Dagens konkurrenskraftiga företagsvärld ställer höga krav på organisationers effektivitet i många processer. Automatisering av arbetsuppgifter är nödvändigt för att uppfylla det behov av frekvent uppdaterad data som idag är ett faktum. Organisationers processer blir därför allt mer komplexa och automatiserade transaktioner, big data och realtidsapplikationer blir allt vanligare. Traditionell informationsteknologi (IT) även kallat heavyweight IT, räcker inte längre till för att hantera den konstant ökande komplexiteten i olika processer. Användandet av lightweight IT så som personliga applikationer, plattformar och enheter i arbetet är istället trenden som vuxit fram för att ge användare det stöd som krävs. Ett exempel på lightweight IT är Robotic Process Automation (RPA). RPA är ett nytt fenomen som endast interagerar med övriga system snarare än att integreras. Implementering av denna typ av IT innebär utmaningar för organisationer då sådana projekt inte kan behandlas som traditionella systemimplementationer. I denna studie har kvalitativa undersökningsmetoder använts där två projekt har studerats med hjälp av intervjuer. Syftet med denna studien är att kartlägga samspelet mellan RPA och organisationers övriga system för att identifiera de utmaningar som medförs av det delade synsättet på interaktion och integration. Genom litteraturstudien kunde tre huvudsakliga skillnader mellan interaktion och integration identifieras där utmaningar kan uppstå vilka kunde ligga till grund för den empiriska undersökningen. Slutsatsen innehåller sedan tre riktlinjer för hur organisationer kan hantera de identifierade utmaningarna. Riktlinjerna riktas till både beställare och konsultanter av RPA. / Today’s competitive world of companies set high demands on the efficiency of organizations processes. Automatization of tasks is necessary to fulfill the need of frequently updated data that exists in today’s society. The processes of organizations therefore become more and more complex and automatic transactions, big data, and reality-time-applications are becoming more common. Traditional information technology (IT) also referred to as heavyweight IT is no longer enough for organizations to handle the constantly growing complexity in different processes. Instead the use of lightweight IT such as applications, platforms and mobile devices for work purposes is trending to give employees the support they need. An example of lightweight IT is Robotic Process Automation (RPA). RPA is a new phenomenon that merely interacts with other systems rather than integrate. The implementation of this new type of IT means new challenges for organizations when these projects cannot be treated as traditional system implementations. The study applies qualitative survey techniques where two projects have been investigated through interviews. The purpose of this study is to map out the interplay between RPA and the organizations other systems to identify the challenges caused by the divided views on interaction and integration. Based on the literature review we identified three main differences between interaction and integration where challenges can arise. These challenges created base for the empirical study. The conclusion then contains three guidelines that can help organizations handle the identified challenges. The guidelines are addressed to both buyers and consultants of RPA.

This study attempts to shed light on the efficacy of crowdsourcing as a means of translating web content in Canada. Within, we seek to explore and understand if a model can be created that can estimate the effectiveness of crowdsourced translation as a means of bridging the Canadian Linguistic Digital Divide. To test our hypotheses and models, we use structural equation modeling techniques coupled with confidence intervals for comparing experimental crowdsourced translation to both professional and machine translation baselines. Furthermore, we explore a variety of factors which influence the quality of the experimental translations, how those translations performed in the context of their source text, and the ways in which the views of the quality of the experimental translations were measured before and after participants were made aware of how the experimental translations were created.

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Cellular concrete is a type of lightweight concrete that consists only of cement, water and sand with 20 per cent air by volume or more air entrained into the concrete. The two methods used for air entrainment in cellular concrete are (1) the use of an air entraining agent (AEA), and (2) the use of pre-formed foam. If pre-formed foam is used to entrain air into the concrete the concrete is named foamed concrete and if an AEA is used the concrete is termed aerated concrete. Depending on the type of application, structural or nonstructural, cellular concrete can be designed to have a density in the range of range of 400 to 1800 kg/m3. Non-structural applications of cellular concrete include void and trench filling, thermal and acoustic insulation. Structural applications of cellular concrete include pre-cast units such as concrete bricks, partitions, roof slabs etc. Due to the high levels of air in cellular concrete it is challenging to produce compressive strengths that are sufficient to classify the concrete as structurally useful when non-autoclaving curing conditions are used. The autoclaving process combines high temperature and pressure in the forming process, which causes higher strength and reduced shrinkage. This process is also limited to prefabricated units. Non-autoclave curing conditions include moist curing, dry curing, wrapping the concrete in plastic, etc. However, now that the world is moving in an energy efficient direction, ways to exclude energy-intensive autoclaving are sought. It has for instance been found that the utilisation of high volumes of fly-ash in cellular concrete leads to higher strengths which make it possible to classify the concrete as structurally useful. Now, that there is renewed interest in the structural applications of the concrete a design methodology using an arbitrary air entraining agent needs to be found. The research reported in this thesis therefore attempts to find such a methodology and to produce aerated concrete with a given density and strength that can be classified as structurally useful. For the mix design methodology, the following factors are investigated: water demand of the mix, water demand of the mix constituents, and the amount of AEA needed to produce aerated concrete with a certain density. The water demand of the mix depends on the mix constituents and therefore a method is proposed to calculate the water demand of the mix constituents based on the ASTM flow turn table. Due to the complex nature of air entrainment in concrete, the amount of air entrained into the concrete mix is not known beforehand, and a trial and error method therefore had to be developed. The trial mixes were conducted in a small bakery mixer. From the trial mixes estimated dosages of AEA were found and concrete mixes were designed based on these mixes. The factors that influence the mix design and strength of aerated concrete include filler/cement ratio (f/c), fly-ash/cement ratio (a/c) and design target density. Additional factors that influence the strength of aerated concrete are specimen size and shape, curing, and concrete age. It was found that the sand type and f/c ratio influence the water demand of the concrete mix. Sand type and f/c ratio also influence compressive strength, with higher strength for a finer sand type and lower f/c ratios. However, the concrete density is the factor that influences the strength the most.

Stiff, ultra-lightweight thermal-formed polyimide panels considered in this dissertation are examples of next generation gossamer structures that resolve some of the technology barriers of previous, membrane-dominated gossamer designs while maintaining their low mass and low stowage volume characteristics. The research involved statically and dynamically characterizing and modeling several of these panels to develop validated computer models which can be used to determine the effects of changing manufacturing parameters and scalability. Static characterization showed substantial local nonlinear behavior that was replicated by new physics-based finite element models, and global linear bending behavior that was modeled using classical shell finite elements incorporating effective properties in place of bulk material properties to represent the unique stiffening structure of these panels. Dynamic characterization was performed on individual panels using standard impact hammer and accelerometer testing, enabling successful extraction of several structural natural frequencies and mode shapes. Additionally, the three dimensional time history of the surface of the panels was rendered from video data, and temporal filters were applied to the data to examine the frequency content. These data were also correlated to the shell element numerical models. Overall, the research contributes to the total knowledge base of gossamer technologies, advances stiff panel-based structures toward space qualification, and demonstrates their potential for use in apertures and other spacecraft.

Homes are involved in a significant fraction of Internet traffic. However, meaningful and comprehensive information on the structure and use of home networks is still hard to obtain. The two main challenges in collecting such information are the lack of measurement infrastructure in the home network environment and individuals’ concerns about information privacy. To tackle these challenges, the dissertation introduces Home Network Flow Logger (HNFL) to bring lightweight privacy-preserving passive measurement to home networks. The core of HNFL is a Linux kernel module that runs on resource-constrained commodity home routers to collect network traffic data from raw packets. Unlike prior passive measurement tools, HNFL is shown to work without harming either data accuracy or router performance. This dissertation also includes a months-long field study to collect passive measurement data from home network gateways where network traffic is not mixed by NAT (Network Address Translation) in a non-intrusive way. The comprehensive data collected from over fifty households are analyzed to learn the characteristics of home networks such as number and distribution of connected devices, traffic distribution among internal devices, network availability, downlink/uplink bandwidth, data usage patterns, and application traffic distribution.

Motivation - Komplexe Anforderungen an die Karosserie - Unbekannte Auswirkungen von Parametervariationen in der frühen Phase - Informationsdefizit führt zu Iterationsschleifen Ziel Beurteilung der Auswirkung von Parametervariationen von Werkstoffen, Produktionsverfahren, Geometrien auf die Karosserie-Eigenschaften

One of the benefits of electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid vehicles (HVs) is their potential to recuperate braking energy. Regenerative braking (RB) will minimize duty levels on the brakes, giving advantages including extended brake rotor and friction material life and, more significantly, reduced brake mass and minimised brake pad wear. In this thesis, a mathematical analysis (MATLAB) has been used to analyse the accessibility of regenerative braking energy during a single-stop braking event. The results have indicated that a friction brake could be downsized while maintaining the same functional requirements of the vehicle braking in the standard brakes, including thermomechanical performance (heat transfer coefficient estimation, temperature distribution, cooling and stress deformation). This would allow lighter brakes to be designed and fitted with confidence in a normal passenger car alongside a hybrid electric drive. An approach has been established and a lightweight brake disc design analysed FEA and experimentally verified is presented in this research. Thermal performance was a key factor which was studied using the 3D model in FEA simulations. Ultimately, a design approach for lightweight brake discs suitable for use in any car-sized hybrid vehicle has been developed and tested. The results from experiments on a prototype lightweight brake disc were shown to illustrate the effects of RBS/friction combination in terms of weight reduction. The design requirement, including reducing the thickness, would affect the temperature distribution and increase stress at the critical area. Based on the relationship obtained between rotor weight, thickness and each performance requirement, criteria have been established for designing lightweight brake discs in a vehicle with regenerative braking.

The use<b></b>of lightweight concrete in the concrete industry provides economical and practical advantages. Structural anchors are commonly used in the industry for various structural applications. In <i>ACI 318-19: Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and Commentary</i>, a modification factor, λ<i>_a</i>, is specified for the calculated design strengths of anchors installed in lightweight concrete that experience concrete or bond failure. The modification factor consists of the general lightweight concrete modification factor,λ, specified in the code multiplied by an additional reduction factor dependent on the anchor and failure type. For the concrete breakout strength of expansion and screw anchors in lightweight concrete, the value of λ<i>_a</i>is specified as 0.8λ. For the concrete breakout strength of cast-in anchors in lightweight concrete, the value of λ<i>_a</i>is 1.0λ. In both cases, however, the specified value of λ<i>_a</i>is based on limited test data. A research program was therefore conducted to provide the data needed for more appropriate lightweight modification factors. A primary objective of the research was to evaluate the concrete breakout strengths of cast-in, expansion, and screw anchors installed in lightweight concrete by conducting a systematic experimental program that included various types of lightweight concrete. More specifically, the experimental program included tension tests on torque-controlled expansion anchors, displacement-controlled expansion anchors, and screw anchors from four manufacturers in addition to tension tests on cast-in headed stud anchors. A total of seven concrete types were included in the research: one normalweight concrete mixture and six lightweight concrete mixtures. The lightweight concrete included sand-lightweight and all-lightweight mixtures composed ofexpanded shale, clay, and slate aggregates. The results of the experimental program are compared to limited data available from previous tension tests on anchors in lightweight concrete. Based on the results of the research, revised lightweight concrete modification factors for the concrete breakout design strengths of the anchor types included in the test program are provided.

O presente trabalho estuda a viabilidade de utilização da escória de alumínio, que é um rejeito da indústria recicladora de alumínio, atualmente sem valor agregado, como elemento integrante na fabricação de argila expandida. A argila expandida é produzida a partir de argilas que produzam expansão piroplástica, que são utilizadas como agregado leve na fabricação de concreto estrutural e também como artigo decorativo em jardins. Inicialmente foram feitas análises dos materiais de partida, como difração de raios X, microscopia eletrônica de varredura, fluorescência de raios X, análise granulométrica, análise termogravimétrica e análise térmica diferencial da argila. Foram feitas incorporações do rejeito junto à massa de argila, na proporção de 5%, 10%, 15% e 20% em massa. As formulações estudadas foram analisadas quanto à expansão linear, variação de massa, massa específica aparente e absorção de água. Foram feitos também ensaios de lixiviação e solubilização. Os principais resultados obtidos mostraram que é viável o uso da escória de alumínio até aproximadamente 5% em massa, para a produção da argila expandida, com características aceitáveis e dentro das normas vigentes. Palavraschave: reciclagem, escória de alumínio, argila expandida, agregado leve. / The use of industrial waste materials as additives in the manufacture of ceramic product has been attracting a growing interest in the last few years and is becoming common practice. The main purpose of this work is to evaluate the possibility of incorporation of aluminum slag into clay materials. Expansive clays are obtained from a pyroplastic expansion, and are usually employed like lightweight aggregate in structural concrete as ornamental garden products. The characterization of the aluminum slag and clay materials was carried out by Xray fluorescence spectrometry, Xray diffraction, granulometry, differential thermal analysis, thermal gravimetry (DTA and TG) and scanning electron microscopy. The studied compositions contained 5, 10, 15 and 20 weight% of aluminum slag into clay mass. The linear expansion, mass variation, apparent specific mass and water absorption of all compositions were determined. Leaching and solubilization experiments were also performed. The main results show the viabilitiy of using up to 5wt% aluminum slag for producing expansive clays with characteristics within the accepted standards. Keywords: recycling, aluminum slag, expansive clay, lightweight aggregate.

O presente trabalho estuda a viabilidade de utilização da escória de alumínio, que é um rejeito da indústria recicladora de alumínio, atualmente sem valor agregado, como elemento integrante na fabricação de argila expandida. A argila expandida é produzida a partir de argilas que produzam expansão piroplástica, que são utilizadas como agregado leve na fabricação de concreto estrutural e também como artigo decorativo em jardins. Inicialmente foram feitas análises dos materiais de partida, como difração de raios X, microscopia eletrônica de varredura, fluorescência de raios X, análise granulométrica, análise termogravimétrica e análise térmica diferencial da argila. Foram feitas incorporações do rejeito junto à massa de argila, na proporção de 5%, 10%, 15% e 20% em massa. As formulações estudadas foram analisadas quanto à expansão linear, variação de massa, massa específica aparente e absorção de água. Foram feitos também ensaios de lixiviação e solubilização. Os principais resultados obtidos mostraram que é viável o uso da escória de alumínio até aproximadamente 5% em massa, para a produção da argila expandida, com características aceitáveis e dentro das normas vigentes. Palavraschave: reciclagem, escória de alumínio, argila expandida, agregado leve. / The use of industrial waste materials as additives in the manufacture of ceramic product has been attracting a growing interest in the last few years and is becoming common practice. The main purpose of this work is to evaluate the possibility of incorporation of aluminum slag into clay materials. Expansive clays are obtained from a pyroplastic expansion, and are usually employed like lightweight aggregate in structural concrete as ornamental garden products. The characterization of the aluminum slag and clay materials was carried out by Xray fluorescence spectrometry, Xray diffraction, granulometry, differential thermal analysis, thermal gravimetry (DTA and TG) and scanning electron microscopy. The studied compositions contained 5, 10, 15 and 20 weight% of aluminum slag into clay mass. The linear expansion, mass variation, apparent specific mass and water absorption of all compositions were determined. Leaching and solubilization experiments were also performed. The main results show the viabilitiy of using up to 5wt% aluminum slag for producing expansive clays with characteristics within the accepted standards. Keywords: recycling, aluminum slag, expansive clay, lightweight aggregate.