This thesis explores the late-nineteenth century partnership between Bradford worsted manufacturers the Briggs brothers and the German merchant Ernst Posselt, and their subsequent foreign direct investment in a modern factory and workers’ community at Marki, near Warsaw, in Russian Poland. Protectionism and increasing foreign competition are discussed, among many complex economic pressures on British industry, as likely catalysts for this enterprise and the general historiography of the Polish lands is explored to reveal a climate of extraordinary opportunity for well-capitalised foreign industrialists in this period. This thesis provides fresh perspective on the role of the consular service in facilitating British foreign enterprise and, in context of the Bradford partners’ strategy for local integration through social networking and religious affiliation, presents unique findings regarding the character and operations of Warsaw’s elite commercial community in the late-nineteenth century. Through the development and domination of market and raw materials sources, this venture is shown to have monopolised worsted manufacture in the Russian Empire, using state of the art technology to create, and modern marketing techniques to promote, its product range and evolving image. Aspects of British and Polish social history are compared to assess the efficacy of introducing the model-community concept, in combination with a radical employment policy, to less industrially-developed Russian Poland. The instrumentality of an expatriate community of skilled Yorkshire foremen in diffusing British industrial technology throughout the Russian Empire is described, against a backdrop of political instability and social upheaval which dramatically impacted on business behaviour after 1905.

The aims of this study were to form uncompressed thermobonded 3D wool nonwoven shell structures in one continuous process, and to study the controlling factors that govern this process. Lack of bonding between wool fibres and between wool and thermoplastic fibres was attributed to the wool fibre's low surface energy because of the lipids on the outer surface of wool fibres (epicuticle). To overcome this problem, three different surface treatments were investigated; chlorination, Hercosett and plasma. The purpose of these treatments was to raise the surface energy of wool fibres by bond scission and the introduction of new functional polar groups and ablation of the outer lipid layer or membrane. For thermobonding with wool fibres, low melting nylon fibres were chosen because of their high polarity and chemical compatibility with wool fibres. SEM, BSM and ESEM imaging techniques as well as tensile strength testing for single fibres, pair bonded samples and 3D nonwoven shells were used to assess the samples. Results have shown that it is possible to thermobond wool and nylon fibres as 3D shell structures, given that wool fibres are treated appropriately and the bonding temperature is controlled properly. Moreover, it has been found that, for pair bonded samples, the wrapping angle and the bonding angle have significant effects on the tensile strength and number of bonding points. Hercosett treated wool fibres yielded the strongest bonds with nylon fibres followed by plasma, chlorinated and untreated fibres.

The research was conducted in the Hewu area situated between Queenstown (20 km) and Whittlesea (15km) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. In this area communal farming is practiced. Livestock and livestock products (wool) are the main sources of income. The farmers are mainly farming with Merino and Döhne Merino sheep. The lack of management systems (production, reproduction and management) for communal farmers resulted into ineffective communal farming defining the research problem. The research objectives set were: • To establish production norms for wool sheep. • To establish reproduction norms for wool sheep. • To establish effective management practices for wool sheep farmers. • To examine key constraints of wool sheep farmers. The farmers shear their sheep every 12 months usually in October of every year. The average wool production per sheep is 2.17kg. The clip averages a fineness of 19.1-20 micron. That is far below the wool production of the commercial farmers of the Eastern Cape who are producing between 4kg to 5kg per sheep at an average growing period of 12 months. The lack of proper fencing and camps causes major reproduction problems. The lambing percentage of the ewes is 94.85 percent. The weaning percentage referring to the reproductive efficiency of the mated ewes is only 17.24 percent. The survival rate of the lambs born alive is only 18.18 percent. Reproduction is the biggest problem of communal farms. Effective livestock- and grazing management systems for communal areas are essential for the successful development of farmers on communal grazing areas. Unfortunately the Hewu farmers still have many problems effecting their wool production and the production of lambs.

The textile industry is a big environmental polluter, with one of the biggest concerns being water pollution and usage. This necessitates resource efficient methods for wet textile processes. To reduce the resources used during wet textile processing, a novel technology was researched in this thesis to dye and hydrophobic finish wool in a one-step process. Two different wool fabrics were exhaust dyed and pad finished as a conventional method to compare to dyeing and finishing in a two-step and one-step process with a hydraulic spray atomising system. In all three processes, acid and reactive dyes were used for dyeing and hyperbranched polymers, i.e. dendrimers, were used for hydrophobic finishing. To test the colour and hydrophobicity fastness, washing and abrasion tests were done on the samples of all three processes. It was found that there is a big colour difference between the conventional and hydraulic spray method, where the colour is less strong in the hydraulic spray method. This has to do with the difference in the dye fixation step, where in the conventional method, the dye fixation happens in an aqueous medium, and in the hydraulic spray this happens in a nonaqueous medium. The hydrophobicity is however significantly better in the samples finished in the hydraulic spray, as this is rather a surface treatment. The results in colour and contact angle between the two-step and one-step process did not significantly change, so it can be concluded that it is possible to combine dyeing and finishing in the hydraulic spray method. The colour and hydrophobic fastness to abrasion and washing is significantly worse for the samples of the hydraulic spray method compared to the conventional method. The hydraulic spray method can still be optimised to overcome problems with colour and fastness, however this is future work. The hydraulic spray method uses significantly less water, chemicals and energy in a two-step process, and even more in a one-step process. Therefore, it has the potential to reduce the use of water, chemicals and energy in wet textile processing, for all types of fibres, and thus strongly contribute to a more environmental conscious wet textile process.

Diploma's thesis describes resolution of cause technological problems in mineral wool manufacturig in company Saint-Gobain Orsil. Main attention is paid to thermal and volatile process in mineral wool from filtration chamber and common commercial sales. Samples of mineral wool were characterizated by thermal analysis (simultaneous TG-DTA), effluent gas analysis (EGA), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Thermal analysis experiments was used to check thermal volatile processes. Technological problem of burning is linked with rise of isocyanic acid.

The complex process of manufacturing woolen textiles contains a long chain of cooperation between resources, techniques and society. With a focus on South and Central Sweden, this study aims to trace the development of woolen textiles and its manufacture, how and why it changed and obtained an increased meaning from the Early Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age. Archaeological biography and materiality are used as theoretical concepts to firstly explore how textile tools, sheep husbandry and woolen textiles changed in occurrence and appearance over time and space. Secondly, by comparing these results, the study analyzes how the different source materials may have affected each other towards the advancement of woolen textiles. The results suggest that a successive increase of sheep among settlements, caused by probably ecological and/or economic factors, possibly led to an increase in wool that sparked the textile development with the creation of more advanced tools and techniques for making woolen textiles in a gradually higher quality. The relationships between people and woolen textiles, as well as its components of manufacture, also seems to have altered during the investigated period, sometimes probably due to influences from the outside world.

Master project is dedicated to design nearly zero-energy office building with retail spaces in Žilina. The first part deals with architectural – building design. Building is designed for the plot nr. 7011 with flat surface and there is no other building. The building has three above-ground floors and one underground floor. Retail spaces are on the ground floor. The building is constructed on foundation strips and pads. The building is made of combined load-bearing structural system of reinforced concrete columns and external walls. External load-bearing structures of above ground floors are designed from reinforced concrete and Ytong system supplemented by ETICS made of mineral wool. Underground walls are made from watertight concrete. Floor slab structures are made from reinforced concrete. The building is covered with green warm flat roof. The second part deals with building interior installation. The primary source of heat, coldness and hot water is the heat pump. Ventilation in the building is provided by heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) units. The third part of the thesis includes the design and assessment of the photovoltaic power plant in terms of economics and ecology. The project was carried out in the AutoCad system. All structures comply with the valid standards and regulations.

The global climate situation today is strained, leading to both the need and the interest for the use of non-polluting materials to increase in the building sector. In Sweden, this sector accounts for about 18% of the country’s total domestic emissions of greenhouse gases, of which 55% occurs from heat losses in buildings. The need for increasing energy efficiency and using well-insulating and environmentally friendly materials can therefore be considered necessary. Bio-based materials such as wood fiber insulation are becoming increasingly more available on the market. These materials have an environmental advantage compared to mineral wool but are still being used on a smaller scale. The purpose of this study is to analyze and examine technical differences and other reasons why wood fiber insulation is being used to a lesser extent compared to mineral wool. Both a literature and an interview study were conducted to identify these reasons. The results showed differences in thermal conductivity and fire resistance between wood fiber insulation and mineral wool. Both types of mineral wools performed better in both categories. Several other factors besides technical differences were discovered to affect the use of wood fiber insulation. Respondents described the building sector as conservative, and slow in the process of implementing new materials. Concerns were raised about performance regarding fire and the durability of the wood fiber insulation over time. Price, low or non-existing interest amongst customers were two other factors highlighted in the interview study. All respondents viewed wood fiber insulation as an untested material and expressed a need for better documentation and guidelines to feel safe using or recommending the product. It was found in this study that the awareness and knowledge about the material amongst the interviewers was quite diverse. This may be due to low interest, low demand, or lack of marketing regarding wood fiber insulation. / Klimatsituationen i världen idag är ansträngd, och både intresset och behovet av att utveckla och använda miljövänliga material och produkter inom byggsektorn ökar. I Sverige står denna sektor för cirka 18% av landets totala inhemska utsläpp av växthusgaser och av dessa utgör omkring 55% uppvärmning för byggnader. Den största mängden energi går förlorad genom otillräckligt isolerade byggnader, vilket understryker behovet av att åtgärda dessa brister. Idag används huvudsakligen mineralullsisolering i Sverige för byggnation. Produktmarknaden erbjuder däremot också biobaserad isolering, där träfiberisolering är ett exempel. Träfiberisoleringen har fler miljömässiga fördelar jämfört med mineralull, men nyttjas i mindre skala. Denna studie syftar därför till att skapa förståelse och undersöka varför träfiberisolering används i mindre utsträckning. Målet är att identifiera samt redovisa tekniska och andra skäl till att användningen är begränsad. Två metoder tillämpades i studien för att kunna nå dess syfte och mål. Den ena var en litteraturstudie där skillnader mellan träfiberisolering och mineralull jämfördes på en teknisk nivå. Den andra var en intervjustudie med åtta nyckelaktörer i byggbranschen, som genomfördes för att erhålla en uppfattning om vilka faktorer som påverkade valet av isolering. Den tekniska jämförelsen utgick ifrån kategorierna värmeisolerande förmåga, samt brand-, fukt- och ljudisolerande aspekter. Fyra olika isoleringsprodukter från fyra olika tillverkare studerades, varav två var träfiberisolering och två var oorganiska mineralullstyper, i form av stenull och glasull.   Studiens tekniska jämförelse visade att träfiberisoleringen presterade sämre än mineralullen både gällande värmekonduktivitet och värmemotstånd. Den brandtekniska klassen för mineralull var klass A1, vilket är den högsta, medan träfiberisoleringen hade den lägsta klassificeringen med en E-klass. För fuktegenskapen ånggenomsläpplighet visade båda typer av mineralull samma värde, medan träfiberisoleringen hade lägre värden. Vattenabsorptionen för korttid och långtid, samt den ljudisolerande förmågan, kunde inte jämföras eftersom ingen prestanda var deklarerad i dessa kategorier för någon av produkterna. Utöver jämförelsen av teknisk prestanda undersöktes även skäl till att byggbranschens aktörer ofta väljer att använda mineralull hellre än träfiberisolering. Det konstaterades att flera faktorer än de tekniska skillnaderna påverkar i frågan. Flera aktörer påpekade att branschen var konservativ och det var en långsam process att implementera nya material. En annan faktor som lyftes av aktörerna var oro kring brandförmågan och hur den tekniska prestandan håller över tid. Prisskillnaden, samt att intresset för träfiberisolering hos beställare var lågt eller obefintligt, var två ytterligare anledningar som identifierades. Samtliga aktörer uttryckte också uppfattningen om träfiberisoleringen som ett obeprövat material med för låg dokumentationsgrad för att känna trygghet i att använda produkten. Fler anledningar kring träfiberisoleringens användning upptäcktes än de som från början fanns hypoteser kring. En av de större orsakerna var osäkerhetsfaktorer kring dokumentation och tekniska egenskaper för träfiberisolering. Andra skäl var branschens konservatism och långsamma utveckling, behov av trygghet i prestanda av garantiskäl, och viss misstro gällande tillverkares uttalanden om produkten. Generellt visade aktörerna spridd medvetenhet och kunskap kring materialet, vilket kan bero på lågt intresse, låg efterfrågan eller bristande marknadsföring av träfiberisolering.

This thesis started with the discovery that in Sweden, about 70% of wool, a valuable material, is wasted in 2017. In recent years, a local value chain in Sweden has gained momentum to increase the use of Swedish wool as a circular and sustainable fibre for the textile industry in the country. This thesis aimed at suggesting a strategic approach to strengthen the Swedish wool value chain. To do so, we used the leverage points framework as a systems thinking lens to uncover system dynamics and assess what is most needed in the system through semi-structured interviews. Then, a systematic literature review was conducted to uncover interventions contributing to sustainable transformations in the global wool value chain and suggest a strategic approach for the Swedish case. The key leverage point that emerged as a result of the research is enhancing the capacity to self-organise as a system, which can happen through increasing collaboration, fostering a structure for learning and flows of information. The strategic intervention that we suggested is to establish a ‘connector’ in the system in order to facilitate underway projects as well as collaboration in a national perspective to develop and expand the use of Swedish wool.

Demands for energy have been increasing in the whole world. According to higher consumption, the price of energy rises yearly too. This evokes usage of insulating products in a wider range. By adding insulation, we lower the amount of energy needed to heat our homes, resulting in fewer associated greenhouse gas emissions and a lower monthly heating bill. Savings depend on insulation thicknesses and on conditions, in which the insulant is kept. Mineral insulation based on stone wool is also a member of building insulants that defends buildings and constructions against temperature changes of the ambient. However, even when we use modern technologies and building techniques to reduce high energy losses, we can never provide unimpeachable protection of stone wool from damage. During a construction process on a building site or at fast climate changes, it often happens that stone wool is exposed to rain precipitaions or other climate effets. This brings water to the insulating structure. Besides the loss of insulating qualities, the stone wool is left permanently wet. Even the fibres of stone wool are inorganic, they still can be attacked by degradation processes due to organic agents fixing fibres together. Analysis of damaged flat-roof constructions using stone wool and verification of material properties is a starting point of this licentiate thesis. The attached paper section can be divided into two parts: In-situ practice that notes troubles with insulating materials based on stone wool with inbuilt moisture on a building site Laboratory measurement that observe material properties of stone wool under varying conditions / QC 20101122