Due to the rapid economic growth and industrial development in China, the constantly soaring upGDP has made many people believe that the golden age of China has come. But along with the boomingdevelopment, the neglect and violation of the natural environment has brought intensive discussion and criticism.Moreover, during past decades, frequent natural disasters and extreme weathers resulting from human activitieshave made local dwellers suffer from economical loss, as well as physical harm. Thus more attention fromwithin the country has been drawn to the environmental issues; media reports, national debates and researcheshave been going on for years. Among which, the problem of air pollution has caught a large public concern,especially when the PM 2.5 in Chinese metropolises like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi’an etc. exceeded900 micrograms per cubic meter. In previous analysis of PM 2.5 pollutants in developing countries, it has beenfound that most of those aerosol particles are from the burning of fossil fuels and biomass, and in China’s case,coal burning has been blamed largely, due to the fact that the use of coal takes up about 70% of total energyconsumption. Based on data analysis and chemical ratio examination, this thesis is to find out the connectionbetween PM 2.5 and Coal burning in China’s capital city Beijing.

Project management (PM) plays a significant role in achieving the company’s goal and objectives. Due to its significant role, it is essential that the project managers use processes which remain focussed on the company’s business strategy. However, some implementations of the company’s business strategy have led to failures as a result of misalignment between project management and the company’s business strategy. Such misalignment has an impact on both the project management and business strategy and may lead to problems in the overall functioning of the business, including the implementation of the company’s business strategy through the projects. This research was undertaken to investigate the problem of aligning project management process with the company’s business strategy which has not been fully investigated to-date. This investigation aims to provide a deeper understanding and more holistic analysis of the key factors, such as stakeholders and contextual factors (AF), which enable or inhibit this alignment in order to develop a conceptual framework that addresses this research gap. This study examines and analyses the alignment process, by considering the key factors at the early planning phase of project management. To address the research gap, the study employs a qualitative, multiple case study approach in the interpretive paradigm. Data was collected via interviews of senior personnel (executives and project managers), mainly from three managerial levels of the organisation, including corporate, business, and functional levels in four telecommunication companies of the private sector in Saudi Arabia. The investigation was carried out by collecting data through semi-structured interviews to critically explore collectively the perspectives of the executives and the project managers on their experience of managing and executing the company’s business strategy and the projects. Written and electronic documentations as well as non-participant observations also served as important triangulation and complementary sources in understanding the phenomenon being studied and as a means of gaining additional perspectives and further insights on key issues. This study provides a novel contribution to the alignment process of project management to business strategy. The original contribution and findings of this study contribute to the growing body of knowledge of project management by developing a practical framework to benefit both academics and practitioners and to increase awareness of the alignment process. This holistic conceptual framework includes two sets of factors that impact the alignment process. Additionally, it provides a unique prescriptive standard and a code of practice for practitioners seeking to realise efficient and effective alignment.

Particulate number (PN) standards in current and future emissions legislation pose a challenge for designers and calibrators during the warm-up phases of cold direct injection spark ignition (DISI) engines. To achieve catalyst light-off conditions in the shortest time, engine strategies are often employed that inherently use more fuel to attain higher exhaust temperatures. These can lead to the generation of locally fuel-rich regions within the combustion chamber and hence the formation and emission of particulates. To meet these emissions requirements, further understanding of the DISI in-cylinder processes during cold-start are required. This thesis investigates the effect of cooling an optical research engine to temperatures as low as -7°C, one of the legislative test conditions. A high-speed 9 kHz optical investigation of the in-cylinder combustion and fuel spray along with in-cylinder pressure measurements was completed with the engine motored and fired at 1500 rpm during combustion conditions that were essentially homogeneous and stoichiometric. Results showed significant differences between the flame growth structures at various operating temperature conditions with the notable presence of fuel-rich regions, which are understood to be prominent areas of particulate formation. Measured engine performance parameters such as indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) and mass fraction burned (MFB) times correlated with the observed differences in combustion characteristics and flame growth speed. It was shown that flash boiling of the fuel spray was present in the fully heated engine case and significantly reduced the penetration of the spray plume and the likelihood of piston crown and cylinder liner impingement. The flow and combustion processes of a transient production cold start-up strategy were analysed using high-speed particle image velocimetry (HSPIV). Results highlighted a broad range of flame structures and contrasting flame stoichiometry occurring at different times in the start-up process. Turbulent flow structures were identified that have an effect on the fuel spray development and combustion process as well as providing a path for cold-start emissions reduction. PN and transient hydrocarbon (HC) emissions were measured at cold conditions to further elucidate the effect of operating temperature and correlate emissions data with in-cylinder measurements. A clear link between the quantity and size range of particulate and HC emissions and operating temperature was shown and the precise in-cylinder location of HC emissions, caused by fuel impingement, was inferred from the HC emissions data.

A disseminação de sistemas de aquisição de dados sobre a qualidade e o desempenho de produtos e processos de fabricação deu origem a novos tipos de dados. Dado funcional é um conjunto de dados que formam um perfil ou uma curva. No perfil, a característica de qualidade é uma função dependente de uma ou mais variáveis exploratórias ou independentes. A análise de dados funcionais é um tema de pesquisa recente praticado em diversas áreas do conhecimento. Na indústria, os dados funcionais aparecem no controle de qualidade. A ausência de métodos apropriados a dados funcionais pode levar ao uso de métodos ineficientes e reduzir o desempenho e a qualidade de um produto ou processo. A análise de dados funcionais através de métodos multivariados pode ser inadequada devido à alta dimensionalidade e estruturas de variância e covariância dos dados. O desenvolvimento teórico de métodos para a análise de dados funcionais na área de Engenharia da Qualidade encontra-se defasado em relação ao potencial de aplicações práticas. Este trabalho identificou a existência dos dados funcionais tratados por métodos ineficientes. Os métodos atuais para controle de qualidade de dados são adaptados a situações específicas, conforme o tipo de dado funcional e a fase do monitoramento. Este trabalho apresenta propostas para métodos de análise de dados funcionais aplicáveis a questões relevantes da área de pesquisa em Engenharia da Qualidade, tais como: (i) o uso da análise de variância em experimentos com dados funcionais; (ii) gráficos de controle para monitoramento de perfis; e (iii) a análise e seleção de perfis de fornecedores em projetos inovadores. / The dissemination of data acquisition systems on the quality and performance of products and manufacturing process has given rise to new types of data. Functional data are a collection of data points organized as a profile or curve. In profile, the quality characteristic is a function dependent on one or more exploratory or independent variables. The functional data analysis is a recent research topic practiced in various areas of knowledge. In industry, the functional data appears in quality control. The lack of suitable methods can lead to use of inefficient methods and reducing the performance and quality of a product or process. The analysis of functional data by multivariate methods may be inadequate due to the high dimensionality and variance and covariance structures of the data. The development of theoretical methods for the analysis of functional data in Quality Engineering area is lagged behind the potential for practical applications. This work identified the existence of functional data processed by inefficient methods. Current methods for data quality control are adapted to specific situations, depending on the type of functional data and the phase of monitoring. This paper presents proposals for functional data analysis methods applicable to relevant research questions in the area of Quality Engineering such as: (i) the use of analysis of variance in experiments with functional data; (ii) control charts for monitoring profiles; and (iii) the analysis and selection of supplier profiles on innovative projects.

A disseminação de sistemas de aquisição de dados sobre a qualidade e o desempenho de produtos e processos de fabricação deu origem a novos tipos de dados. Dado funcional é um conjunto de dados que formam um perfil ou uma curva. No perfil, a característica de qualidade é uma função dependente de uma ou mais variáveis exploratórias ou independentes. A análise de dados funcionais é um tema de pesquisa recente praticado em diversas áreas do conhecimento. Na indústria, os dados funcionais aparecem no controle de qualidade. A ausência de métodos apropriados a dados funcionais pode levar ao uso de métodos ineficientes e reduzir o desempenho e a qualidade de um produto ou processo. A análise de dados funcionais através de métodos multivariados pode ser inadequada devido à alta dimensionalidade e estruturas de variância e covariância dos dados. O desenvolvimento teórico de métodos para a análise de dados funcionais na área de Engenharia da Qualidade encontra-se defasado em relação ao potencial de aplicações práticas. Este trabalho identificou a existência dos dados funcionais tratados por métodos ineficientes. Os métodos atuais para controle de qualidade de dados são adaptados a situações específicas, conforme o tipo de dado funcional e a fase do monitoramento. Este trabalho apresenta propostas para métodos de análise de dados funcionais aplicáveis a questões relevantes da área de pesquisa em Engenharia da Qualidade, tais como: (i) o uso da análise de variância em experimentos com dados funcionais; (ii) gráficos de controle para monitoramento de perfis; e (iii) a análise e seleção de perfis de fornecedores em projetos inovadores. / The dissemination of data acquisition systems on the quality and performance of products and manufacturing process has given rise to new types of data. Functional data are a collection of data points organized as a profile or curve. In profile, the quality characteristic is a function dependent on one or more exploratory or independent variables. The functional data analysis is a recent research topic practiced in various areas of knowledge. In industry, the functional data appears in quality control. The lack of suitable methods can lead to use of inefficient methods and reducing the performance and quality of a product or process. The analysis of functional data by multivariate methods may be inadequate due to the high dimensionality and variance and covariance structures of the data. The development of theoretical methods for the analysis of functional data in Quality Engineering area is lagged behind the potential for practical applications. This work identified the existence of functional data processed by inefficient methods. Current methods for data quality control are adapted to specific situations, depending on the type of functional data and the phase of monitoring. This paper presents proposals for functional data analysis methods applicable to relevant research questions in the area of Quality Engineering such as: (i) the use of analysis of variance in experiments with functional data; (ii) control charts for monitoring profiles; and (iii) the analysis and selection of supplier profiles on innovative projects.

Nesta dissertação, foram estudados materiais com gradiente de função produzidos por metalurgia do pó a fim de se encontrar uma alternativa com redução de custo para aplicações na indústria automobilística. Os corpos de prova produzidos com ferro comercialmente puro e materiais ligados foram ensaiados de maneira a entender o efeito da interface no componente a ser produzido. Foram estudadas as propriedades de ruptura transversal, resistência à tração, macro e microdureza, além da microestrutura por microscopia ótica e microscopia eletrônica de varredura. Foi possível verificar que é uma alternativa viável, mas se faz necessário um controle da posição da interface e do elemento de liga a ser utilizado no material mais nobre a fim de se obter o melhor desempenho do componente. / In this dissertation, materials with a gradient of function produced by powder metallurgy were studied in order to find an alternative with cost reduction for applications in the automobile industry. The specimens produced with commercially pure iron and alloyed materials were tested in order to understand the effect of the interface on the component to be produced. The properties of transverse rupture, tensile strength, macro and micro hardness, as well as, the microstructure by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were studied. It was possible to verify that it is a viable alternative, but it is necessary to control the position of the interface and the alloying element to be used in the noblest material in order to obtain the best performance of the component.

A disseminação de sistemas de aquisição de dados sobre a qualidade e o desempenho de produtos e processos de fabricação deu origem a novos tipos de dados. Dado funcional é um conjunto de dados que formam um perfil ou uma curva. No perfil, a característica de qualidade é uma função dependente de uma ou mais variáveis exploratórias ou independentes. A análise de dados funcionais é um tema de pesquisa recente praticado em diversas áreas do conhecimento. Na indústria, os dados funcionais aparecem no controle de qualidade. A ausência de métodos apropriados a dados funcionais pode levar ao uso de métodos ineficientes e reduzir o desempenho e a qualidade de um produto ou processo. A análise de dados funcionais através de métodos multivariados pode ser inadequada devido à alta dimensionalidade e estruturas de variância e covariância dos dados. O desenvolvimento teórico de métodos para a análise de dados funcionais na área de Engenharia da Qualidade encontra-se defasado em relação ao potencial de aplicações práticas. Este trabalho identificou a existência dos dados funcionais tratados por métodos ineficientes. Os métodos atuais para controle de qualidade de dados são adaptados a situações específicas, conforme o tipo de dado funcional e a fase do monitoramento. Este trabalho apresenta propostas para métodos de análise de dados funcionais aplicáveis a questões relevantes da área de pesquisa em Engenharia da Qualidade, tais como: (i) o uso da análise de variância em experimentos com dados funcionais; (ii) gráficos de controle para monitoramento de perfis; e (iii) a análise e seleção de perfis de fornecedores em projetos inovadores. / The dissemination of data acquisition systems on the quality and performance of products and manufacturing process has given rise to new types of data. Functional data are a collection of data points organized as a profile or curve. In profile, the quality characteristic is a function dependent on one or more exploratory or independent variables. The functional data analysis is a recent research topic practiced in various areas of knowledge. In industry, the functional data appears in quality control. The lack of suitable methods can lead to use of inefficient methods and reducing the performance and quality of a product or process. The analysis of functional data by multivariate methods may be inadequate due to the high dimensionality and variance and covariance structures of the data. The development of theoretical methods for the analysis of functional data in Quality Engineering area is lagged behind the potential for practical applications. This work identified the existence of functional data processed by inefficient methods. Current methods for data quality control are adapted to specific situations, depending on the type of functional data and the phase of monitoring. This paper presents proposals for functional data analysis methods applicable to relevant research questions in the area of Quality Engineering such as: (i) the use of analysis of variance in experiments with functional data; (ii) control charts for monitoring profiles; and (iii) the analysis and selection of supplier profiles on innovative projects.

Submitted by Cláudia Bueno (claudiamoura18@gmail.com) on 2016-01-15T16:51:23Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Rafaela Souza Santos - 2015.pdf: 7723635 bytes, checksum: 89791ae5835c5b06e83c5e64b4a28bb5 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2016-01-18T09:08:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Rafaela Souza Santos - 2015.pdf: 7723635 bytes, checksum: 89791ae5835c5b06e83c5e64b4a28bb5 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-18T09:08:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Rafaela Souza Santos - 2015.pdf: 7723635 bytes, checksum: 89791ae5835c5b06e83c5e64b4a28bb5 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The issue of pollution is not new. The burning of biomass used for heat generation already was beginning to anthropogenic processes of air pollution. The pollutants are in the atmosphere in solid, liquid and gaseous state. The set of solid and liquid particles is called particulate matter (PM), and the other form the set of gaseous pollutants. The MP covers a range of 0.1-100 microns and varies greatly in size composition, emission sources and adverse effects on health. The gaseous compounds are formed mostly of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are organic compounds which are gaseous at room temperature. These pollutants can be emitted by natural and anthropogenic sources, among which stand out the combustion processes and soil dust resuspension by wind action. The city of Catalão - GO has grown greatly in recent years, mainly due to the arrival of mining in the city exploring the carbonatite complexes Catalão I and Catalão II. The aim of this study was to monitor the atmospheric air in a region of the city of Catalan through the sampling and analysis of PM and VOCs. Samples MP, which occurred every six days over a period of 24 hours, were carried out for TSP, PM10 and PM2,5 in HI-VOL samplers suitable for each particle size. Gravimetric analysis indicated that the measured concentrations are in accordance with the standards set by law. The elementary MP analysis was performed by EDXRF technique and indicated that the elements present are mostly from vehicle emissions and resuspended soil dust by the wind. Sampling was performed by VOCs microextraction technique of solid phase (SPME - solid phase microextraction) twice a week for 12 hours. The analysis of the sampled VOCs was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC / MS - gas chromatography mass spectrometry) in which the compounds were identified by comparison with a NIST library / MS (National Institute of Standards and Technology / Mass Spectral) present in the equipment. The identification of these compounds indicated a strong influence of vehicle emissions in the composition of atmospheric air. / A questão da poluição não é algo recente. A queima de biomassa utilizada para geração de calor já dava início aos processos antrópicos de poluição atmosférica. Os poluentes encontram-se na atmosfera nos estados sólido, líquido e gasoso. O conjunto das partículas sólidas e líquidas constitui o chamado material particulado (MP), e as demais formam o conjunto de poluentes gasosos. O MP abrange uma faixa de tamanho entre 0,1-100 e varia em tamanho, composição, fontes de emissão e efeitos adversos causados a saúde. Os compostos gasosos são formados em sua maioria pelos compostos orgânicos voláteis (COVs), que são compostos orgânicos que encontram-se no estado gasoso em temperatura ambiente. Esses poluentes podem ser lançados na atmosfera por fontes naturais e antrópicas, dentre as quais destacam-se os processos de combustão e ressuspensão da poeira do solo por ação dos ventos. A cidade de Catalão GO tem crescido bastante nos últimos anos, principalmente devido a chegada de mineradoras na cidade que exploram os complexos carbonatíticos de Catalão I e Catalão II. O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar o monitoramento do ar atmosférico em uma região da cidade de Catalão pela amostragem e análise de MP e COVs. As amostragens de MP, que aconteceram a cada seis dias por um período de 24 horas, foram realizadas para PTS, MP10 e MP2,5 em amostradores de grande volume adequados para cada tamanho de partícula. A análise gravimétrica indicou que os as concentrações medidas estão de acordo com os padrões definidos pela legislação. A análise elementar do MP foi realizada pela técnica de EDXRF e indicou que os elementos presentes são, em sua maioria, provenientes da emissão veicular e poeira ressuspensa do solo pela ação dos ventos. A amostragem dos COVs foi realizada pela técnica de microextração por fase sólida (SPME do inglês solid phase microextraction), duas vezes por semana por 12 horas. A análise dos COVs amostrados foi realizada por cromatografia gasosa acoplada a espectrometria de massas (GC / MS - do inglês gas chromatography mass spectrometry) em que os compostos foram identificados por comparação com a biblioteca NIST / MS (Nacional Institute of Standard and Technology / Mass Spectral) presente no equipamento. A identificação desses compostos indicou uma forte influência das emissões veiculares na composição do ar atmosférico.

Particulate matter (PM) emitted from diesel engines encompasses soluble (volatile) and insoluble (non-volatile) matter. The concept of volatility or solubility depends on the method of separation. The volatile matter includes sulphates and nitrates which are bound to water vapour; and myriads of hydrocarbon species. The solid matter is comprised of black carbon and ash. Its mitigation combines the use of internal engine design and operating factors like fuel injection and spray, air and fuel mixing, chamber designs and fuel improvements. Control technologies that act on the exhaust gases are called ‘after-treatments' which include the use of oxidation catalysts, filter trap and reductant of nitrogen oxides along the exhaust system. The central issues of this thesis are measurement schemes that involve stripping the PM of volatile matter in order to determine the actual values of nano-size solid carbon particles that pose significant health risk and their mitigations. In the experimental measurements, exhaust gases were generated at low engine load which are rich in unburnt hydrocarbons that nucleate into particles at low temperatures. Similarly, exhaust gases generated at medium load contain volatile and soot components; these were used to study dilution effects on PM emission. The interplay of mixing and cooling was used to explain the behaviour of saturation characteristics of the volatile fractions in the dilution process which influenced nucleation of volatile species. The parameters of particle number concentration reduction factor (PCRF) and volatile removal efficiency (VRE) were used to give extended interpretation to dilution of PM during conditioning, than mere dilution ratios. On this basis, comparison was made on the effect of carrier gases on dilution process and it was found that air is superior when there is need for volatile reduction while nitrogen is better when it is necessary to freeze further reaction, especially at low dilution ratios. In addition, a two-stage hot dilution technique was used to mimic the Particle Measurement Programme (PMP) prescription, and it gave better PCRF and VRE values. The study of PM mitigation by filter traps focused on burning-off the accumulated matter to allow free flow of exhaust gases, and the energy it takes to initiate and maintain PM combustion. Therefore a fundamental study of soot oxidation relevant to regeneration of diesel particulate filter (DPF) was made. This was extended to investigate if blending of petrodiesel with biodiesel affects PM oxidation. It is deducible that oxidation of PM generated from fuel with biodiesel blends is slightly faster compared to that from pure petrodiesel. A feasible use of microwave power to regenerate catalysed and non-catalysed silicon carbide (SiC) diesel particulate filters (DPFs) using an available multimode microwave cavity was also carried out. Results show that with catalysed DPFs, catalyst light-off temperature reduced by 100oC under the influence of microwave irradiation, while for non-catalysed DPF, regeneration was achieved within 550-600oC at a time estimated to be lower compared to electrical resistance heating approach.

Fuel cells represent a promising technology for clean power generation because they convert chemical energy (fuel) into electrical energy with high efficiency and low-to-none emission of pollutants. Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) have several advantages compared to the most studied hydrogen and methanol fuel cells. First and foremost, ethanol is a non-toxic liquid, which lowers the investment of handling facilities because the current infrastructure for gasoline can be largely used. Second, ethanol can be conveniently produced from biomass, hence is carbon neutral which mitigates increasing atmospheric CO2. Last but not least, if completely oxidized to CO2, ethanol has a higher energy density than methanol since it can deliver 12 electrons per molecule. The almost exclusive oxidation to acetic acid overshadows the attractiveness of DEFCs considerably, as the energy density is divided by 3. The standard potential of acetic acid formation indicates that a reaction path including acetic acid, leads to inevitable potential losses of about 0.4 V (difference between ideal potential for CO2 and acetic acid "production"). The development of alkaline DEFCs had also been hampered by the lack of stable and efficient anion exchange membranes. Fortunately, this challenge has been well tackled in recent years,8,9 making the development of alkaline fuel cells (AFCs) which are of particular technological interest due to their simple designs and ability to operate at low temperatures (25-100 °C). In alkaline conditions, the kinetic of both the cathodic oxygen reduction and the anodic ethanol oxidation is facilitated. Furthermore, the expensive Pt catalyst can be replaced by the lower-cost and more active transition metals such as Pd. The main objectives of this project are: i) to provide detailed fundamental understanding of ethanol oxidation reaction on transition metal surfaces in alkaline media, ii) to propose the best rational catalyst design strategies to cleave the C–C bond during ethanol electrooxidation. To achieve these goals two methodologies are used, i.e., in-situ identification of ethanol electrooxidation products using polarization modulation infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) and mechanistic investigation using computational studies in the framework of density functional theory (DFT). The PM-IRRAS technique was advanced in this project to the level of distinguishing electrooxidation products at the surface of the nanoparticles (electrode) and in the bulk-phase of the electrolyte. This new PM-IRRAS utility makes it possible to detect molecules such as CO2 which desorbs from the catalyst surface as soon as they are formed. The DFT insights in this project, provides an explanation as to why it is difficult to break the C–C bond in ethanol and is used for screening the top candidate metals for further studies.