We consider a manufacturing system with stochastic demand and predictable production yield. The manufacturer has predetermined prices and limited production capacity in each period. The producer also has the option to save some inventory for future periods even if there is demand in the current period. The demand that is not met is lost or may be backordered for only one period. Our objective is to maximize the expected profit by choosing optimal production, save and backorder quantities in each period. We formulate this problem as a Markov Decision Process where the state of the system is represented by the net inventory and the efficiency parameter. We show that a modified (Y, S, B) policy is optimal in each period. At the end, we have some computational analysis to examine the effects of yield on the optimal decisions.

This thesis deals with the yield ability of chosen winter wheat varieties during growing season 2014/2015. Comparison of the two varieties (hybrid and linear). The experiment was established in standard and reduced seed rates and also in four replicates on the plot of Faculty of Agriculture, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. Were examined yield components: the amount of spikes per 1 m2, amount of grains per spike and weight of thousand grains. During the vegetation observed were the amount of plants per 1 m2, each growth phase, the number of stalks per 1 m2 and plant height. Furthermore, measured were amounts of units of chlorophyll in plants using device N-Tester and the SunScan device sunlight usable for photosynthesis of plants wherein the processed values of leaf area index (LAI). At the end, compared were the theoretical and real yield and evaluated were spike length, amount of spikelets in spike and density.

Since the last recession the hardwood flooring industry is currently enjoying strong growth. With this growth come new challenges for manufacturers of hardwood flooring. QEP Wood Flooring division, located in Johnson City, Tennessee, USA is a midsize flooring company which historically struggled with high customer claims. In 2016, QEP’s Johnson City management team implemented an initiative to address the top three leading causes of defects and waste in their hardwood flooring panels. A systematic plan was devised and implemented by utilizing basic quality tools and methods such as Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC), root cause analysis, 5-why, check sheet and deployment of effective employee awareness training. As a result, QEP Wood Flooring division reduced 81.56% in chip-out, increased 1.7% in production yield, saved over $90k annually in customer claims while improving the quality of their products and increasing customer satisfaction. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by providing an effective process and low-cost tools to improve the quality of wood flooring products elsewhere in the wood flooring industry.

In this work, the Collision Induced Dissociation under Energy Control method was extended to study the fragmentation of gas-phase biomolecules adenine (H5C5N5) and porphyrin FeTPPCl (C44H28N4FeCl). The population distribution for each dissociation channel has been experimentally determined as a function of the excitation energy of the parent molecular ions at a well-determined initial charge state. In collisions between Cl+ and adenine (Ade) at 3keV, the fragmentation pattern of Ade2+ is dominated by the loss of H2CN+ and the successive emission of HCN. The energy distribution of the parent dications confirms the successive emission dynamics. A specific decay channel is observed, i.e., the emission of a charged H2CN+ followed by the emission of HC2N2. In Kr8+-FeTPPCl collisions at 80keV, parent ions FeTPPCl1+,2+,3+ are observed, along with the corresponding decay patterns. It is found that in the first step the dominant low-energy-cost decay channel is the emission of Cl0 independent of the initial charge state of FeTPPClr+ (r=1-3). For the resulted dication FeTPP2+, the dominant fragmentation channel is the neutral evaporation; for the trication however, the dominant fragmentation channel is the asymmetrical fission. In the case of H+ and F+ impact at 3keV, due to the different reaction windows opened in the two collision systems, different fragmentation patterns are observed. Furthermore, nH2 loss processes are observed. Additionally, the production yield of the negative ion emerged in F2+-Ade collision at 30keV is measured to be about 1% using a new experimental approach.

The demand for high energy battery assemblies is growing in sectors such as transportation. Alongwith it is the need for reliable, efficient and cost-effective ways to electrically connect the batteries toensure their performance. Battery cells are most often put into modules or packs when produced forelectrically driven vehicles. The variable of greatest influence when welding battery packs is thecontact resistance between the cell and the connection tab. It is crucial to minimize this variable asmuch as possible to prevent energy loss in the form of heat generation. The purpose of this project is to conduct a comparative literature study of different weldingtechniques for welding batteries. The compared techniques are resistance spot welding, laser beamwelding and ultrasonic welding. The performance was evaluated in terms of numerous factors such asproduction cost, degree of automation and weld quality. All three methods are tried and proven to function in the production of battery applications. Eachmethod has separate strengths and limitations which makes them complement each other. Thus, it isimportant to look at several factors when deciding which welding technique is the most suitable forthe desired application. The scale of production, economical aspects as well as battery cell geometrywere concluded to be the most important in making this decision.

Ce mémoire présente une étude expérimentale de la fragmentation en phase gazeuse des biomolécules, adénine (H5C5N5) et porphyrine FeTPPCl (C44H28N4FeCl), induite par collision avec des ions à basse énergie. La distribution de population pour chaque voie de dissociation a été mesurée en fonction de l'énergie d'excitation des ions moléculaires parents avec la méthode CIDEC (Collision Induced Dissociation under Energy Control). Dans les collisions entre Cl+ à 3keV et adénine (Ade), le schéma de fragmentation de Ade2+ est dominée par la perte de H2CN+ et les émissions successives de HCN. La distribution de l'énergie des Ade2+ parents confirme la dynamique des émissions successives. Une voie de dissociation spécifique, à savoir l'émission successive de H2CN+ et HC2N2 est observée. Les schémas de fragmentation des ions moléculaires FeTPPCl1+, 2+, 3+ sont étudiés dans des collisions avec Kr8+ à 80 keV. Il est constaté qu’indépendante de l'état de charge initiale de FeTPPClr+ (r=1, 2, 3), la perte de Cl0 constitue la première étape de la chaîne de dissociation, tandis que l’état de charge initiale des molécules joue un rôle important dans les étapes suivantes de la dissociation. Dans les collisions avec H+ et F+ à 3keV, dû à un effet de fenêtre de réaction dans les processus de production d’ions négatifs, des schémas de fragmentation très différents sont observés pour FeTPPCl2+. Grâce à la mesure de l’énergie interne des molécules parents, la perte de nH2 est observée et analysée. De plus, le rendement de production d'ions négatifs, mesuré à environ 1% dans des collisions F2+-Ade à 30 keV, est étudié dans ce travail en utilisant une nouvelle approche expérimentale. / In this work, the Collision Induced Dissociation under Energy Control method was extended to study the fragmentation of gas-phase biomolecules adenine (H5C5N5) and porphyrin FeTPPCl (C44H28N4FeCl). The population distribution for each dissociation channel has been experimentally determined as a function of the excitation energy of the parent molecular ions at a well-determined initial charge state. In collisions between Cl+ and adenine (Ade) at 3keV, the fragmentation pattern of Ade2+ is dominated by the loss of H2CN+ and the successive emission of HCN. The energy distribution of the parent dications confirms the successive emission dynamics. A specific decay channel is observed, i.e., the emission of a charged H2CN+ followed by the emission of HC2N2. In Kr8+-FeTPPCl collisions at 80keV, parent ions FeTPPCl1+,2+,3+ are observed, along with the corresponding decay patterns. It is found that in the first step the dominant low-energy-cost decay channel is the emission of Cl0 independent of the initial charge state of FeTPPClr+ (r=1-3). For the resulted dication FeTPP2+, the dominant fragmentation channel is the neutral evaporation; for the trication however, the dominant fragmentation channel is the asymmetrical fission. In the case of H+ and F+ impact at 3keV, due to the different reaction windows opened in the two collision systems, different fragmentation patterns are observed. Furthermore, nH2 loss processes are observed. Additionally, the production yield of the negative ion emerged in F2+-Ade collision at 30keV is measured to be about 1% using a new experimental approach.