a commitment to high product quality. Mobile phone manufacturers must commit themselves to strict quality standards and programs, which ultimately enable high customer satisfaction. Both quality assessment and product management generally need a method of feedback to be able to react to the manufactured output. This thesis concentrates on this aspect of feedback. A preliminary customer survey revealed that the information received directly from customers might not be accurate enough to be used as primary feedback data. The quality of the information varies notably and depends entirely on the customers' ability to perceive the relevant parameters. This also affects greatly their ability to communicate the information to the customer interface and then all the way back to the manufacturer. Based on the findings, end customers' average level of knowledge of mobile phone technology is fair [C]. Therefore, it is recommended that more accurate means should be developed for acquiring feedback data. Also, based on other research findings, it would be important to minimize human intervention and to make the flow of information as direct as possible. Based on previous research and the present findings, a concept was designed which satisfies the specific need for accurate feedback from the performance of mobile phones in the field. The interfaces providing data throughout the whole product life cycle were also analyzed in detail. And finally, the concept was implemented and piloted with a mobile phone manufacturer. The pilot studies showed that an improved feedback capability would benefit not only product quality, but also various functions of the company producing mobile devices. The increased knowledge of device performance obtained from the system can be utilized in, for example, testing, design, marketing, and management and also at all customer interfaces in the field.

This work investigated a novel vapor chamber for efficient heat spreading and heat removal. A vapor chamber acting as a heat spreader enables for more uniform temperature distribution along the surface of the device being cooled. First, a vapor chamber was studied and compared with the traditional copper heat spreader. The thickness of vapor chamber was kept 1.35 mm which was considered to be ultra-thin vapor chamber. Then, a new geometrical model having graphite foam in vapor space was proposed where the graphite foam material was incorporated in vapor space as square cubes. The effects of incorporating graphite foam in vapor space were compared to the vapor chamber without the embedded graphite foam to investigate the heat transfer performance improvements of vapor chamber by the high thermal conductivity graphite foam. Finally, the effects of various vapor chamber thicknesses were studied through numerical simulations. It was found that thinner vapor chamber (1.35 mm thickness) had better heat transfer performance than thicker vapor chamber (5 mm thickness) because of the extreme high effective thermal conductivities of ultra-thin vapor chamber. Furthermore, the effect of graphite foam on thermal performance improvement was very minor for ultra-thin vapor chamber, but significant for thick vapor chamber. The GF could help reduce the junction temperature by 15-30% in the 5-mm thick vapor chamber. Use of GF embedded vapor chamber could achieve 250-400 Watt per Centimeter square local heat removal for power electronics. The application of this is not only limited to electronic devices but actuator and avionics cooling in aircrafts, thermal management of electronics in directed energy weapon systems, battery thermal management for electric and hybrid vehicles, smart phones cooling, thus covering a wide gamut of heat flux applications.