Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Following the suggestions of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative publications on Life Cycle Management (LCM) as a business management approach to improve sustainability performance, this research explored LCM as a promising research area that could help identify the factors that influence the integration of sustainability aspects into organisational processes. The initial research strategy was comprised of LCM literature analysis to explore LCM and identify potential factors that could direct the data collection. The analysis of the LCM literature shows that LCM is vaguely described. This research analysis puts into context the various LCM approaches through the introduction of the four LCM elements. The LCM elements were used as a frame to analyse the LCM cases found in the literature and identify the factors that influence integration of sustainability in organisational processes. The next stage of the research strategy was to conduct action research studies to explore in close proximity the integration of sustainability aspects in organisational processes. Two in depth action research studies were conducted, influenced by engaged scholarship. During Case A, the LCM elements were used in practice to influence the project whilst the LCM factors were observed in practice. Case A demonstrated the complexity of sustainability-related information integration in organisational processes and the division of information flows towards different organisational functions to inform their own decision. The analysis highlighted that developing knowledge is a key LCM factor that influences the application of LCM. As the importance of developing knowledge became apparent, a novel sustainability related intellectual capital (SrIC) framework was developed then used during Case B. This framework is shown to assist the sustainability professionals of Company B in enhancing the sustainability related intellectual capital of the company, which in turn led to more effective sustainability integration. This research used LCM as a ‘vehicle’ to explore the integration of sustainability aspects into organisational processes and hence contribute to the LCM literature with the four LCM elements framework of analysis, descriptions of the factors that influence the application of LCM, bringing a focus on the importance of developing knowledge for the effective application of LCM, and identifying the intellectual capital factors that influence the integration of sustainability aspects into organisational processes.

Rapid prototyping is an approach to software development which attempts to remedy some of the shortcomings of the linear life cycle model, e.g. its inability to cope with fuzzy requirements and system evolution. This thesis first presents a broad survey of rapid software prototyping. It describes the rationale behind the process, the applications of prototyping, and specific techniques which may be used to achieve them. We then describe a system, called EPROS, together with its methodology, which supports a number of prototyping techniques in a coherent framework. The system is comprehensive in its approach and covers the prototyping and development of both functional and human-computer interface aspects of software systems. The former is based on the execution of VDM-based formal specification notation META-IV; the latter is based on a textual representation of state transition diagrams. Dialogue development is further supported by a rich set of abstractions which allow interaction concepts to be specified and directly executed rather than implemented. EPROS is based on a wide spectrum language which supports the main phases of a software development process, namely specification, design, and implementation. Included in this notation is a meta abstraction facility which facilitates its extension by the programmer. The primary application of EPROS is for evolutionary prototyping, where a system is developed iteratively and gradually from the abstract to the detailed, while it undergoes use and while its capabilities evolve. EPROS copes with all the requirements of evolutionary prototyping, namely rapid development, intermediate deliveries and gradual evolution of the system towards the final product. The thesis also describes a number of case studies where the presented ideas are put in practice, and which provide data in support of the effectiveness of the described system.

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Companies are under increasing pressure to deal with environmental concerns during product design, for it is the design process which primarily decides the environmental impact of a manufactured product over its life. Tools which assist in taking a life cycle view of the product are a necessary support to designers. Prime amongst these tools is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). However, a major criticism of LCA methodologies is that while they provide advice on environmentally superior product designs, they do not provide guidance on the economic impact. With product take back increasingly likely to become the responsibility of producer companies attention is now being paid to the later phases of a products life, such as maintenance and disposal costs. A new methodology is shown to be required to complement LCA, one which considers the economic implications of environmentally superior designs over the whole product life. It is argued that a major challenge of such a methodology will be how it deals with the uncertainty associated with the future. The research provides a review of product life cycle design methodologies and a critique of existing approaches to uncertainty. A design teams requirements for decision support that deals with product economic life cycle uncertainty is presented and a decision support methodology which meets these requirements is described. The methodology builds upon the theory of life cycle costing. In practice, the methodology integrates a computer based life cycle model with statistical techniques to quantify the contribution of life cycle variables. In bringing these proven but previously separate tools together the method resolves the issue of uncertainty in a novel and acceptable way. Through the use of an in-depth industrial case study, it is shown that the methodology provides practical support to the design team to produce economically superior product life cycle designs.

abstract: Several prominent research strategy organizations recommend applying life cycle assessment (LCA) early in the development of emerging technologies. For example, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Research Council, the Department of Energy, and the National Nanotechnology Initiative identify the potential for LCA to inform research and development (R&D) of photovoltaics and products containing engineered nanomaterials (ENMs). In this capacity, application of LCA to emerging technologies may contribute to the growing movement for responsible research and innovation (RRI). However, existing LCA practices are largely retrospective and ill-suited to support the objectives of RRI. For example, barriers related to data availability, rapid technology change, and isolation of environmental from technical research inhibit application of LCA to developing technologies. This dissertation focuses on development of anticipatory LCA tools that incorporate elements of technology forecasting, provide robust explorations of uncertainty, and engage diverse innovation actors in overcoming retrospective approaches to environmental assessment and improvement of emerging technologies. Chapter one contextualizes current LCA practices within the growing literature articulating RRI and identifies the optimal place in the stage gate innovation model to apply LCA. Chapter one concludes with a call to develop anticipatory LCA – building on the theory of anticipatory governance – as a series of methodological improvements that seek to align LCA practices with the objectives of RRI. Chapter two provides a framework for anticipatory LCA, identifies where research from multiple disciplines informs LCA practice, and builds off the recommendations presented in the preceding chapter. Chapter two focuses on crystalline and thin film photovoltaics (PV) to illustrate the novel framework, in part because PV is an environmentally motivated technology undergoing extensive R&D efforts and rapid increases in scale of deployment. The chapter concludes with a series of research recommendations that seek to direct PV research agenda towards pathways with the greatest potential for environmental improvement. Similar to PV, engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are an emerging technology with numerous potential applications, are the subject of active R&D efforts, and are characterized by high uncertainty regarding potential environmental implications. Chapter three introduces a Monte Carlo impact assessment tool based on the toxicity impact assessment model USEtox and demonstrates stochastic characterization factor (CF) development to prioritize risk research with the greatest potential to improve certainty in CFs. The case study explores a hypothetical decision in which personal care product developers are interested in replacing the conventional antioxidant niacinamide with the novel ENM C60, but face high data uncertainty, are unsure regarding potential ecotoxicity impacts associated with this substitution, and do not know what future risk-relevant experiments to invest in that most efficiently improve certainty in the comparison. Results suggest experiments that elucidate C60 partitioning to suspended solids should be prioritized over parameters with little influence on results. This dissertation demonstrates a novel anticipatory approach to exploration of uncertainty in environmental models that can create new, actionable knowledge with potential to guide future research and development decisions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Civil and Environmental Engineering 2016

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Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:26:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:06:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / A interferência antrópica no meio ambiente e conseqüente alteração do clima, é hoje um consenso. Esta interferência climática se dá de forma local, regional e, conjuntamente com os gases de efeito estufa, de forma também global. Essa alteração climática, de maneira reversa, interfere por sua vez, no meio ambiente. Tal ciclo de interferências se processa sob várias formas e resulta em várias conseqüências. Porém o chamado Aquecimento Global é, certamente, o efeito de conseqüências globais de maior impacto. A causa principal do aumento da temperatura (Efeito Estufa) está no uso intensivo que se faz de energéticos fósseis. Assim, para minimizar as mudanças climáticas deve-se focar o esforço principalmente em ações que visem à diminuição, substituição e o uso mais eficiente dos energéticos fósseis. Olhando para o passado, parece que os antigos agricultores podem ter lançado gases estufa desde milênios atrás, alterando de maneira lenta, mas significativa, o clima do planeta muito antes do que na Era Industrial. Confirmada essa teoria, suas conseqüências seriam decisivas para a história do homem na Terra. Por exemplo, as temperaturas atuais de partes da América do Norte e Europa poderiam ser até 4 graus Celsius menores, o suficiente para inviabilizar nessas áreas, a agricultura e, conseqüentemente, o desenvolvimento humano e histórico dessas regiões. Este trabalho tem como foco principal fazer uma retrospectiva sobre algumas culturas que colapsaram frente a problemas ambientais e fazer um histórico das atividades humanas ao longo do tempo, desde os primórdios do homem até a Revolução Industrial, notadamente com o que diz respeito à vi agricultura e pecuária, no sentido da sua interferência na dinâmica natural do clima global e no meio ambiente. Mostrando, através de comparações de dados e inferências, que as emissões dessas atividades tiveram uma magnitude até significativa, comparativamente as mudanças induzidas após a própria Revolução Industrial. Demonstra-se, também, que essa interferência climático-ambiental era inevitável, no sentido que a evolução humana deveu-se a essas mesmas atividades. Outro ponto importante é uma reflexão sobre como a evolução humana (e conseqüentemente sua ciência e tecnologia) irá, porventura, encontrar as soluções dos problemas causados por essas mudanças climáticas e ambientais e a importância, neste contexto, para as soluções de problemas de ordem social / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

In traditional aircraft wing structural design, the emphasis has been on pursuing the minimum weight or improved performance. The manufacturing complexity or cost assessments are rarely considered because it is usually assumed that the minimum weight design is also the minimum cost design. However, experience from industry has shown that this is not necessarily the case. It has been realised that in the cases where no manufacturing constraints are imposed, the extra machining cost can erode the advantages of the reduced weight. As manufacturing cost includes material cost and machining cost, whilst reducing weight can reduce the material cost, if the manufacturing complexity increases greatly as a result the overall cost may not go down. Indeed, if the manufacturing complexity is not checked, the machining cost could increase by more than the amount by which the material cost reduces. To enable the structural manufacturing complexity to be controlled, manufacturing constraints are established in this thesis and integrated into the optimisation of the aircraft wing structural design. As far as the manufacturing complexity is concerned, attention has been paid to both 3-axis and 5-axis machining. The final designs of optimisations with manufacturing constraints prove the efficiency of these constraints in guiding the design in the manufacturing-feasible direction.