This research addresses the drivers of growth in an automotive components industry. This research looks at a sub-sector within the South African components industry namely the catalytic converter industry. This research investigates foreign ownership, innovation activities and levels of education as possible drivers of growth in the catalytic converter industry. This research compares the results of the analysis on foreign ownership, innovation activities and levels of education of the catalytic converter industry against the results of the components industry. The reason for doing that is to see if there are significant differences between the two industries. This research made use of data collected as part of a collaborative study that was conducted in the total South African components industry. In 2007 the catalytic converter industry was responsible for 55 percent of the R39 Billion worth of the total components that was exported. The purpose of this research is to understand what drives growth in the catalytic converter industry. The findings of this research do not provide enough proof to exactly identify why the catalytic converter industry is so successful if compared against the components industry. No significant difference was detected when the results of the catalytic converter industry is compared against the results of the components industry in terms of innovation, levels of education and levels of foreign ownership. The only slight difference that was measured was that the probability of some product and process innovation taking place in the catalytic converter industry is higher than the probability that some product and process innovation taking place in the components industry. This is not enough proof to differentiate the two industries completely from each other. Many questions remain unanswered on what exactly drives the success of the catalytic converter industry. Further in-depth qualitative as well as quantitative studies must be conducted to understand the South African catalytic converter industry in full. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

New textile materials are constantly being brought into the automotive field, and automobile design is a leader in innovative and spectacular developments where smart textile materials are used. The main elements of the current project are textile material research, automotive research, design and development of two upholstery concepts for automotives using smart textiles. The added values are RFI/EMI (Radio Frequency Interference / Electro Magnetic Interference) shielding qualities, light emitting, light reflective and antistatic qualities. Values in the smart-textile area are obtained through choice of material and textile techniques. Transportation textiles are considered high performance technical fabrics, but they must also meet the aesthetic demands of the market. In the current project the design is inspired by Japanese architectural thinking and strives to relate to outdoor environment to reduce the border between indoor and outdoor environment. The inspiration source is water surfaces. The colour setting is also inspired by water surfaces. Material selection is based on the chosen added values, material qualities, appearance and availability. The result of the work is two different upholstery concepts visualizing qualities of smart materials and requests the automotive field. Sprinkle is an upholstery with light emitting, light reflective and antistatic values. The materials used are monofilament, polyester and electroluminescent wires. Wave is an upholstery design with antistatic, light reflective and RFI/Emi shielding qualities. The materials used are stainless steel yarn, rubco and monofilament. / <p>Program: Konstnärligt masterprogram i mode- och textildesign</p><p>Uppsatsnivå: D</p>

Orientador: Caio Glauco Sanchez / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecanica. / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-05T06:34:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Almeida_AlexandreAmaralde_M.pdf: 1803116 bytes, checksum: 09df9f4fd3968f1e76a55f1642fcfa37 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Resumo: Os motores de combustão interna têm sido a principal fonte geradora de trabalho mecânico, especialmente em veículos automotores e sua quantidade tem se expandido de forma exponencial desde sua invenção, no século XIX. Os efeitos deste crescimento podem ser observados pelo aumento do consumo mundial de petróleo e da concentração de gases tóxicos na atmosfera, principalmente nas grandes cidades. Por este motivo, foi desenvolvido o presente trabalho, que tem por objetivo quantificar as melhorias no desempenho e economia de combustível obtidas em um motor automobilístico através do uso de um sistema de ignição dupla. Os ensaios foram realizados usando um motor VW refrigerado a ar e com dupla carburação (1.6 l de cilindrada e taxa de compressão 7,2:1) alimentado com álcool etílico hidratado. Foram feitas análises comparativas com ensaios em plena carga e em cargas parciais (0,8 e 0,9 atm de pressão absoluta no coletor de admissão) a 2000, 3000 and 4000 rpm de forma a evidenciar as vantagens e desvantagens do sistema com ignição dupla. O sistema de ignição dupla foi projetado de modo que as centelhas nas duas velas de cada cilindro ocorressem simultaneamente e que fosse possível o controle dos tempos de ignição. Os resultados obtidos indicam uma melhoria no desempenho para todas as condições de operação, com regimes de carga parcial em que os ganhos superaram os 20% em torque e potência e 15% no consumo específico de combustível / Abstract: Internal combustion engines have been the major source of mechanical work, especially in automotive vehicles, and their amount has expanded exponentially since their invention, in the 19th century. The effects of this growth can be observed in the increasing world petrol demand and concentration of toxic gases in the atmosphere, especially in major cities. For this reason, the present work was developed with the objective to quantify the performance and the specific fuel consumption improvement of an automotive engine operating with a dual ignition system. The tests were made using an air-cooled VW engine with two carburetors (1.6 l displacement and with a 7.2:1 compression ratio) using hidrated ethanol. Comparative analysis were made with data gathered in the tests at WOT (wide open throttle) and partial loads (admission pressures of 0,8 and 0,9 atm) at 2000, 3000 and 4000 rpm in order to evidence advantages and disadvantages of the dual ignition system. The ignition system was designed to generate two simultaneous sparks in each cylinder allowing its timing control. The results indicate a trend of improvement in the performance for all the conditions tested, with profits that surpassed 20% in torque and power and 15% in the specific fuel consumption in partial load operation conditions / Mestrado / Termica e Fluidos / Mestre em Engenharia Mecânica

[pt] A evolução do design de automóveis possui características interessantes, sob o ponto de vista da relação estético-funcional estabelecida em cada época. No início, os projetos de veículos únicos priorizavam a funcionalidade em detrimento do bem-estar do usuário. Com o tempo, esta maneira de se projetar foi sendo modificada, passando por períodos que valorizaram estritamente o desempenho, a aerodinâmica e a forma para um modelo onde a relação humano-máquina é o centro principal de estudo. Com novos e diferentes modelos de veículos, estes passaram a apresentar variações no posicionamento e projeto de comandos e mostradores, principalmente na região do cluster de direção. Desta forma, o presente estudo objetivou demonstrar que esta variação do posicionamento e de projeto gera confusão e erros de julgamento por parte do usuário, podendo ocasionar graves acidentes e incidentes durante a realização da tarefa, principalmente àquele que não está acostumado com o sistema a ser utilizado. Para comprovar esta hipótese, foi elaborado um estudo que, primeiramente, buscou entender o desenvolvimento dos comandos e mostradores automotivos e o uso de normas e recomendações de projeto para traçar um panorama da disposição das informações no interior dos veículos. Para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa, determinou-se o enfoque na categoria popular. O estudo do surgimento desta categoria, do panorama atual e do perfil do consumidor, contribuiu para se tentar observar o modelo mental dos usuários em relação ao posicionamento dos instrumentos. Para isso foram aplicadas diferentes técnicas, tais como um estudo comparativo dos modelos; a aplicação de questionários com usuários motoristas; e a realização de um grupo focal. O levantamento de dados contemplou ainda a realização de testes em um simulador real de interior de veículo. Outrossim, foi possível observar constrangimentos causados pela variação do projeto e pelo posicionamento de um grupo de comandos/mostradores do cluster e sugerir recomendações para projetos futuros. / [en] The evolution of automobiles design has interesting characteristics, under the point of view of the aesthetic-functionary relation established at each time. In the beginning, the projects of unique vehicles prioritized the functionality in detriment of well-being of the user. As time passed by, this way of projecting were being modified, passing by periods that had strict valued the performance, the aerodynamics and the form for a model which the human being-machine relation is the main center of study. With new and different models of vehicles, these had started to present variations in the positioning and project of commands and counters, mainly in the region of cluster. In this way, the present study aimed to demonstrate that this variation of the positioning and project generates confusion and errors of judgment by the user, and can cause serious accidents and incidents during the accomplishment of the task, mainly to that user that is not familiar with the system to be used. To state this hypothesis, a study was elaborated that, first, searched to understand the automotive development of the commands and counters and the use of norms and recommendations of project to trace a panorama of the disposal of the information in the interior of the vehicles. For the development of the research, the approach in the