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Through increasingly efficient mass-production techniques, car-ownership has been made affordable to a large segment of the world's population, beginning in Europe and North America in the first decades of this century and recently extending rapidly throughout all other continents. The industry, however, is running out of major new opportunities for growth, and automotive markets in the Western World have entered the phase of maturity; this is typified by slowing growth and intensifying competition. These factors are driving fundamental change in the economics of the industry, and are forcing rationalisation and consolidation across the world. In a drive to remain competitive, the major Vehicle Manufacturers are relying more and more on the capabilities of their first-tier suppliers, and are pushing design and development responsibility further down the supply chain; suppliers are taking on a new role within the automotive industry and are increasingly becoming involved in the design and development of new products in collaboration with their major customers. The core theme throughout this research enquiry has been to investigate such practices (which have been termed co development), with particular emphasis placed on the European automotive industry. The literature within the areas of customer-supplier relationships and product development is wide and varying, and both bodies of knowledge are beginning to stress the importance of co-development in a number of industries. However, even though academics and industrialists are suggesting co development is necessary in today's marketplace, research into this area remains scarce and few insights into the improvement of such relationships can be found. This research has begun to close this gap by identifying those factors that can influence the successful transformation of co development. Through a series of focus groups, fifty-two concepts were identified that were seen to influence the success of co-development improvement activity - due to the nature of the focus group methodology, these concepts were wide-ranging and covered all aspects of the cross-company relationship, highlighting many -areas for further investigation. These concepts were reviewed and grouped, and four concepts plus sixteen sub-concepts chosen for additional analysis - these include a preparation phase, in which both organisations recognise the need for improvement and commit to enhance their existing relationship, the nature of communication across organisational boundaries, the alignment of working practices at all levels of the business, and an implementation phase in which actual improvements are realised and further sustained. These have been represented in an initial conceptual model that simply depicts the interdependencies that exist between the four high-level concepts. This conceptual model has been further tested and expanded through seven case studies; six cases were conducted at first-tier suppliers, whilst one was completed within a European-based VM. The major data collection tool used during these studies was the semi-structured interview, providing deep insights into co-development improvement from both sides of the relationship. The case studies only reiterated the importance of the concepts and sub-concepts within a co-development environment, and provided insights into the 'who, what, where, when, and how' of the topics under consideration. Finally. the concepts have been validated through a twelve-month action-research study, involving the actual implementation of the conceptual model in an industrial setting. The researcher gained first hand experience of co-development improvement, and observed an organisation struggling with the complexities of the cross-company environment. The knowledge gained throughout this period has not only emphasised the importance of the concepts and sub-concepts to co-development improvement, but has provided future implementers with insights into how one organisation has successfully transformed forty of their co-development relationships.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T17:37:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcelo Junior Lang.pdf: 294028 bytes, checksum: 68eb45f2b34a4c62de958080bd5a8ab5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-08-25 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study aimed to test the effects of fertilizing and containers in the production and initial growth of canafístula and angico seedlings. Seeds were sowed in September, 2005 in a protected area of Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná, county of Marechal Cândido Rondon.The experimental design was a casualty blocks. Treatment were constituted of using a slow release fertilizer (Bascote 3m), a formulation used by ESALQ, and common substract (testimony) in containers of 120cm3 and 180cm3. The experiment was conductedin a nursery with five evaluations with intervals of20 days, and 4 field evaluations, three with 30 days intervals, and the fourth one year after planting.Measured variables in the nursery phase included: length, diameter, leaf area and dry mass , stem dry mass, root dry mass, above ground dry mass, root/shoot ratio, total dry mass and DICKSON s index. In the field, measured variables were: length, diameter and survival. In nursery, fertilizer and evaluation were the main causes of variations for angico seedlings. For canafístula seedlings fertilizier and container volume were causes of variation. Angico seedlings fertilized with Basacote resulted in 1.149 g, 0.806g with Esalq s formulation while the control seedlings weight increase was 0.657g of total dry mass; for canafistula seedlings the total dry mass increase were 1.155g with Basacote, 0.557 g with Esalq s formulation, and 0,492g for the control seedlings. It was observed that 80 days after emergence absolute growth index od seedlings decreased. Thirty days after planting,angico seedlings fertilized with Basacote presented length increase of 32.80 cm, with Esalq s formulation 23.04 cm, and the control seedlings 16.28cm. The increase of length expressed by canafístula seedlings was 28.05 cm with Basacote, 23.18cm with Esalq s formulation, and 17.16 cm with the contro seedlings.There are no effects from fertilizers in seedlings from small containers (i.e.120 cm3) 30 days after planting. Seedlings producedwith slow release fertilizer can be outplanted 20 days earlier than seedlings produced with other form of fertilization / Este trabalho objetivou testar os efeitos de tipos de adubação e recipientes na produção e crescimento inicial de mudas. Sementes de angico e canafístula foram semeadas em setembro de 2005 na área de cultivo protegido da Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná no município de Marechal Cândido Rondon. O delineamento experimental usado foi o de blocos casualizados. Os tratamentos constituíram-se da utilização de um fertilizante de liberação lenta (Basacote 3m), uma formulação de pronta disponibilidade utilizada pela ESALQ, e substrato paltmax (testemunha) em tubetes com volumes de 120cm3 ou 180cm3. O experimento foi desenvolvido no viveiro com cinco avaliações a cada 20 dias, e de campo com quatro avaliações, três delas a intervalos de 30 dias a partir do plantio e a quarta avaliação um ano após do plantio. As variáveis analisadas na fase de viveiro foram: comprimento, diâmetro, área foliar, massa seca de folhas, massa seca de caule, massa seca de raiz, massa seca da parte aérea, razão raiz parte aérea, massa seca total e índice de DICKSON. No campo, as variáveis analisadas foram: comprimento, diâmetro e sobrevivência. Em viveiro, a adubação juntamente com as avaliações foram as principais causas de variações em mudas de angico. Para as mudas de canafístula além das adubações e avaliações, os tubetes também foram causas de variação. Em mudas de angico fertilizadas com Basacote expressaram em incremento de 1.149 mg, formulação da Esalq 806 mg e testemunha 657 mg de massa seca total, enquanto que para mudas de canafístula os ganhos de massa seca total foram 1.155 mg com Basacote, 557 mg com formulação Esalq e 429 mg nas mudas testemunha. Observou-se que a partir dos 80 dias após a emergência as mudas diminuem a taxa de crescimento absoluto. Aos 30 dias à campo as mudas de angico adubadas com Basacote apresentaram incremento em comprimento de 32,80cm, a formulação da Esalq 23,04cm, e a testemunha 16,28cm. Os incrementos nas mudas de canafístula foram de 28,05cm para Basacote, 23,18cm com a formulação da Esalq e 17,16cm com as mudas testemunha. A sobrevivência pós-plantio sob as condições do ensaio não sofreu efeitos dos tratamentos testados. A influência da adição de fertilizantes e dos recipientes na formação das mudas não foi detectada nas avaliações posteriores ao primeiro mês após o plantio. Mudas adubadas com fertilizante de liberação lenta podem ser plantadas à campo 20 dias antes que para as demais adubações

Controlled-environment agriculture, in specific indoor vertical farming, has emerged as a promising approach to meet the increasing demand for food while reducing the environmental impacts such as land and water use. However, such climate-controlled farms often require significant energy and resource inputs, particularly for artificial lighting and climate regulation and in certain cases undesired emissions such as CO2. To address these challenges, this thesis investigates the use of model-based control approaches to optimize energy, resource, and byproduct utilization in both independent and symbiotically connected farms. The thesis begins with a review of existing process models and optimization techniques, highlighting the limitations of current plant growth models and the absence of insect larvae (Hermitia illucens) models that are capable of describing growth, complex interactions between environmental variables, and resource utilization. To overcome these limitations, this thesis proposes the development of comprehensive models combining first-principle models and empirical models that integrate physical and biological processes such as heat and mass transfer; insect growth, development, and metabolism; and finally plant photosynthesis and transpiration. A custom designed, lab-scale production unit is developed in this work to perform experiments and measure various environmental and biological process variables, facilitating the development, calibration, and validation of the proposed models to accurately represent the underlying processes. Using these models with optimal control theory, this thesis develops a framework for implementing the optimal control of plant and insect production units independently, addressing techniques for formulating the necessary optimal control problems under process or model incompleteness and also hardware or process constraints. Optimal control strategies are synthesized to primarily minimize energy and resource utilization while maintaining or even improving biomass yields. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated through case studies, showcasing significant reduction in energy and resource utilization while achieving the automation and process goals. Furthermore, this work investigates the efficacy of resource consumption and byproduct exchange between plant production units and insect production units under different resource exchange infrastructures and climate conditions. By identifying the optimal strategies for resource exchange, this thesis shows that the overall resource utilization can be minimized, while maximizing the productivity of both plant and insect production processes, highlighting the possible synergies and sustainability. Overall, the potential of first-principle models and optimal control approaches to optimize yield and resource utilization in climate-controlled (indoor) food production systems is demonstrated with implications of efficient and sustainable food production via smart resource management and integration of production units with potential symbiotic relationships. / Landwirtschaft in kontrollierter Umgebung, insbesondere die Vertikale Landwirtschaft, hat sich als vielversprechender Ansatz erwiesen, um die steigende Nachfrage an Lebensmitteln zu befriedigen und gleichzeitig die Belastungen auf die Umwelt zu verringern. Solche klimatisierten Farmen erfordern jedoch oft einen erheblichen Energie- und Ressourceneinsatz, insbesondere für die künstliche Beleuchtung und die Klimatisierung. Um diesen Herausforderungen zu begegnen, untersucht diese Arbeit den Einsatz modellbasierter Regelungsansätze zur Optimierung der Energie- und Ressourcennutzung sowohl in unabhängiger als auch in symbiotischer Verbindung. Die Arbeit beginnt mit einem Überblick über bestehende Prozessmodelle und Optimierungstechniken, wobei die Grenzen der derzeitigen Pflanzenwachstumsmodelle und die Notwendigkeit von Modellen für Insektenlarven (Hermitia illucens), die das Wachstum, komplexe Wechselwirkungen zwischen Umweltvariablen, Energie- und Ressourcennutzung beschreiben, aufgezeigt werden. Als Lösungsansatz wird in dieser Arbeit die Entwicklung umfassender Modelle vorgeschlagen, in denen First-Principle-Modelle und empirische Modelle kombiniert werden, um folgende physikalische und biologische Prozesse zu integrieren: die Wärme- und Stoffübertragung; Insektenwachstum, -entwicklung und -stoffwechsel; und Photosynthese und Transpiration der Pflanzen. Dafür wird eine maßgeschneiderte Produktionseinheit im Labormaßstab entwickelt, die dazu dient verschiedene Umwelt- und biologische Prozessvariablen zu messen, welche die Entwicklung, Kalibrierung und Validierung der vorgeschlagenen Modelle zur genauen Darstellung der zugrunde liegenden Prozesse erleichtert. Unter Verwendung dieser Modelle und auf Basis der optimalen Steuerung wird in dieser Arbeit ein Rahmen für deren Umsetzung in den Produktionseinheiten für die jeweilge unabhängige Insekten- und Pflanzenproduktion und für deren gekoppelte Produktion, entwickelt. Dabei werden außerdem Möglichkeiten zur Beschreibung der erforderlichen Optimalsteureungsprobleme evaluiert unter Prozess- oder Modellunvollständigkeit sowie Hardware- oder Prozessbeschränkungen behandelt. Es werden optimalersteuerungsstrategien entwickelt, die die Energie- und Ressourcennutzung minimieren, die Erträge verbessern und gleichzeitig die festgelegten Automatisierungs- und Prozessanforderungen erfüllen. Die Effektivität des vorgeschlagenen Ansatzes wird anhand von Fallstudien demonstriert. Darüber hinaus untersucht diese Arbeit die Effizienz des Ressourcenverbrauchs und des Austausches von Nebenprodukten zwischen den Pflanzen- und Insektenproduktionseinheiten in verschiedenen Infrastrukturen für den Ressourcenaustausch sowie unter verschiedenen klimatischen Bedingungen. Durch die Identifizierung der optimalen Ressourcenaustauschstrategien und intellegentes Ressourcenanagement zeigt diese Arbeit, dass die Gesamtressourcennutzung minimiert werden kann, während die Produktivität sowohl der Pflanzen- als auch der Insektenproduktionsprozesse maximiert wird. Die mögliche Synergien und die Nachhaltigkeit der symbiotischen Beziehungen werden dabei hervorgehoben. Insgesamt wird das Potential von First-Principle-Modellen und Optimalsteuerung zur Optimierung des Ertrags sowie der Ressourcennutzung in klimatisierten Lebensmittelproduktionssystemen aufgezeigt. Dies führt zu einer effizienten und nachhaltigen Lebensmittelproduktion durch intelligentes Ressourcenmanagement und der Integration von Produktionseinheiten mit potenziellen symbiotischen Beziehungen.