SMEs play a vital role in the country. For the purpose of the study the focus was on SMEs in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Jurisdiction. Businesses which met the SME criteria (refer to Chapter 1, Section 1.7.1), (Du Plessis, 1996: 162; Marx et al., 1998: 728) were included in this study. The study is formed around the aspects of business which contribute to the growth of the business in the long term. A specific study was conducted on the ethnic entrepreneur and the aspects that influence business growth. There are many factors which influence the growth of the business; for the purpose of this study, a specific focus was placed on: (1) knowledge with regard to business; (2) entrepreneurial culture; (3) brand management; (4) location of the business; (5) business relationships; and (6) cultural influences. These variables will determine how the growth of the business is ultimately influenced. The research can also discover from respondents what they view as important in their lives. The study then goes further to analyse whether the independent variables, as reacted to by the respondents, have a significant or non-significant effect on growth.

Water structure Ivanské jezero was built on the Javorník Creek back between 1905-1907. The main purpose of the dam was accumulation of high volumes of water and protection of the territory downstream. After the adjustment for higher flows on the river Kněžna in Rychnov nad Kněžnou, which was completed in 1937, the water structure lost the protective function. On the basis of an assessment made by Povodí Labe in 1993 - due to the low volume of the reservoir there is no flood wave transformation and already while flow rates greater than Q50 pass through dam, it results in overflowing the dam. To this date water structure Ivanské jezero is in very poor condition due to degradation of the binding material in the dam. The goal of the thesis is to propose a procedure for removal of the existing structure and the subsequent construction of the design and construction of a new – gravity, concrete dam. This work will contain technological removal process of current dam and possible usage options for the dam material. In the next step a new structure will be designed in the place of existing dam. After new design is completed there will be hydraulic assessment of the functional objects, hydrology and stability on the dam.

The main topic of this master thesis is the design of condensing steam turbine. In the beginning the heat scheme with low pressure regeneration is calculated. There are chosen 2 low pressure heat exchangers and 3 steam outlets from the turbine. In the main part the thermodynamic proposal with reaction blades is designed, which consists of the regulating stage and the stage part of turbine. The survivability of the turbine is checked by the calculation of mechanical strength. In the end the turbine is checked at reduced mass flow and the turbine characteristic is plotted. The designed steam turbined has a regulating stage and 34 stages in the stage part, has a power of 45873 kW with thermodynamic efficiency of 83.6%. The reheat factor is 1.052.

Undesired air entrainment in bottom outlet conduits of dams may cause pressure transients, leading to conduit vibrations, blowback, discharge pulsation and even cavitation, and jeopardize the operational safety. Due to design limitations or construction costs, it is impossible to create an air free environment in a pressurized pipe. Therefore, it is essential to understand the air transport in enclosed pipes in order to provide guidance in bottom outlet design and operation. The commonly used criterion of the air-pocket movement in pipe flow is the water flow velocity for starting moving an air pocket, the so-called critical velocity. In this thesis, the classical Volume of Fluid (VOF) model combined with the k-ε turbulence model is adopted for the computation of the critical velocity of a 150-mm pipe. The computed critical velocities are compared with the experimental results. The governing parameters investigated in this study include pipe slope and diameter, wall shear stress and air-pocket volume. Meanwhile, the carrying capacity (air-pocket velocity/ flow velocity) at all pipe slopes are analyzed. The simulation results of air pockets with different volumes in the bottom outlet conduit of Letten Dam in Sweden are presented in this study. Moreover, experimental study was conducted to measure the critical velocity for a 240-mm Plexiglas pipe. The results are in agreement with the experiments performed by HR Wallingford (HRW) in 2003 in terms of the effects of pipe slope and air-pocket volume; however, the critical Froude pipe number is slightly smaller in this study. In rough pipes, a larger critical velocity is required compared with that in the smooth pipe. The removal mechanism in the rough pipe involves the successive loss of air caused by turbulence. This explains that the air-pocket size, with the dimensionless air-pocket volume n < 0.015, has little impact on the critical velocity for the rough pipe. In addition, roughness has little impact on the air-pocket velocity when it moves upstream in the downward inclined pipe. The trapped air bubbles most likely remain permanently in the rough pipe. / QC 20120110

The theme of this diploma thesis is to restore the existing small reservoir in the village Žďárná. A new safety spillway and bottom outlet will be built, the flood will be shaped according to the cross-sections and the dam of the water reservoir will be fortified. The designed objects will be hydraulically verified. Using the HEC-HMS program, a hydrological model of the river basin is created and subsequently a derived flood wave PV20.

This diploma thesis, called „Reconstruction of the small water reservoir Hradisko in the cadastral area of Radslavice“, focuses on the complex process of a reconstruction of the small water reservoir Hradisko. This work follows up on the bachelor’s thesis, in which the current state of the Hradisko reservoir was described in detail. Based on the survey of the dam and the flood using a GPS device, detailed project documentation was prepared. Within the solution for the reconstruction of Hradisko reservoir, a repair of the dam and the increase of the crown of the dam is proposed, new functional objects are dimensioned, the bottom is cleared of mud, including modifications in the flood, and other necessary steps for proper functioning of the crumbling no longer compliant reservoir are described. Functional objects are processed for two variants of the solution. The first option consists of the design of a bottom outlet and a safety spillway, and the second alternative involves the design of a combined functional block. In the end, the total costs of both options are quantified and compared on the basis of an indicative item budget.

This thesis deals with the design of small reservoirs at Vyškov na Moravě. Projected reservoirs’ dams are earth-fill and homogenous and each one is equipped with the bottom water outlet and the emergency spillway. The first reservoir, located on the tributary of the Drnůvka river, has the fountain type emergency spillway and the feed pipe bottom water outlet. The reservoir of the Merchanice river, situated at the Vyškov airport, is equipped with the lateral emergency spillway and the feed pipe bottom water outlet. The third design is the reconstruction of the Marchanka reservoir projecting the dam raise. For this small reservoir two variants of functional installations were elaborated.

The subject of the thesis is to develop a simplified documentation of multipurpose reservoirs in the cadastral territory Třebařov. This thesis consists of the text, graphic and hydraulic calculations.

E-bikes, often known as electric bicycles, are becoming more and more well-liked as green modes of mobility. High-capacity lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are utilised to power these e-bikes because of their extended cycle life, high energy density, and low self-discharge rate. The performance and longevity of these batteries may be impacted by temperature fluctuations, however. To guarantee the safe and dependable functioning of Li-ion batteries used in e-bikes, it is crucial to do temperature analysis on the batteries. In this dissertation, the thermal behaviour of a 48V 60AH Li-ion battery used in an e-bike will be studied under various cooling scenarios. The research specifically contrasts forced convection cooling using fans with broad and limited outlet ports to natural air convection cooling with large and reduced outlet ports. The study sheds light on the ideal cooling setups that might increase battery longevity and performance. The results of this study have important ramifications for e-bike producers and designers, battery producers, and energy storage system researchers. Simulations based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are used to simulate the thermal behaviour of the Li-ion battery under various cooling settings for the investigation. 25°C has been selected as the ambient temperature. For forced convection, the airflow rate is set at 3.5 m/s, whereas the airflow rate for natural convection is set at 0.1 m/s. The study's findings demonstrate that both natural and forced convection cooling methods may successfully lower the temperature of a Li-ion battery. However, forced air convection cooling using fans is more efficient than natural air convection at dispersing heat. These findings suggest that, owing to the higher air velocity, shrinking the outlet ports in both cooling approaches improves thermal performance.

Des magasins d’usine accolés aux sites de fabrication apparus au début du XXe siècle jusqu’aux « villages » de marques actuels, le concept commercial a suivi différentes formes et l’évolution de leurs localisations rend compte d’un détachement des sites industriels au profit d’une logique territoriale « hors sol ». Ces facteurs mettent en lumière le passage d’un concept à l’origine industriel, devenu un produit commercialo-touristique. La naissance du concept puis sa « mise en tourisme » trouvent toutes deux leurs origines aux Etats-Unis. Leurs importations en Europe n’ont pas reproduit à l’identique la formule américaine mais ont suivi des modèles s’en inspirant de plus en plus fortement, notamment par le biais de la montée en puissance des opérateurs anglo-saxons qui figurent parmi les leaders incontestés du marché européen. L’annonce de projets de villages de marques suscite quasi-systématiquement de vives tensions entre leurs opposants et leurs défenseurs, révélant que les enjeux territoriaux liés à ces équipements sont nombreux. La multiplication des projets est notamment favorisée par une demande croissante des élus dans un contexte de mise en compétition des territoires. Cette situation, qui constitue une réelle opportunité pour les opérateurs, aboutit depuis peu à la création de partenariats public-privé destinés à tirer profit de la présence des centres de marques en favorisant les synergies avec leur territoire d’implantation, notamment en couplant le tourisme commercial avec d’autres types de tourisme. Cette thèse vise à mettre en lumière le développement et l’évolution du concept commercial en Europe ainsi que leurs implications en matière de nouveaux enjeux territoriaux. / From Factory Outlet shops located on manufacturing sites which appeared at the beginning of the 20th century to the current outlet “villages” today, this distinct retail concept has followed various forms in its evolution. There has been a detachment from locations on industrial sites for a strategic improvement creating, a new territorial logic which is targeted on an agglomeration of brands in modern purpose built buildings with good access and facilities. These factors show the evolution of a concept originally adjacent to a manufacturing base, it has become a distinct retail and tourist product. The birth of the retail concept and its “touristification” finds its origins in the United States. The import of which into Europe drew reference from the American formula but followed new models inspired by Anglo-Saxon developers who created a different style and they now appear among the uncontested leaders of the European market. However, the announcement of new outlet projects, even after 20 years still arouse quasi-systematically deep tensions between the opponents and the defenders of the concept, revealing that the territorial stakes of these centres are multiple. The increase of the number of projects is favoured in particular by an increasing demand of the elected representatives in a context of competition between territories. The current situation constitutes a real opportunity for developers, and it has recently involved the creation of public-private partnerships. Their intended goal is to benefit from the setting-up of outlet centres by favouring the positive elements within their territory, in particular by coupling retail tourism with other forms of leisure tourism. This research aims to study the development and the evolution of the outlet concept in Europe as well as their implications regarding new territorial stakes.