GPA INNOVATIVE S.L. (also known from now as GPA) was founded in Barcelona in 2013, legally constituted as STEROS GPA Innovative S.L., in order to provide solutions to various strategic challenges in the field of product design and the development of industrial applications. Among the eight different business lines, the main one is known as DLyte®. DLyte® is based on the patented DryLyte® Technology, the world's first dry-electropolishing process and it is suitable for the most common industrial metals, alloys and composite materials. It automates, simplifies and standardizes the post-processing of these set of materials, improving the surface finish obtained with traditional polishing processes. Within 918 machines on the market, 521 are used in the dental industry (representing the 56.75% of the total business). Therefore, to improve the polishing surface quality of dental alloys is a must for the company. Within this context, the very first aim of this Master thesis is to determine which DryLyte® electrolyte and/or electrical parameters are more suitable for polishing dental materials and in particular CoCr RPDs (chrome cobalt - Removable Partial Dentures). For that, an exhaustive electrolyte characterization and a surface analysis of the workpieces before and after being polished with this technology is realized. Also, another goal is to find a compromise between the electrical parameters and the better surface quality finish of RPDs and, last but not least, to ascertain if CoCr RPDs can be successfully polished under direct current (DC).

To address the concerns of simultaneously improving crash performance and fuel efficiency in the automotive industry, multi-material car bodies are becoming increasingly popular. Aluminium and steel are two materials whose properties complement each other well for this application. However, ultra-high strength steel (UHSS) and aluminium alloy is a hard-to-join material combination. In the last decades different solutions to this problem have been proposed, one of these being friction element welding (FEW). In this work, different UHSS have been joined to different aluminium alloys through the FEW equipment EJOWELD developed by EJOT. The joints have been evaluated though visual inspection, cross-section analysis, and mechanical tests. All materials could successfully be joined by the EJOWELD process.

Surface engineering is increasingly becoming inevitable for meeting the high-performance requirements constantly expected from modern engineering components. Higher demands for combined functionalities, which a base material alone cannot provide, motivate intensive academic studies on various types of coatings, with the ultimate objective of their practical utilisation in industries. Especially the study of wear has become of critical importance for the industry development of new components, as wear-related mechanisms frequently compromise the durability and reliability of machines. Consequently, the need for effective wear control has become progressively vital in pursuing advanced and dependable technology for the future. Different coating technologies are being developed to forestall the wear of engineering components. More specifically, the thermal spraying technique of atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) has been proven particularly efficient in implementing thick film coating for aeronautic, automotive and medical applications. However, advanced coatings are required for improved performance and extended durability in harsh operating environments. These developments have stimulated research on developing novel coating through optimised deposition parameters and modified feedstock characteristics to achieve a more redefined microstructure. The primary scope of the research associated with this thesis is to target the study and research of plasma-sprayed ceramic coatings designed to provide exceptional wear resistance to targeted components as well as improved mechanical properties. The presented work involves an investigation of varying feedstock powder particle-size distributions, different coating chemistries and comparing the suspension plasma injection technology to its more traditional powdered feedstock variant. The result obtained suggested that the influence of powder-size particles affects the resultant microstructure with a finer composition, denoted by a lower porosity of 1.3% compared to the coarser powder fed 1.9% (both presenting a standard deviation of 0.2%). However, it could be seen that both the presence of optimised spraying parameters and finer feedstock particles were significant in obtaining improved mechanical properties. Furthermore, an examination of the powder-fed coating revealed slightly improved hardness properties to the newly developed suspension-sprayed samples. However, the powder-fed coatings distinctly exhibited superior resistance to sliding wear with an average specific wear of 5.7 (± 0.9 standard deviation) compared to the 12.8 (± 1 standard deviation) × 10-6 mm3∙N-1∙m-1of suspension-based coatings. In conclusion, it was observed that the chemical composition of the alumina-chromia composite coating demonstrated exceptional hardness properties among the analysed samples (1603 Vicker Hardness 0.2) and superior sliding wear resistance (0.59 × 10-6mm3∙N-1∙m-1).

This thesis presents an experimental study on how to track zero gaps between metal sheets to be joined by laser beam butt welding. Automated laser beam welding is gaining interest due to its ability to produce narrow and deep welds giving limited heat input and therefore less distortions compared to other processes, such as arc-welding. The automated laser beam welding process is however sensitive to how the high power laser is positioned with regards to the joint position. Deviations from the joint position may occur due to inaccuracies of the welding robot and fixturing, changes in joint geometry, process induced distortions, etc. Welding with an offset from the joint position can result inlack of sidewall fusion, a serious defect that is hard to detect. This work develops and evaluates three monitoring systems to be used during welding in order to be able to later control the laser beam spot position. (i) A monitoring systemis developed for three different photo diodes, one for the visual spectrum of the process emissions, one for the infrared spectrum, and one for the reflected highpower laser light. The correlation between the signals from the photodiodes and the welding position relative to the joint is analysed using a change detection algorithm. In this way an indication of a path deviation is given. (ii) A visual camera with matching illumination and optical filters is integrated into the laser beam welding tool in order to obtain images of the area in front of the melt pool. This gives a relatively clear view of the joint position even during intense spectral disturbances emitted from the process, and by applying animage processing algorithm and a model based filtering method the joint positionis estimated with an accuracy of 0.1 mm. (iii) By monitoring the spectral emissions from the laser induced plasma plume using a high speed and high resolution spectrometer, the plasma electron temperature can be estimated from the intensities of two selected spectral lines and this is correlated to the welding position and can be used for finding the joint position.

The Plug & Produce manufacturing system is a visionary concept that promises to facilitate the seamless integration and adaptation of manufacturing resources and production processes. The Plug & Produce control system allows for the automatic addition and removal of manufacturing resources, minimizing human intervention. However, the reconfigurability and autonomous decision-making features of Plug & Produce control systems pose challenges to safety design and control functions. In contrast to conventional manufacturing systems with fixed layouts and processes, ensuring safety in Plug & Produce systems is complicated due to the complex risk assessment process, the difficulty of implementing non-restrictive safety measures covering all possible hazards, and the challenge of designing a reliable controller for consistent safe operation. This thesis addresses these challenges through various contributions. It introduces an automatic hazard identification method, considering emergent hazards after reconfiguration. A novel domain ontology is developed, incorporating safety models specific to Plug & Produce systems. The work also proposes a generic, model-based, and automatic risk assessment method, along with a method for the safe execution of plans based on the results of the risk assessment. The results of this research offer benefits to process planners, who are responsible for coordinating the manufacturing processes with product design in the Plug & Produce system. The proposed solution provides tools for process planners to validate their plans and reduces their safety-related responsibilities. The proposed safety assurance method seamlessly integrates into the multi-agent control of Plug & Produce, providing the control system with risk scenarios associated with process plans. This enables proactive and reliable control, effectively avoiding potential risks during system operation. / Föreställ dig en automatiserad produktionsanläggning som omedelbart och automatiskt kan anpassa sig till förändringar utan att kompromissa med säkerheten för den personal som arbetar där. Denna avhandling strävar efter att uppnå just detta genom ett smartare sätt att säkerställa att produktionsanläggningar baserat på Plug & Produce kan hantera säkerhet. Dettainnebär att konceptet Plug & Produce nu närmar sig ett industriellt förverkligande. Säkerhet för automatiserade produktionsanläggningar innebär att alla maskiner ska vara utrustade med skydd för att göra arbetet säkrare. Idag är det vanligt med övervakning som skydd, dvs en dator som övervakar att allt går rätt till och stänger av om något är på väg att hända. I ett produktionsavsnitt som är baserat på Plug & Produce kan man enkelt ställa om, det vill säga, lägga till eller ta bort maskiner, ändra layouten eller ändra på produkter som produceras. Efter en sådan omställning så måste säkerheten i produktionsanläggningen ses över enligt föreskrivna lagar och regler. Traditionellt så kräver detta anlitande av en säkerhetsexpert. Detta medför att en omställning utifrån ett säkerhetsperspektiv är både kostsamt och tidskrävande. Med resultatet från denna avhandling så går det nu att ställa om utan att behöva implementera nya säkerhetsfunktioner efter varje förändring. Denna forskning har utvidgat kunskapsområdet inom produktionsteknik för att skapa en "smartarefabrik" genom att inkludera säkerhetsfunktioner.Resultatet inkluderar algoritmer som kan upptäcka potentiella faror i fabriken och automatiskt tillämpa säkerhetsåtgärder för ett övervakat system. Detta innebär mindre tidsåtgång och lägre kostnader för säkerhetsarbetet. De som drar mest nytta av detta är människorna som planerar för hur saker skall tillverkas med hjälp av Plug & Produce. Resultatet av detta arbete underlättar deras arbetsuppgifter och bevarar flexibiliteten i Plug & Produce, vilket eliminerar behovet av att välja mellan flexibilitet och säkerhet

Multi-material structures are increasingly used in vehicle bodies to reduce weight of cars. The use of these lightweight structures is driven by requirements to improve fuel economy and reduce CO2 emissions. The automotive industry has replaced conventional steel components by lighter metals such as aluminium alloy. This is done together with cutting weight of structures using more advanced strength steels. However, sound joining is still difficult to achieve due to differences in chemical and thermal properties.   This research aims to develop a new innovative welding technique for joining aluminium alloy to ultra-high strength steels. The technique is based on friction stir welding process while the non-consumable tool is made of an ordinary tool steel. Welding was done by penetrating the rotating tool from the aluminium side without penetrating into the steel surface. One grade of Al-Mg aluminium alloy was welded to ultra-high strength steels under lap joint configuration. Different types of steel surface coatings including uncoated, hot-dipped galvanised and electrogalvanised coating have been studied in order to investigate the influence of zinc on the joint properties. The correlation among welding parameters, microstructures, intermetallic formation and mechanical properties are demonstrated in this thesis.  Results have shown that friction stir welding can deliver fully strong joints between aluminium alloy and ultra-high strength steels. Two intermetallic phases, Al5Fe2 and Al13Fe4, were formed at the interface of Al to Fe regardless of surface coating conditions. The presence of zinc can improve joint strength especially at low heat input welding due to an increased atomic bonding at Al-Fe interface. The formation of intermetallic phases as well as their characteristics has been demonstrated in this thesis. The proposed welding mechanisms are given based on metallography investigations and related literature. / <p>QC 20170519</p>

Many educational systems of today are standards-based and aim at for alignment, i.e. consistency, among the components of the educational system: standards, teaching and assessment. To conclude whether the alignment is sufficiently high, analyses with a useful model are needed. This thesis investigates the usefulness of models for analyzing alignment between standards and assessments, with emphasis on one method: Bloom’s revised taxonomy. The thesis comprises an introduction and five articles that empirically investigate the usefulness of methods for alignment analyses. In the first article, the usefulness of different models for analyzing alignment between standards and assessment is theoretically and empirically compared based on a number of criteria. The results show that Bloom’s revised taxonomy is the most useful model. The second article investigates the usefulness of Bloom’s revised taxonomy for interpretation of standards in mathematics with two differently composed panels of judges. One panel consisted of teachers and the other panel of assessment experts. The results show that Bloom’s revised taxonomy is useful for interpretation of standards, but that many standards are multi-categorized (placed in more than one category). The results also show higher levels of intra- and inter-judge consistency for assessment experts than for teachers. The third article further investigates the usefulness of Bloom’s revised taxonomy for analyses of alignment between standards and assessment. The results show that Bloom’s revised taxonomy is useful for analyses of both standards and assessments. The fourth article studies whether vague and general standards can explain the large proportion of multi-categorized standards in mathematics. The strategy was to divide a set of standards into smaller substandards and then compare the usefulness and inter-judge consistency for categorization with Bloom’s revised taxonomy for undivided and divided standards. The results show that vague and general standards do not explain the large proportion of multi-categorized standards. Another explanation is related to the nature of mathematics that often intertwines conceptual and procedural knowledge. This was also studied in the article and the results indicate that this is a probable explanation. The fifth article focuses on another aspect of alignment between standards and assessment, namely the alignment between performance standards and cut-scores for a specific assessment. The validity of two standard-setting methods, the Angoff method and the borderline-group method, was investigated. The results show that both methods derived reasonable and trustworthy cut-scores, but also that there are potential problems with these methods. In the introductory part of the thesis, the empirical studies are summarized, contextualized and discussed. The discussion relates alignment to validity issues for assessments and relates the obtained empirical results to theoretical assumptions and applied implications. One conclusion of the thesis is that Bloom’s revised taxonomy is useful for analyses of alignment between standards and assessments. Another conclusion is that the two standard setting methods derive reasonable and trustworthy results. It is preferable if an alignment model can be used both for alignment analyses and in ongoing practice for increasing alignment. Bloom’s revised taxonomy has the potential for being such an alignment model. This thesis has found this taxonomy useful for alignment analyses, but its’ usefulness for increasing alignment in ongoing practice has to be investigated.

Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCs) are advanced material systems that are being used in the hot sections of gas turbines such as combustor, turbine blades, and vanes. The top ceramic coating in TBCs provides insulation against the hot gases and the intermediate metallic bond coat provides oxidation and corrosion resistance to the underlying turbine components. Durability of thermal barrier coatings is very important for the overall performance of the gas turbine. TBCs can fail in several different ways and there is a combination of more than one failure mechanism in most situations. One of the most widely used TBC is atmospheric plasma sprayed (APS) yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ). Both the deposition technique and the TBC material have certain limitations. The main aim of this research is to study new TBC materials and/or new deposition techniques and compare with the conventional YSZ and understand their failure mechanisms during cyclic oxidation and hot corrosion. Thermal cyclic oxidation of a newly developed high purity nano YSZ thermal barrier coating has been studied. Cross sectional analysis of exposed as well as completely failed samples showed a mixed-type failure caused by crack propagation parallel to the bond coat/top coat interface. The majority of the damage occurred towards the end of the coating life. A finite element model has been developed to study the probability of crack growth along different paths that leads to the final failure. Hot corrosion mechanism in suspension plasma sprayed two-layer gadolinium zirconate/YSZ, three-layer dense gadolinium zirconate/gadolinium zirconate/YSZ, and a single-layer YSZ has been studied in the presence of sodium sulfate and vanadium pentoxide. The test results showed that gadolinium zirconate coatings were more susceptible to corrosion compared to YSZ coatings despite gadolinium zirconate coatings having lower reactivity with the corrosive salts. Thermal cycling behavior of a high chromium bond coat has been studied. Cross-sectional analysis showed formation of sandwich type microstructure with chromium rich oxide and alumina as the top and the bottom layers. Inter-diffusion of minor elements between different MCrAlY coatings – substrate systems has been studied using, diffusion simulation software, DICTRA. The simulation results showed that the diffusion of minor elements in the coatings is dependent on the rate of β phase depletion in the beginning. After the depletion of β phase there was no clear dependence of the coating composition on the diffusion of minor elements.

A routine non-destructive test method based on Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT) has been developed and applied for the inspection of the first 11 T dipole prototype magnet half shell welds, and the test results are compared with the radiography and visual inspection results of the same welds. A manual scanner and alignment system have been developed and built to facilitate the inspection of the 5.5 m long welds, and to assure reproducibility of the PAUT results. Through the comparison of distance readings and signal amplitude for different focus lengths, a focal law with focus at 25 mm sound path has been selected for the routine inspection of the 15 mm thick austenitic stainless steel 11 T dipole welds. The defocusing properties (beam spread) due to the cylindrical geometry of the half shells and the sound path distance to the area of interest were taken into account. Dedicated sensitivity calibration weld samples with artificial defects (side-drilled-holes) have been designed and produced from 11 T dipole prototype austenitic stainless steel half shell welds. These provide representative calibration for the strongly attenuating and scattering austenitic stainless steel weld material. One scan with two phased array probes aligned parallel to the weld in 2 mm distance from the weld cap edge, and one scan with the probes aligned parallel to the weld in 12 mm distance from the weld cap edge are sufficient to show if the inspected welds fulfil the requirements of weld quality level B according to ISO 5817. The standard test duration for the two scans of the two 5.5 m long horizontal welds of the 11 T dipole magnets is about one day, provided that no defects are found that need to be characterized in more detail.

I denna rapport kan läsaren följa händelseförloppet med framtagningen av en fysisk mood-board med tillhörande grafisk manual. Läsaren kommer att få en allmän förståelse för hur det semantiska hos en produkt påverkar dess användare samt hur detta påverkar produktens resultat på marknaden. I projektet pressenteras en tämligen oanvänd metod som, kortfattat; syftar till att ta vara på en målgrupps specifika känslor om exempelvis en produkt för att göra denna mer optimerad. I detta projekt handlade det mer om att ta fram specifika strukturer vilka tillslut kom att leda till ett antal speciellt utvalda ytor och material åt företaget Tylö® AB. Materialet tillsammans med speciella ytor skall komma att skapa en mer elegant känsla i deras kommande sortiment. Metoden som används för att nå fram till resultatet heter Kansei Engineering. / This report handles the development of a graphic manual and a physical mood-board with specific number of surfaces for the sauna manufacturing company Tylö® AB in Halmstad. The reader will have a general understanding of how the semantic of a product affects its users, and how this affects the product's performance on the market. The project is based on a fairly unused method, which basically is used for; seize a target group specific feeling about a specific product to make it more optimized. In this project, it was more about the development of specific structures on surfaces, which eventually came to lead to a number of specially selected materials and surfaces for the company Tylö ® AB. The materials, together with special surfaces, probably come to create a more elegant feeling in their upcoming concepts. The method that was used to achieve the target is called Kansei Engineering.