Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Qualité textile'

Qualité et flexibilité sont les deux atouts de l'industrie textile des pays industrialisés pour faire face à la concurrence. Pour jouer son rôle de référence, le contrôle qualité doit être automatisé. Insuffisantes, les machines actuelles doivent être améliorées tant au niveau des méthodes que des matériels: c'est ce qui a été fait dans le cadre d'un programme BRITE. Les travaux ont porté sur les méthodes et particulièrement sur l'extraction des défauts de leur contexte texture. La méthode proposée s'appuie sur un principe connu, la transformée de Fourier et débouche sur un filtrage nouveau permettant une détection de parties de défaut, qu'il faut donc compléter par une procédure spécifique de chainage intra et intercamera. Étendue aux tissus tissés teints, la méthode offre de nouvelles possibilités en matière de segmentation d'image colorée. La réalisation d'un prototype correspondant de machine d'inspection a permis de constater (pour des tissus monochromes) la qualité des résultats, à un type de défaut près et de garantir la faisabilité industrielle de cette machine. Pour les tisses teints, les tests sont probants mais demandent une validation industrielle.

Les unites de production sont actuellement soumises a de fortes contraintes de disponibilite, de productivite, de qualite et de flexibilite. Les problemes a resoudre sont relatifs a la surveillance, au controle qualite et a la maintenabilite. Il s'agit de surveiller et garder operationnels les entites du procede de fabrication, de les synchroniser, de les coordonner et d'integrer les ressources humaines et materielles, dans une approche de gestion de la qualite. Dans ce travail de these, nous nous interessons a la description fonctionnelle des principales activites d'une unite de filature textile dans le but de mettre en place une forme de surveillance preventive conditionnelle previsionnelle indirecte (spcpi), permettant d'ameliorer son niveau de surete de fonctionnement (fiabilite, disponibilite, maintenabilite, etc. ). Cette etude necessite des outils de modelisation et d'evaluation. Nous avons opte pour une modelisation modulaire, a base de la methode sadt qui decompose le systeme en activites elementaires permettant de definir les liens existant entre les parametres de qualite du produit et l'etat des entites du procede. Nous avons ainsi montre que la cause d'une derive de la qualite du produit est liee a l'etat defaillant d'une entite ayant entraine une baisse de ses performances. Les quatre processus de spcpi developpes dans ce memoire sont le suivi d'evolution, la detection, le pronostic et le diagnostic. L'originalite de l'approche du suivi d'evolution de la qualite du produit reside dans la mise en place d'une technique d'inference floue appelee la moyenne dynamique des metriques mdm de logique floue
La mdm est comparee a une methode standard comme la methode somme-produit. La fonction detection, basee sur le principe de seuillage permet l'estimation de l'amplitude d'une derive pour le declenchement du processus de pronostic. Une illustration de ce processus est mise en uvre sur la base d'une fonction de prevision basee sur la methode du gradient. Le diagnostic est realise en exploitant les gammes de longueurs d'ondes definis par l'analyse des defauts periodiques. L'ensemble de ce travail a ete concretise par le developpement d'un outil permettant la mise en uvre de cette approche de spcpt. Cet outil est baptise misufit (maquette informatisee de surveillance d'une unite de filature des industries textiles)

Ce document presente une etude concernant l'automatisation de l'inspection des tissus realisee actuellement par un operateur humain dans le cadre du visitage. Le travail effectue concerne l'amelioration d'une methode de detection existante, basee sur la mise en evidence de la rupture de periodicite du tissu lors de l'apparition d'un defaut. Le chapitre i presente le principe du controle de qualite dans l'industrie textile, la description d'un systeme automatique de detection de defauts et un bref etat de l'art des systemes commercialises et a l'etude. Le chapitre ii developpe la notion de modele simplifie du tissu, et detaille les differentes etapes de la methode de detection (filtrage, decoupage de l'image en blocs et analyse geometriques). Le chapitre iii presente le systeme et le logiciel developpe, ainsi que les resultats experimentaux obtenus. Dans la conclusion, un bilan sur les resultats de la detection est expose et des perspectives pour une continuation de l'etude sont enoncees

Centrée sur l'espace constitué par le royaume de France et ses colonies, cette thèse met en évidence les structures et les dynamiques du marché de l'indigo, entre le milieu du XVIIe et la fin du XVIIIe siècle. Colorant exotique principalement employé en teinture, l'indigo fait partie de ces nouveaux produits qui transforment la palette des couleurs à l'époque moderne. Le secteur de la finition des étoffes est alors un secteur fondamental de la production textile. Il est réglementé afin de garantir aux consommateurs la solidité et la beauté des couleurs, mais au cours du XVIIIe siècle, devient aussi le cœur de l'innovation textile afin de répondre aux nouvelles demandes d'une population qui a adopté la « culture des apparences » (Daniel Roche). La France est au cœur du marché de l'indigo européen et atlantique en raison de sa position dominante dans la production et redistribution du colorant bleu, Saint-Domingue étant le principal producteur d'indigo pendant tout le XVIIIe siècle. La longue distance et le grand nombre d'intermédiaires entre les utilisateurs et les producteurs, limite les moyens dont disposent les acteurs pour relayer leurs attentes. Le rôle des grands négociants des ports du royaume est essentiel, à l'interface entre production et consommation. La grande hétérogénéité des qualités des indigos mis sur le commerce, l'existence de réputations de qualité associées aux différentes zones de production pour l'Europe, qui recoupent des filières de distribution distinctes par empire, invite à s'interroger sur l'éventuelle segmentation des marchés, en fonction des effets recherchés en teinture et des réseaux de redistribution
From the middle of the 17th to the end of the 18th century, the French empire had a dominant position in the market for indigo in Europe. From Saint-Domingue, indigo was imported in France and then reexported to the Mediterranean and North European countries. Indigo was a tropical dyestuff that was widely used in the textile industry on cotton, silken and woolen textiles. The dyeing industry was one of the most innovative sectors in the textile industry, closely connected with new inflows of tropical dyestuffs, technical exchanges with Asia and the Americas and the birth of modem chemistry. This dissertation aims at showing how in the long distance trade, producers and users of indigo were able to communicate, considering that indigo was a highly heterogeneous dyestuff

La durée de vie des produits est un facteur important dans l’évaluation des impacts environnementaux. Cependant, la durée de vie des articles textiles est très difficile à évaluer notamment à cause de la variété des usages par les consommateurs (entretien, porté) et de la nature des textiles (fibres et structures textiles).L’objectif de cette thèse est de mettre en place une méthodologie de prédiction de la durée de vie des vêtements en prenant en compte leur qualité, les usages et les sensibilités des consommateurs.Cette méthodologie, construite dans un cadre transdisciplinaire, met en interaction l’étude du vieillissement des vêtements en laboratoire avec l’étude du comportement des consommateurs.Ainsi, nous avons adapté un test de laboratoire pour évaluer le vieillissement de pulls-overs sous l’effet de frottements répétés. Ce protocole a été mis en place sur une série de pulls et validé par une campagne de tests au porter réalisé sur les mêmes vêtements. Les dégradations observées sont des bouloches, qui sont similaires dans les deux cas. Nous avons classé les pulls suivant leurs typologies de comportement à la dégradation avec une méthode de classification dites des K-moyennes. A partir de ces résultats, nous proposons un modèle de prédiction du vieillissement des pulls en fonction de leurs caractéristiques techniques. En définissant un seuil de défaut acceptable par les consommateurs, il est possible d’estimer la durée de vie des vêtements à partir des comportements prédits par ce modèle.Parallèlement, un sondage auprès d’un échantillon de consommateurs a été réalisé. Les résultats ont été exploités et classifiés selon une méthode de classification hiérarchique non-supervisée. Nous avons défini 4 typologies de consommateurs selon leur comportement d’achats, 3 typologies pour leurs rapport à l’environnement, et 3 selon les pratiques d’entretien de leur linge. Cette étude conclue sur une modélisation de l’usage d’un vêtement prenant en compte la diversité des profils de consommateurs et leurs usagesEnfin nous avons évalué l’influence sur les impacts environnementaux des résultats précédents grâce à l’Analyse de Cycle de Vie. En intégrant à des scénarios d’ACV les comportements de vieillissement des vêtements et les comportements d’usages associés aux différentes typologies de consommateurs nous avons montré les potentielles réductions d’impacts environnementaux possibles par l’augmentation de la durée de vie d’un vêtement et le choix de bonnes pratiques d’usage
The life span of products is an important factor in the evaluation of environmental impacts. However, the lifetime of textile articles is very difficult to evaluate, especially because of the variety of uses by consumers (maintenance, wear) and the nature of textiles (fibers and textile structures).The objective of this thesis is to develop a methodology for predicting the life span of garments by taking into account their quality, uses and consumer sensitivities.This methodology, built in a transdisciplinary framework, interacts the study of clothing aging in the laboratory with the study of consumer behavior.Thus, we have adapted a laboratory test to evaluate the aging of pullovers under the effect of repeated rubbing. This protocol was implemented on a series of pullovers and validated by a campaign of wear tests performed on the same garments. The observed degradation is pilling, which is similar in both cases. We have classified the pullovers according to their typologies of degradation behavior with a classification method called K-means. We have classified the pullovers according to their typologies of degradation behavior with a classification method called K-means. From these results, we propose a model to predict the aging of the pullovers according to their technical characteristics. By defining a threshold of defect acceptable by consumers, it is possible to estimate the life span of the clothes from the behaviors predicted by this model.In parallel, a survey of a sample of consumers was conducted. The results were analyzed and classified using an unsupervised hierarchical classification method. We defined 4 typologies of consumers according to their purchasing behavior, 3 typologies for their relationship to the environment, and 3 according to their laundry care practices. This study concludes with a model of the use of a garment taking into account the diversity of consumer profiles and their uses.Finally, we evaluated the influence on the environmental impacts of the previous results thanks to the Life Cycle Assessment. By integrating into LCA scenarios the aging behavior of clothing and the usage behavior associated with different consumer typologies, we have shown the potential reductions in environmental impacts possible by increasing the life span of a garment and choosing good usage practices

Si la gestion de l'entreprise industrielle a continuellement subi des mutations philosophiques et technologiques importantes (production en Juste-à-Temps, Total Quality Management, robotique, nouvelles technologies de l'information, etc.), les systèmes d'évaluation de la performance qui sont supposés jouer un rôle d'assistance et d'aide à la décision managériale doivent régulièrement accompagner ces mutations. Dans le présent travail, nous proposons une méthodologie conceptuelle d'évaluation de la performance globale d'une entreprise qui opère sous l'optique du Total Quality Management. Le besoin en modélisation du phénomène de la performance est pour clarifier une relation floue et contradictoire entre la performance et le TQM puisque la littérature managériale n'a pas aboutit à une conclusion ferme sur la nature de cette relation. A ce propos, la littérature nous offre trois situations typiques. La première stipule une relation statistiquement positive entre la performance globale et le TQM. Une deuxième situation avec un effet neutre. Enfin, la troisième situation peut mener des conséquences négatives sur l'entreprise. En effet, un modèle conceptuel liant les pratiques critiques du TQM et la performance globale a été développé. Suite à une méthodologie claire basée sur une étude exploratoire auprès de 102 entreprises opérantes dans le secteur Textile-Habillement nous a permis d'identifier la nature de cette relation. A ce propos, une analyse en composantes principales en premier lieu et une analyse de relations structurelles entre les différentes variables en second lieu ont dévoilée se lien entre le TQM-performance globale.

La technique par plasma atmosphérique semble efficace pour la modification des surfaces de matériaux textiles car le traitement est rapide, peu onéreux et écologiquement propre. En dépit de ces avantages, il est extrêmement difficile de comprendre la relation complexe non-linéaire entre les paramètres du procédé plasma et les propriétés finales des matériaux. L’étude et l’optimisation d’un tel procédé doivent être donc basées sur une exploitation des techniques intelligentes telles que la logique floue et les réseaux de neurones. Dans une première partie, l'impact de traitement par plasma de type Décharge à Barrière Diélectrique (DBD) sous air est étudié sur différents types de tissus en polyester et viscose. Afin de mieux comprendre l’effet de la structure textile sur les résultats du traitement, une sélection des paramètres les plus pertinents a été effectuée en utilisant un critère de sensibilité basé sur la logique floue. Il a été mis en évidence que la puissance électrique, la vitesse de traitement, la matière, la finesse des fibres, la perméabilité à l’air, l’armure et la densité des pics ont une influence sur la mouillabilité et la capillarité des tissus. Dans la dernière partie de cette étude, une approche utilisant les réseaux de neurones a été développée afin de prédire la relation entre les paramètres pertinents sélectionnés et les propriétés hydrophiles des tissus. Des résultats tout à fait satisfaisants ont été obtenus et montrent une bonne capacité de généralisation. En outre, une analyse quantitative par poids des connexions a été menée pour analyser l’importance relative des paramètres d’entrée. Les résultats de cette analyse sont cohérents avec ceux obtenus en utilisant le critère de sensibilité flou. Ceci permet donc de confirmer d’une part l’influence des paramètres sélectionnés, et d’autre part de montrer la fiabilité des réseaux neuronaux
Atmospheric plasma treatment seems to be a good way to treat quickly, cheaply and ecologically textile material surfaces. Despite these advantages, it is extremely difficult to understand the complex non-linear relationship between the plasma processing parameters and the final properties of materials. Therefore, the study and optimization of such process must be based on an exploitation of intelligent techniques such as fuzzy logic and neural networks. In a first part, the impact of atmospheric air Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma treatment is studied on different types of polyester and viscose woven fabrics. In order to get a better understanding on how the structure of woven fabrics influence on the results of the plasma treatment, a selection of the most relevant parameters was carried out by using a fuzzy logic based sensitivity variation criterion. This work shows that that the electric power, the treatment speed, the composition, the fibers fineness, the air permeability, the weave construction and the summit density have an influence on the wettability and the capillarity of fabrics. Lastly, a neural network approach was developed to predict the relationship between the selected input parameters and the fabric hydrophilic properties. Very satisfactory results were obtained and show a good capacity of generalization. Moreover, a quantitative analysis based on the weights of connections was conducted to analyze the relative importance of the input parameters. The results of this analysis are coherent with those obtained by using the fuzzy logic based sensitivity variation criterion. Thus, this finding confirms, on the one hand, the influence of the selected parameters and, on the other hand, it shows the efficiency of neural networks

Thesis (MTech (Quality))Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, 2008.
The South African Government provides support to the clothing and textile industry by making funding available through programs in the Department of Science and Technology, such as the Tshumisano Technology Stations Program. The Technology Stations Program in particular supports a Technology Station in Clothing and Textiles (TSCT) at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), serving the needs for technology support and skills upgrading of the industry in the Western Cape, and in some instances, nationally. The TSCT testing laboratory provides testing services to small medium and large companies in South Africa at a reduced cost. The laboratory emphasises that customers should have fabrics tested before production commences. In this regard, the company will know the quality of the fabric or garment being purchased or manufactured. The laboratory technicians and assistants undergo a 'Woolworths' certification process on their test methods on an annual basis. The Woolworths certification is customer based. The laboratory is faced on a daily bases with the problem that more and more of their customers request that the facility should seek higher 'accreditation', as opposed to the current 'certification' it currently holds. The TSCT testing laboratory in addition has a responsibility to satisfy all of its customer certification and accreditation needs. Against this background, the management of the CPUT TSCT testing laboratory is now seeking accreditation from the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) to widen the spectrum of its testing abilities. The primary research objectives of this dissertation are: To determine what the requirements are for SANAS accreditation by the CPUT TSCT testing laboratory. To determine if the CPUT TSCT testing laboratory is subject to a forced intervention for SANAS accreditation. To determine the criteria required for the CPUT TSCT testing laboratory accreditation. To determine the benefits that could be gleaned from this accreditation. To determine the effectiveness of the laboratory system, with regard to the fact that in addition to testing, the laboratory is used for teaching and learning. Descriptive research will serve as the research type, as it will describe an existing phenomena taking place. The research will be theoretical in nature and conducted in terms of both positivistic and phenomenological paradigms. Case study research will serve as research method. Data collection for the proposed research will be conducted using questionnaires. The CPUT Clothing and Textile Technology Department will serve as sampling frame, while the sample of respondents will be drawn on the basis of probability sampling. The sample will include lecturing staff, students, industry testing customers, textile test laboratory technicians, administration and support staff, all of whom are directly involved with the operation or make use of the laboratory facilities.

The tendency to wear out and change is inherent in most materials, but – aside from a few exceptions – has been considered to be undesirable by both the industry and consumers. The work presented in this licentiate thesis suggests that, due to change in some form being an inherent property of textiles, it may be viable to look for alternative ways of designing and perceiving textiles that accept change as one of their qualities.  The experimental work explores change as a quality in textiles from the perspective of the textile material, and examines irreversible changes in textiles from three different perspectives: form, use, and teaching changeability in the field of textile design. Changes in colour, pattern, texture, and structure were explored by developing knitted and woven textiles using materials with pronounced changeable properties, and exposing these to various stimuli, such as outdoor conditions and use in workshops. The experiments suggest that the combination of material and structure defines how textiles change when exposed to various stimuli. A material’s properties define what the textile reacts to and how, while the structure of the textile influences how it changes through the amount and placement of materials. In addition, time and the handling of a textile shape the exact changes that take place. Designing with changeability as a quality in textiles opens up for alternative possibilities as regards creating expressions, wherein time and change are design variables alongside more traditional qualities, and could encourage a diversity of lifespans and changes over various timescales, better connecting textiles to the properties of their raw materials. This may mean that an alternative method for evaluating quality based on change instead of permanence could be viable, wherein the notion of permanence as a sign of quality in textiles is questioned.

La problématique de cette thèse repose sur la caractérisation de la qualité des abricots et leur aptitude à la transformation industrielle. Trois axes principaux ont guidé cette étude. Le premier consistait au départ à une caractérisation morphométrique globale des pieds clones des abricots marocains transplantés vers une station expérimentale de l’INRA Marrakech puis suivie par l’analyse de la diversité génétique. 92 accessions, issus de différentes régions géographiques, ont été génotypés en utilisant 21 marqueurs microsatellites. En effet, la collection analysée a été caractérisée par un polymorphisme élevé et une diversité génétique réduite. Au total, 120 allèles ont été identifiés avec une moyenne de 5,71 allèles par locus.Toutes les preuves statistiques (analyse hiérarchique, ACP et analyse de structure) montrent que la structure génétique de l’abricot marocain peut être subdivisée en deux populations :une majeure population constituée de la plupart des accessions de groupes génétiques(population authentique liée notamment à la variété Delpatriarca) et une seconde population moins diversifiée et liée à toutes les variétés de références, y compris la variété Canino. La variabilité observée entre les 92 génotypes pourrait être un atout pour améliorer la culture de l’abricot et permettre un développement durable dans l’espace et dans le temps du fruit par la sélection de nouveaux génotypes d’abricots. Finalement, la variabilité génétique observée a été utilisée dans le choix et la sélection de nouveaux clones d’abricots pour une analyse phénotypique. Le deuxième axe s’est intéressé à l’étude des marqueurs biochimiques qui permettent de comprendre et d’évaluer la qualité des abricots sélectionnés, à savoir : le changement des acides organiques et des sucres solubles en relation avec la qualité sensorielle, le développement des pigments et le changement de la couleur, l’’évolution des composés phénoliques en relation avec l’activité antioxydante et la perte de la texture en relation avec la biochimie de la paroi cellulaire. En effet, de bonnes propriétés physicochimiques et biochimiques ont été rapportées pour les dix clones choisis (Valeurs maximales rapportées pour certains composés bioactifs : Vitamine C = 0,15 g/kg ; β-carotène= 149,251 μg/kg ; provitamine A = 0,028 mg/kg), ainsi que des caractères qualitatifs associés à la saison de maturation et au génotype, cela représente certainement une source génétique précieuse pour prolonger la saison des abricots et alimenter les étalages et l’industrie.Le troisième axe était sur l’implication de la texture du fruit dans la transformation industrielle de l’abricot. Nous avons analysé l’aptitude variétale des abricots à la transformation industrielle, par l’analyse de leurs propriétés texturales, avant et après la transformation. Et pour mieux comprendre la variabilité de la texture de l'abricot, nous avons étudié l'impact du traitement thermique en fonction du stade de récolte des fruits sur une large gamme de cultivars français. Au final, cinq variétés d’abricots ont été choisies les plus appropriés pour le processus industriel
The problematic of this thesis is based on the characterization of the quality of apricotsand their aptitude for industrial processing. Three main axes guided this study. The first oneconsisted initially of a global morphometric characterization of Moroccan apricot clonesmaintened in experimental station of INRA of Marrakech and followed by the analysis ofgenetic diversity. 92 accessions, from different geographical regions, were genotyped using21 microsatellite markers. Indeed, the analyzed collection was characterized by a highpolymorphism and a reduced genetic diversity. A total of 120 alleles were identified with anaverage of 5.71 alleles per locus. All the statistical evidence (hierarchical analysis, PCA andstructural analysis) show that the genetic structure of Moroccan apricot can be subdivided intotwo populations : a major population made up of most accessions of genetic groups (authenticpopulation linked in particular to the Delpatriarca variety) and a second less diversifiedpopulation related to all reference varieties, including the Canino variety. The observedvariability between the 92 genotypes could be an asset to improve the apricot cultivation andto allow a sustainable development in the space and the time of the fruit by the selection ofnew genotypes of apricots. Finally, the observed genetic variability was used in the selectionof new apricot clones for phenotypic analysis. The second axis focused on the study ofbiochemical markers that allow to understand and evaluate the quality of selected apricots,namely : the change of organic acids and soluble sugars in relation to the sensory quality, thedevelopment of pigments and color change, the evolution of phenolic compounds in relationto antioxidant activity and loss of texture according to the cell wall biochemistry. Indeed,good physicochemical and biochemical properties have been reported for the ten chosenclones (Maximum values reported for some bioactif compounds : Vitamin C = 0.15 g / kg, β-carotene = 149.251 μg / kg, provitamin A = 0.028 mg / kg), as well as the qualitative traitsassociated with the maturation season and the genotype, is certainly a valuable genetic sourceto extend the apricot season and to supply stalls and industry. The third axis was on theimplication of the texture of the fruit in the industrial processing of apricot. We analyzed thevarietal ability of apricots for industrial processing by analyzing their textural propertiesbefore and after processing. And to better understand the variability of apricot texture, westudied the impact of heat treatment depending on the stage of fruit harvesting on a widerange of French cultivars. In the end, five apricots varieties were chosen as the mostappropriate for the industrial process

The aim of this work was to establish a range of suitable process parameters which can be utilized to produce needlepunched nonwoven fabrics for geotextile applications. Nonwoven fabrics were produced from 100% PP, a blend of 50/50% PP/kenaf and 100% kenaf fibres. The depths of needle penetration of 4, 7 and 10 mm, stroke frequencies of 250, 350 and 450 strokes/min and mass per unit area of 300, 600 and 900 g/m2 were utilized for producing the fabrics, on a Dilo loom. The effect of depth of needle penetration, stroke frequency and mass per unit area on the fabric properties, namely, tensile strength, puncture resistance, pore size, water permeability and transmissivity were analysed. In addition, the effect of chemicals, namely, 10% ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH), 10% sodium chloride (NaCl) and 3% sulphuric acid (H2SO4) solutions on degradation of the fabric was also studied. The results have shown that density, thickness and nominal weight of the needlepunched nonwoven fabrics were related to each other and they were influenced by stroke frequency, depth of needle penetration and feed rate of the needlepunching process. The increase in nominal weight of the fabrics also increases thickness and density of the fabrics. The tensile strength and puncture resistance of the fabrics increased with the increases in stroke frequency, depth of needle penetration and fabric mass per unit area. However, lower tensile strength and puncture resistance were achieved in the fabrics produced at lower stroke frequency, lower depth of needle penetration and lower mass per unit area. Bigger pores were resulted in the fabrics produced at lower stroke frequency, lower depth of needle penetration and lower mass per unit area, however, pore size decreased with increases in stroke frequency, depth of needle penetration and mass per unit area. Water permeability depends on the pore size, properties of the fibres, stroke frequency, depth of needle penetration and mass per unit area. Higher tensile strength and higher puncture resistance were achieved in the needlepunched nonwoven fabrics produced from 100% PP fibres, therefore, they are suitable for some load-bearing geotextile applications, such as reinforcement and separation. However, higher water permeability was achieved in the fabrics produced from 100% kenaf fibres, therefore, they are ideal for geotextile applications where good water permeability is required. Higher values for transmissivity were obtained in the fabrics produced from a blend of 50/50% PP/kenaf fibres, therefore they are suitable for drainage applications. The fabrics produced from a blend of 50/50% PP/kenaf fibres achieved better values of tensile strength, puncture resistance, pore size and water permeability in comparison to that produced from 100% PP and 100% kenaf fibres. However, better tensile strength and puncture resistance were achieved in the fabrics produced from 100% PP fibres and bigger pore size and higher water permeability were achieved in the fabrics produced from 100% kenaf fibres. Therefore, it can be suggested that the nonwoven fabrics produced from a blend of 50/50% PP/kenaf fibres can fulfil almost all requirements of geotextile applications, such as, filtration, separation, reinforcement and drainage. The fabrics produced from 100% PP fibres were not damaged or deteriorated when treated with all the three chemicals due to chemical inertness of polypropylene. However, the fabrics produced from a blend of 50/50% PP/kenaf and 100% kenaf fibres were damaged and deteriorated when treated with H2SO4.

The aim of the thesis is based on the questionnaire survey to analyze customer satisfaction with the services of the company ODEVA, spol. s r.o. Lipany. The questionnaire was sent to customers by e-mail and data which have been collected through it have been processed into graphs and charts. The thesis is divided in two parts. In the theoretical part I define step by step services in the sphere of production, quality as well as customer satisfaction. I also describe reasons why the company should monitor customer satisfaction and at the end of this section I describe the standard procedure for monitoring and measuring customer satisfaction. The practical part deals with the short description of the textile and clothing industry in Slovakia, as well as the company in which the research was conducted. Outcomes of the research are analyzed and on that basis recommendations in order to improve services are proposed at the end of the thesis.

Because of their ubiquity and low cost fabrication techniques, electronic textiles (e-textiles) are an excellent platform for pervasive computing. Many e-textile applications are already available in the commercial, military, and academic domains, but most are very highly specialized and do not lend themselves easily to reuse or alteration. The purpose of this work is threefold: development of a methodology for building flexible and reusable applications that facilitates their use in the evolution of more complex systems, creation of a resource manager that realizes the methodology and enforces quality of service guarantees on tightly constrained textile resources, and construction of a simulation environment that allows for the rapid development and reconfiguration of systems to circumvent the need for the expensive physical prototyping process. This work discuss the effectiveness and appropriateness of the deployed event-driven hierarchical service model for application development. Additionally, this work explores the results of providing fault tolerance and quality of service guarantees in a textile environment that is particularly susceptible to faults. Further addressed by this work is the success of rapid prototyping and evaluation of applications in the simulation environment.
Master of Science

[Abstract]: The textile industry has a recurrent white speck nep problem in cotton. “White specks” are immature clusters of fibres that are not visible as defects until dyeing, after which they remain white on the surface of a darkly dyed fabric, or appear as non uniform streaks in the fabric. Both results render the fabric unsuitable for commercial fashion fabrics. The white speck potential of cotton is difficult to predict except in extremely immature cottons. Competitive synthetic fibres are uniform in length and strength and never have a maturity problem resulting in dye defects. They are much more predictable in the mill. As a result, cotton faces the risk of being replaced by synthetic fibres. Industry requires a method to predict fabric quality from cotton bale fibre properties to minimize this risk. This research addresses the problem of predicting white specks in dyed cotton fabrics. It is part of a large study, which is supported jointly by US and Australian agencies. The main objective is to predict fabric quality from bale fibre properties given controlled gin and mill processing. Gin and mill processing must be controlled so that field and varietal effects can be seen without the interaction of mechanical processing differences. This results in achieving other objectives, including the provision of baseline data for Australian varieties, ginning effects and comparison of ring and open-end spinning. Initially a reliable method for measuring white specks had to be found. Several systems have been evaluated and are reported here. The systems accuracy was compared using fabrics from the US Extreme Variety Study (EVS), which was grown specifically to have different levels of white specks. The fabrics made from the US (Leading Variety Study 1993 (LVS) and The American Textile Manufacturers Institute (ATMI) Cotton Variety Processing Trials, 2001) and the Australian (1998 & 1999) variety studies were analysed using AutoRate-2-03, the best of the image analysis systems studied. The final release of AutoRate (February 2003) was developed by Dr. Bugao Xu to measure white specks on dark fabrics in conjunction with this research. This final analysis of these studies results in white speck prediction equations from high-speed fibre measurement systems. This information should be immediately useful to as a tool to measure the effects of field and ginning practices on the levels of white specks without having to carry the research out to finished fabrics. Cotton breeders will be able to use the equations in the development of new varieties with low white speck potential, by eliminating varieties with high white speck potential early on. The research will continue on a much larger scale in the US and hopefully a WSP (White Speck Potential) value will be incorporated into the US Cotton Grading System.

This work aims to verify the impacts that the reversing process in the results of quality and productivity produced in textile companies in Cearà which adopted this strategy. After analyzing the value chains, many companies that at first outsourced are now rethinking their decisions and when needed taking an inverse approach, that is, not outsourcing their activities any more. That is why it is important to understand what are the main factors that lead to this process. The research related to the outcome is of descriptive and exploring nature; regarding the approach to the problem, it is of quality concerning. Based on bibliographic research that subsidized the referential theory proceeded further investigation giving support to the empirical analyses. Semi-structured Questioner and interviews were carried out with executives managers and operatives in three textile companies of great capacity in CearÃ, based in deliberate exemplification. The results show that the strategic decisions of the reversing process has been motivated by the commitment to the quality of products and procedures, targeting mainly the best quality service to the clients. This derived from several problems pointed out by companies that by outsourcing operate.
O trabalho tem como objetivo verificar os impactos da reverticalizaÃÃo de processos nos resultados de qualidade e produtividade gerados em empresas tÃxteis cearenses que optaram por esta estratÃgia. ApÃs anÃlise na sua cadeia de valor, muitas empresas, que incialmente adotaram o processo da terceirizaÃÃo, estÃo repensando suas decisÃes e quando necessÃrio, seguindo o caminho inverso, ou seja, desterceirizando suas atividades. Portanto, torna-se importante, compreender quais foram os principais fatores motivadores deste processo. A pesquisa, quanto aos fins, à de natureza descritiva e exploratÃria; com relaÃÃo à abordagem do problema, à de foco qualitativo. Com base na pesquisa bibliogrÃfica, que subsidiou o referencial teÃrico, procedeu-se a uma busca de campo, que deu suporte à anÃlise empÃrica. Foram aplicados questionÃrios e entrevistas semi-estruturadas para os gestores executivos e operacionais em trÃs empresas tÃxteis de grande porte do CearÃ, com base na amostragem intencional. Os resultados indicam que a decisÃo estratÃgica da reverticalizaÃÃo foi motivada pelo compromisso com a qualidade de seus produtos e processos, visando principalmente ao melhor atendimento aos clientes. Isto decorreu de problemas diversos observados pelas empresas com a terceirizaÃÃo de suas atividades-meio. Palavras-chave: reverticalizaÃÃo, terceirizaÃÃo, cadeia de valor e indÃstrias tÃxteis.

Thesis (M. S.)--Polymer, Textile and Fiber Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009.
Committee Chair: Dr. Radhakrishnaiah Parachuru; Committee Member: Dr. Dong Yao; Committee Member: Dr. Fred Cook; Committee Member: Dr. Wallace Carr; Committee Member: Dr. Yehia El Mogahzy

The primary goal of computer graphics is to create images by rendering a scene under two constraints: quality, producing the image with as few artifacts as possible, and time, producing the image as fast as possible. Technology advances have both helped to satisfy these constraints, with Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) advances reducing image rendering times, and to exacerbate these constraints, with new HD and virtual reality displays increasing rendering resolutions. To meet both constraints, rendering uses texture mapping which maps 2D textures onto scene objects. Over time, the count and resolution of textures has increased, resulting in dramatic growth of data storage requirements. Compression can help to reduce these storage requirements.

I present a rigorous texture compression evaluation methodology using final rendered images. My method can account for masking effects introduced by the texture mapping process while leveraging the perceptual-rigor of current Image Quality Assessment metrics. Building on this evaluation methodology, I present a demonstration of guided texture compression optimization that minimizes the bitrate of compressed textures while maximizing the quality of final rendered images. Guided texture compression will help with the scalability problem for optimizing texture compression in real-world scenarios.

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Departamento de Ciência da Computação, 2017.
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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES).
Na última década, diversas aplicações multimídia tem gerado e distribuído conteúdos de imagens e vídeos digitais. Serviços de multimídia que tem ganhado um vasto interesse incluem televisão digital, jogos de vídeo e aplicações em tempo real operando sobre a Internet. De acordo com predições da CiscoTM, a percentagem do tráfego de dados de vídeo sobre a Internet era de 53% em 2014 e superará os 67% em 2018. Devido à esse aumento na demanda de conteúdo de dados visuais, a necessidade de métodos e ferramentas que estimem a qualidade da experiência (QoE) do consumidor é enorme. Entre os aspectos que contribuem para a QoE, a qualidade dos estímulos visuais é uma das maiores propriedades, pois pode ser alterada em diversos estágios da cadeia de comunicação, tal como na captura, na transmissão, ou na reprodução do conteúdo. Considerando que os avaliadores naturais da qualidade visual são seres humanos, a estratégia básica para medir a qualidade visual consiste na realização de experimentos subjetivos. Esses experimentos são geralmente realizados com participantes humanos em laboratórios preparados com um ambiente controlado. Esses participantes avaliam a qualidade de um dado estimulo visual (imagem ou vídeo) e atribuem a eles um valor numérico associado à qualidade. Para avaliar a qualidade, os participantes seguem um conjunto de passos experimentais. Geralmente, esses passos são padronizados para favorecer a reprodutibilidade experimental. Os padrões de experimentos incluem metodologias de avaliação, tais como condições de visualização, escala de avaliação, materiais, etc. Após um conjunto de participantes avaliarem individualmente a qualidade de um dado estímulo, a média dos valores é calculada para gerar o valor médio das opiniões subjetivas (MOS). O MOS é frequentemente utilizado para representar a qualidade geral de um dado estímulo visual. Como a coleta dos MOS é realizada a partir de experimentos com seres humanos, esse processo é demorado, cansativo, caro, e laborioso. Devido ao custo dos experimentos subjetivos, um grande esforço tem sido dedicado ao desenvolvimento de técnicas objetivas para a avaliação de estímulos visuais. Essas técnicas objetivas consistem em predizer o MOS automaticamente por meio de algoritmos computacionais. Tal automação torna possível a implementação de procedimentos computacionais rápidos e baratos para monitorar e controlar a qualidade de estímulos visuais. As técnicas objetivas para a avaliação de estímulos visuais podem ser classificadas em três tipos, dependendo da quantidade de informação necessária pelo método. Se todo o estímulo de referência (original) é requerido para a estimação da qualidade do estímulo testado, então essa técnica é classificada como sendo de referência completa. Quando somente alguma informação parcial da referência é necessária, a técnica é classificada como sendo de referência reduzida. Por outro lado, quando nenhuma informação sobre o estímulo de referência é necessária, a técnica é dita como sendo sem referência. Uma vez que a exigência de uma referência completa ou parcial é um obstáculo no desenvolvimento de diversas aplicações multimídia, as técnicas de sem referência são as mais convenientes na maioria dos casos. Diversas técnicas objetivas para avaliação de qualidade visual têm sido propostas, embora ainda existam algumas questões em aberto no seu desenvolvimento. No caso de técnicas de avaliação de imagens, diversas técnicas de referência completa têm sido produzidas com uma excelente performance. Por outro lado, técnicas que não utilizam referências ainda apresentam limitações quando múltiplas distorções estão presentes. Além disso, as técnicas sem referência para imagens mais eficientes ainda apresentam modelos computacionalmente custosos, o que limita a utilização desses métodos em várias aplicações multimídia. No caso de vídeos, o atual estado da arte ainda possui performance na predição dos MOS pior do que os métodos de imagens. Quando consideramos a acurácia da predição, os métodos objetivos para vídeos possuem uma correlação entre valores preditos e MOS ainda pequena se comparada com a correlação observada em métodos para imagens. Além disso, a complexidade computacional é ainda mais crítica no caso de vídeos, uma vez que a quantidade de informação processada é muito maior do que aquela presente em imagens. O desenvolvimento de uma técnica objetiva de avaliação de qualidade visual requer resolver três grandes problemas. O primeiro problema é determinar um conjunto de características que sejam relevantes na descrição da qualidade visual. Essas características, geralmente, referem-se às medidas de estímulos físicos, tais como quantificação da nitidez de borda, estatísticas de cenas naturais, estatísticas no domínio de curvlets, filtros de Prewitt, etc. Além disso, múltiplos tipos de características podem ser combinados para gerar um vetor de características que descrevem melhor a qualidade de um dado estímulo. O segundo problema é estabelecer uma estratégia de agrupamento das características de forma que os valores numéricos sejam descritivos dentro de um modelo. Esse agrupamento se refere a uma combinação de medidas através de um subespaço de medidas para representar o estímulo analisado. Finalmente, o terceiro problema é a criação de um modelo que mapeie as características agrupadas de forma que se correlacione com os dados preditos com os subjetivos. Neste trabalho, nós apresentamos uma investigação de métodos de avaliação de qualidade visual baseada na medição de texturas. A pressuposição é que degradações visuais alteram as texturas e as estatísticas dessas texturas em imagens e vídeos. Essas medidas são executadas em termos das estatísticas extraídas do operador de padrões binários locais (LBP) e suas extensões. Este operador foi escolhido porque ele unifica outros modelos de análise de texturas mais tradicionais, tais como o espectro de textura, o nível de cinza de comprimento (GLRLM) e as matrizes de co-ocorrência de níveis de cinza (GLCM). O operador LBP, sendo um algoritmo simples e que favorece implementações rápidas, possui propriedades muito úteis para sistemas de processamento em tempo real de imagens e vídeos. Devido às vantagens supracitadas, nós analisamos o operador LBP e algumas das suas extensões no estado da arte com o objetivo de investigar sua adequabilidade para o problema de avaliação de qualidade de imagens. Para isso, neste trabalho nós apresentamos uma extensa revisão do estado da arte dos operadores. Entre os operadores no estado da arte, podemos mencionar os padrões ternários locais (LTP), a quantização de fase local (LPQ), as estatísticas binarizadas de características de imagem (BSIF), os padrões locais binários rotacionados (RLBP), os padrões binários locais completos (CLBP), os padrões de configuração locais (LCP), entre outros. Ademais, nós também propomos novas extensões que melhoram a predição de qualidade. Entre as extensões propostas para a medida de características de qualidade, estão os padrões binários locais de múltipla escala (MLBP), os padrões ternários locais de múltipla escala (MLTP), os padrões de variância local (LVP), os padrões de planos ortogonais de cores (OCPP), os padrões binários locais salientes (SLBP) e os padrões binários locais salientes de múltipla escala (MSLBP). Para testar a adequabilidade dos operadores de texturas supracitados, propomos um arcabouço para utilizar esses operadores na produção de novas métricas de qualidade de imagens. Dessa forma, muitas métricas sem referência podem ser geradas a partir da estratégia proposta. Utilizando as métricas geradas a partir do arcabouço proposto, uma extensa análise comparativa é apresentada neste trabalho. Essa análise foi feita com três das mais populares bases de dados de qualidade imagens disponíveis, sendo elas a LIVE, CSIQ e TID 2013. Os resultados gerados a partir dos testes nessas bases demonstram que os operadores no estado da arte mais adequados para mensurar a qualidade de imagens são o BSIF, o LPQ e o CLBP. Todavia, os resultados também indicaram que os operadores propostos atingiram resultados ainda mais promissores, com as abordagens baseadas em múltiplas escalas apresentando os melhores desempenhos entre todas variações testadas. Inspirado nos resultados experimentais das métricas de imagens geradas, nós escolhemos um operador de textura conveniente para implementar uma métrica de avaliação de qualidade de vídeos. Além de incorporar informações de textura, nós também incorporamos informações de atividade espacial e informação temporal. Os resultados experimentais obtidos indicam que a métrica proposta tem uma performance consideravelmente superior quando testada em diversas bases de dados de vídeo de referência e supera os atuais modelos de qualidade vídeo.
In the last decade, many visual quality models have been proposed. However, there are some open questions involving the assessment of image and video quality. In the case of images, most of the proposed methods are very complex and require a reference content to estimate the quality, limiting their use in several multimedia application. For videos, the current state-of-the-art methods still perform worse than images in terms of prediction accuracy. In this work, we present an investigation of visual quality assessment methods based on texture measurements. The premise is that visual impairments alter image and video textures and their statistics. These measurements are performed regarding the statistics of the local binary pattern (LBP) operator and its extensions. We chosen LBP because it unifies traditional texture analysis models. In addition, LBP is a simple but effective algorithm that performs only fundamental operations, which favors fast and simple implementations, which is very useful for real-time image and video processing systems. Because of the abovementioned advantages, we analyzed the LBP operator and some of its state-of-the-art extensions addressing the problem of assessing image quality. Furthermore, we also propose new quality-aware LBP extensions to improve the prediction of quality. Then, we propose a framework for using these operators in order to produce new image quality metrics. Therefore, many no-reference image quality metrics can be generated from the proposed strategy. Inspired by experimental results of generated no-reference image quality metrics, we chosen a convenient texture operator to implement a full-reference video quality metric. In addition to the texture information, we also incorporate features including spatial activity, and temporal information. Experimental results indicated that our metric presents a superior performance when tested on several benchmark video quality databases, outperforming current state-of-the-art full-reference video quality metrics.

Businesses are constantly striving for a competitive edge in the economy, and data-driven decision making is crucial to achieve this goal. Four data mining tools, principal component analysis, cluster analysis, recursive partitioning, and discriminant analysis, were used to explore the major factors that contribute to ends down in a rotor spinning manufacturing process. Principal component analysis was used to explore the research question about whether the large number of cotton properties used to classify cotton could be reduced to a significant few. Cluster analysis was used to gain insight about whether there were groups of gins, counties, or classing offices that produced better raw material than others and led to less ends down. The important research question of what raw material properties were affecting ends down was explored with both recursive partitioning and discriminant analysis. Additional research investigated the effect of cotton variety and atmospheric conditions on spinning productivity. Each of the four data mining tools used was informative and offered a different perspective to the overall research question. Several significant factors emerged including humidity, temperature, %DP 555, and uniformity in addition to micronaire and the color properties (+b and Rd). With these results the researcher developed an improvement plan for better control and increased spinning productivity in future operations. A designed experiment is necessary to thoroughly investigate the impact of certain factors beyond the exploratory conclusions obtained from this study.

Les propriétés sensorielles des matériaux constituent un élément important de la valeur perçue. L’enjeu est de mettre en relation 3 espaces de caractérisation des matériaux : un espace physique décrit par des données mesurables par des instruments, un espace psychophysique décrit par des données mesurables par l’appareil perceptif humain, un espace sémantique qui traduit une perception plus globale du matériau. Des méthodes de l’analyse sensorielle sont utilisées pour collecter des données de perception visuelle, tactile et visio-tactile. En parallèle, la sensation tactile est étudiée plus en détail à l’aide d’instruments de tribologie tactile. Les différents jeux d’échantillons sélectionnés permettent d’explorer les 3 espaces de caractérisation. L’analyse des vibrations induites par le contact entre le doigt et des textures artificielles, périodiques et isotropes, montre que la valeur efficace du signal d’accélération ainsi que le coefficient de frottement sont cohérents avec les résultats des tests de perception tactile. En étudiant des archétypes du bois, il apparaît que les échantillons sont différenciés selon deux critères principaux : la rugosité et l’hétérogénéité. Ce dernier faisant référence à la présence ou non de singularités caractéristiques du bois. Par ailleurs, l’analyse des vibrations induites est cohérente avec les résultats des tests de perception tactile. Enfin, l’étude d’un même ensemble de textures présentées sous forme d’un disque de matière et sous forme d’un objet identifié a permis de montrer que, contrairement aux textures artificielles, les textures naturelles ou identifiables sont perçues de manière similaire dans les deux contextes de présentation
The sensory properties of material provide leverage of perceived value. The challenge is to relate 3 spaces of material characterization: a physical space describe by measurable data using instruments, a psychophysical space describes by measurable data collected with the human perceptive system, and a semantical space which represent a more global perception of the material. Sensory evaluation methods are used to collect data of visual, tactile and visio-tactile perception. In parallel, the tactile sensation is studied more in detail using tribo-tactile instruments. The different sets of samples allow the exploration of the 3 characterization spaces. The analysis of friction induced vibrations when the finger is scanning periodic and isotropic surfaces reveal that the root mean square value of the acceleration spectra as well as the friction coefficient are coherent with the tactile perception test results. The study of wood archetype texture shows that samples discrimination is based on two main criteria: the roughness and the heterogeneousness, the latter referring to the presence or not of characteristic peculiarities of the wood. Besides, the analysis of friction induced vibrations is also coherent with the results of the tactile perception test. Finally, the study of same set of textures presented in the form of piece of material and in the form of an identified object shows that, contrary to the artificial textures, the natural or familiar textures are perceived in a similar way in both contexts of presentation

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on December 18, 2009). Thesis advisor: Dr. Jung Ha-Brookshire. Includes bibliographical references.

Les outils instrumentaux peuvent contribuer à expliciter les caractéristiques organoleptiques des fruits déterminées par les perceptions sensorielles. L'objectif principal de ce travail est d'analyser les relations entre les paramètres sensoriels, définissant la texture et la flaveur des pommes, et les mesures instrumentales, qui caractérisent leurs propriétés mécaniques et chimiques. La première partie de l'étude concerne la validation des analyses sensorielles et instrumentales, et la caractérisation de la qualité des fruits par ces analyses. La deuxième partie porte sur la recherche des relations entre les propriétés sensorielles des pommes et les mesures instrumentales. Cette étude montre que les perception sensorielles, quoi que complexes, peuvent être reliées aux mesures instrumentales adéquates et, par conséquent, être prédites par des modèles statistiques qui tiennent compte des lois psychophysiques qui gouvernent ces perceptions
Sensory perception of fruit quality is still hard to understand and the instrumental measurements could help us to analyse it better. The principal objective of this study is to analyse the relationship between sensory perceptions, of fruit texture and flavour, and instrumental measurements, which characterise some mechanical and chemical fruit properties. The first part of the study is about a validation of sensory and instrumental measurements and characterisation of fruit quality, while the second part is about the relationship between sensory attributes of fruit quality and instrumental measurements. This study shows that sensory perception, in spite of its complexity, can be related to the appropriate instrumental measurements, and can be predicted by statistical models that take into account the psychophysical lows that control the perceptions

Afin de répondre aux enjeux environnementaux actuels, l’économie circulaire ambitionne de découpler la croissance économique de la consommation de ressources. Pour y arriver, elle se base sur la volonté d’accroitre l’efficience de ces ressources en s’appuyant, entre autre, sur l’allongement de la durée de vie des produits. Seule réserve, la notion de durée de vie est à la fois liée au produit et au consommateur et pour cette raison, elle est particulièrement complexe à appréhender, à définir et à évaluer.Par ces travaux nous souhaitons donc contribuer aux réflexions qui portent sur la durée de vie et en particulier sur celle des produits textiles. Pour cela, nous avons construit des indicateurs comme aide à la décision, ils permettent de répondre aux problématiques suivantes : l’estimation de la durée de vie, l’identification des paramètres d’écoconception et l’évaluation du bénéfice de l’allongement de la durée de vie.Le modèle d’estimation de la durée de vie proposé, dénommé « Qualité Orientée Consommateur » (QOC), s’inspire de la définition de durée normative proposée par l’ADEME. Il s’appuie en effet sur des données objectives et retranscrit la capacité des produits à résister au vieillissement. Aussi, afin de faire concorder ce score avec la durée de vie, nous avons pris le consommateur en compte en s’intéressant notamment à sa perception vis-à-vis de l’usure.S’intégrant dans la démarche d’écoconception et d’économie circulaire, nous souhaitions nous servir de la connaissance du consommateur pour adapter la fabrication des produits. Nous avons donc associé le score QOC aux caractéristiques des produits dans une analyse de données afin d’identifier les paramètres influents, ainsi connus nous pouvons dégager des recommandations de fabrication.Enfin, nous avons mis ce modèle en œuvre au cas des T-shirts et avons vérifié l’adéquation du score QOC par rapport à une durée de vie « réelle », durée que nous avons intégrée dans des scénarios d’analyse du cycle de vie (ACV) afin de quantifier l’intérêt des produits de plus longues durées de vie. L’ACV offrant un angle statique, nous avons proposé de nouveaux points de vue plus dynamiques : en observant l’évolution des impacts dans le temps, nous sommes effectivement en mesure de quantifier l’influence de la durée de vie d’une part et d’évaluer la cohérence d’une chaine de fabrication par rapport à la qualité produite d’autre part
To meet current environmental challenges, the circular economy aims to separate economic growth from resource consumption. To do so, it relies on levers to increase resources efficiency, such as lifespan extension. However, since lifespan is related to both the product and the consumer, it is highly complex to define and evaluate.Through this thesis, we wish to contribute to the reflections on lifespan and on that of textile products in particular. We thus provided indicators such as a multi-criteria decision-making model that helps to address the following issues: to better estimate lifespan, to identify eco-design parameters and to evaluate the lifespan extension benefits.The proposed lifespan estimation model, called “Consumer-Oriented Quality” (COQ), is inspired by the definition of normative duration given by the French environmental agency ADEME and primarly relies on objective data which reflects the ability of products to resist ageing. But to obtain a more precise model of lifespan, we have also taken the consumer into account, focusing on their wear and tear perception.As part of the eco-design and circular economy approach, we wanted to benefit from our knowledge of the consumer to adjust product manufacturing. We therefore combined the COQ score with the product characteristics in a data analysis and identified the relevant parameters, so we could draw up manufacturing recommendations.Finally, we implemented our model for T-shirts to check its consistency with respect to a “real” lifespan. This lifespan was integrated into life cycle assessment (LCA) to quantify the benefits of having products with longer lifespans. Since LCA provides a static angle, we have proposed new and more dynamic points of view by observing the impacts’ evolution over time. This enable us to quantify the influence of lifespan and to evaluate the consistency of a production line with the quality produced

Bast fibrous renewable materials, as commercial crops for the manufacture of textile based and other products, have been used for thousands of years to satisfy certain human needs, such as for shelter, clothing, source of energy and tools, and to sustain the livelihood of many communities in countries, such as in Asia, Europe and Africa. Concern for the environment has led to a number of global initiatives that favour the use of natural fibres. It is forecast that the global fibre demand by 2050 will be 130 million tonnes, which the cotton and synthetic fibre production will not be able to meet. Other than the environmental concerns, the renewed global interest in natural fibres, such as flax and hemp, forms part of a strategy to satisfy the fibre demand. South Africa, notwithstanding the fact that the flax and hemp industries have long been established for thousands of years in Europe, Asia and Egypt (Africa), has no history of the breeding, growing, processing and production of these cash crops. The renewed global interest in these crops has also stimulated interest from South Africa with respect to the development of a flax and hemp fibre industry so as to address some of the socio-economic challenges confronting the country today in its attempts to bring about real development in the rural areas through the cultivation and complete beneficiation of these fibre crops. In this regard, the relevant stakeholders, namely government, research councils, tertiary education institutions, farmers and communities worked together to investigate whether South Africa has the agronomic and climatic conditions, technical expertise as well as the necessary processing and production infrastructure to support the development of a local flax and hemp agro-industry. The purpose of this study was firstly to evaluate the performance of EU flax and hemp cultivars grown under different agronomic conditions in South Africa, and their effect on straw biomass yield, fibre yield and total fibre yield per hectare as well as associated fibre properties, and secondly to undertake mechanical fibre modification trials aimed at producing flax and hemp fibres with fibre diameters close to those of cotton. The minimum fibre diameter targeted being 20μm. In accordance with the project objectives and work plan, selected dew retted flax and hemp straw samples from the various planting sites selected by the Agriculture Research Council – Institute for Industrial Crops, representing all the agronomic conditions under investigation, were taken to the CSIR for fibre extraction and testing. A relatively inexpensive and easy to operate Russian designed and manufactured machine, the CMT-200M breaker-cum-scutcher, was used for fibre extraction and the resultant extracted fibre bundles were further refined, using a steel comb, to obtain optimal fibre separation before their physical and chemical properties were evaluated. Results obtained in this research study proved that the climatic and agronomic conditions in South Africa were suitable for the cultivation of flax and hemp, notwithstanding the fact that the fibre yields achieved for hemp were lower than the minimum criteria of 23 percent, and that for flax only just exceeded the 25 percent minimum. The lack of local technical expertise on the growing and retting of flax and hemp, contributed to the low fibre yields. The planting parameters which were found to produce good results for the cultivation of hemp were the October planting date, using a row spacing of between 12.5 to 25 cm, with a seeding density of between 80 – 100kg, and the application of 50 – 100kg nitrogen fertiliser. The use of extra artificial lighting and herbicide treatment did not appear to beneficially improve the hemp fibre yields. Similar considerations for flax cultivation in the Southern Cape region, particularly Oudtshoorn and Outeniqua, indicated that May to July planting dates, using inter-row spacing of 25cm and sowing density of 63kg seed.haˉ¹, produced a fibre yield and total fibre yield per hectare above the minimum values of 25 percent and 0,8 tonnes per hectare, respectively, quoted in the literature.

Parmi tous les leviers à disposition des entreprises, la prise en compte de la perception par les clients est aujourd'hui centrale, dès la conception des produits. En effet, le consommateur est aujourd'hui mieux informé et attentif à ce qu'il perçoit de la qualité d'un produit et cette perception lui permet d'établir une valeur d'estime de la qualité esthétique des produits, mais aussi de ses fonctionnalités techniques. La méthodologie de l'analyse de la qualité d'aspect des surfaces est donc un enjeu essentiel pour l'industrie. Deux approches de la fonctionnalité des surfaces sont proposées afin de formaliser la méthodologie de détection, et d'apporter aux experts des critères objectifs d'évaluation des anomalies. La première approche proposée est basée sur la métrologie des surfaces. Elle consiste à analyser les topographies mesurées pour lier la fonction aspect aux caractéristiques géométriques extraites. Une approche multi-échelle basée sur la Décomposition Modale Discrète est mise en oeuvre afin de séparer efficacement les différents ordres de variations géométriques d'une surface, et ainsi d'isoler les anomalies d'aspect. D'autre part, cette méthode permet la mise en oeuvre du calcul des courbures sur une surface de façon simplifiée et robuste. On montre que cet attribut géométrique apporte une information supplémentaire et pertinente en lien avec la fonction aspect. Enfin, ces travaux ont mis en évidence l'importance de la qualité des données sources pour analyser l'aspect, et particulièrement deux difficultés d'ordre métrologiques, liées à la présence de points aberrants (hautes fréquences) et de variations géométriques non intrinsèques aux surfaces, générées par le moyen de mesure (basses fréquences). Une méthode innovante d'identification des points aberrants dédiée à la métrologie des surfaces et basée sur une approche statistique multi-échelle est proposée. La problématique des variations géométriques liées aux tables de positionnement du moyen de mesure est traitée au moyen de la Décomposition Modale, et un protocole pour corriger ces variations est présenté. La seconde approche, plus globale, est basée sur l'interaction entre les surfaces et l'environnement lumineux. L'objet de cette approche de l'analyse de l'aspect est d'apporter une aide aux experts pour mieux détecter les anomalies. Les travaux présentés sont basés sur la technique Polynomial Texture Mappings et consistent à modéliser la réflectance en chaque point des surfaces afin de simuler le rendu visuel sous un éclairage quelconque, à la manière de ce que font les opérateurs en analyse sensorielle pour faciliter la détection. Un dispositif d'aide à l'inspection des surfaces basé sur ce principe est présenté. Enfin, une approche industrielle est proposée afin de montrer comment ces 2 axes de recherche peuvent être complémentaires dans le cadre d'une méthodologie globale, industrielle, de l'analyse de la qualité d'aspect de surfaces.

La tomate est un des fruits les plus consommés au monde, reconnu pour ses qualités nutritionnelles, et en particulier sa forte teneur en caroténoïdes. Le changement climatique et les sècheresses qu’il engendre amènent à repenser les méthodes de production, en diminuant les intrants. Dans le cas de la tomate d’industrie, destinée à la transformation, une approche intégrée depuis le champ jusqu’à la purée est nécessaire pour définir les effets des conduites à bas intrants sur les fruits et les purées de tomate, mais aussi leur interaction avec le procédé de transformation et la variété. Nous avons montré que la diminution de l’irrigation, et dans une moindre mesure de l’azote, modifient peu les caractéristiques biochimiques du fruit, augmentent la viscosité des purées et augmentent l’efficience de l’eau des cultures. Ces données sont prometteuses pour diminuer la consommation d’eau mais soulignent aussi l’importance de maitriser le déficit en particulier en cas de canicule. Un déficit modéré, jusqu’à 70% des besoins en eau semble possible. La viscosité des purées est avant tout modifiable par le choix variétal et par le procédé de transformation. Nous avons montré que la variété et le procédé modifient la viscosité par des mécanismes différents et que la quantité, la nature et la conformation des pectines jouet un rôle majeur dans la viscosité des purées. De plus nous avons mis en évidence des phénomènes d’agglomération de particules pouvant participer à la viscosité. Enfin, nos travaux ouvrent des perspectives sur le lien entre la structure du fruit et la structure et la viscosité des purées, et sur la manière dont le déficit hydrique peut modifier ce lien
Tomato is one of the most consumed fruit in the world, recognized for its nutritional qualities, and in particular its high carotenoid content. Climate change and the droughts it causes are leading us to a retconsider the production methods, by reducing inputs. In the case of processing tomatoes, intended for processing, an integrated approach from the field to the puree is necessary to define the effects of low-input practices on the fruits and tomato purees, but also their interaction with the processing method and the variety. We have shown that the reduction of irrigation, and to a lesser extent of nitrogen, has little effect on the biochemical characteristics of the fruit, increases the viscosity of purees and increases the water efficiency of crops. These data are promising for reducing water consumption but also underline the importance of controlling the deficit, particularly in the case of heat waves. A moderate deficit, up to 70% of water needs seems possible. The viscosity of purees can be modified by the choice of variety and by the transformation process. We have shown that the variety and the process modify the viscosity by different mechanisms and that the quantity, the nature and the conformation of pectins play a major role in the viscosity of the purees. In addition, we observed particle agglomeration phenomena that can contribute to viscosity. Finally, our work opens perspectives on the link between the structure of the fruit and the structure and viscosity of purees, and on the way the water deficit can modify this link

Master of Science
Department of Animal Sciences and Industry
Travis G. O'Quinn
The objective of this research was to evaluate the role of marbling texture on beef palatability, muscle histology, and collagen characteristics of beef strip loin steaks. Beef strip loins (n = 117) were selected from three quality grade treatments [Top Choice (Modest[superscript 00] – Moderate[superscript 100] marbling), Low Choice (Small[superscript 0] – Small[superscript 100] marbling), and Select (Slight[superscript 0] – Slight[superscript 100] marbling)] to equally represent three different marbling texture groups: fine, medium and coarse, via visual appraisal with the USDA marbling texture standards. Consumers (n = 104) rated all marbling texture groups similar (P > 0.05) for tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and overall liking, as well as rated a similar (P > 0.05) percentage of samples from each marbling texture group acceptable for each palatability trait. Moreover, consumers indicated no preference (P > 0.05) among marbling texture groups for visual desirability or likelihood to purchase. There were no differences (P > 0.05) among marbling texture treatments for Warner-Bratzler shear force, slice shear force, and pressed juice percentage. However, trained sensory panelists rated coarse marbled steaks higher (P < 0.05) than fine or medium marbled steaks for both beef flavor intensity and sustained juiciness as well as higher (P < 0.05) for initial juiciness than medium textured steaks. This minimal impact on palatability was further supported through evaluation of muscle histology and collagen traits. Marbling texture did not affect collagen characteristics, as coarse marbled steaks were similar (P > 0.05) to both fine and medium marbled steaks for soluble collagen, insoluble collagen, and total collagen content. Furthermore, all marbling texture groups (fine, medium, and coarse) performed similarly (P > 0.05) during the peak thermal transition phase of the perimysial fraction of collagen. However, marbling texture impacted (P < 0.05) adipocyte cross-sectional area, where coarse steaks had larger adipocytes in comparison to fine marbled steaks, but medium marbled steaks were similar (P > 0.05) to both coarse and fine marbled steaks. Similarly, quality grade affected adipocyte size, as Top Choice and Low Choice possessed larger (P < 0.05) adipocytes than Select steaks. However, marbling texture did not impact (P > 0.05) perimysial thickness. Additionally, marbling texture did not affect the percentage of myosin heavy chain (MHC) Type I fibers within each steak. However, medium marbled steaks possessed a greater (P < 0.05) percentage of MHC Type 2A fibers than both fine and coarse marbled steaks. The opposite trend was displayed in the percentage of MHC Type IIX fibers, as fine and coarse marbled steaks possessed more (P < 0.05) MHC Type IIX fibers in comparison to medium marbled steaks. There were no differences (P > 0.05) among quality grades for fiber type or marbling texture and quality grade for fiber cross-sectional area. Results from this study indicate marbling texture has minimal impact on eating quality and muscle histology; therefore coarse marbled carcasses should not be excluded from current and future branded beef programs.

The thesis is focused on reducing number of nonconformities using quality tools in the company engaged in dyeing and finishing of textile materials. The aim is a proposal of nonconformities management system. Based on analysis of the current method solving nonconformities are designed registration processes of internal nonconformities and complaints, which are followed by evaluation of nonconformities. The proposal will result in a systematic approach in solving of nonconformities.

Due to limited hardware, effectively using the available resources is crucial for mobile games. Texture compression is a fundamental technique in game development to reduce the demand of memory and bandwidth usage. This thesis evaluates JPEG, PVRTC and uncompressed PVR with emphasis on loading time, memory footprint, application size and visual quality. The goal of this case study is to find the most suitable compression technique for a specific game. A variant of uncompressed PVR, RGBA4444, was found to be the best technique to use in this case. It was also concluded that JPEG compression in general is a bad choice for games due to the lack of an alpha channel. Severe visual artifacts were noticed on frame-by-frame animation when using PVRTC. It is therefore interesting to investigate other animation techniques, such as skeletal animation, in combination with texture compression, to avoid such artifacts.

Ce mémoire contribue à l'étude de la qualité des couches superficielles obtenues par galetage à froid à deux outils à vitesse d'avance variable ou à vitesse d'avance constante. Les surfaces mises en forme sont complexes, à savoir : surface cannelée circulairement, à profil axial identique à celui d'un filet trapézoi͏̈dal Tr 30x6 ; surface helicoi͏̈dale, ZA 1x1,25x14. L'application pendant la recherche de la méthodologie de plans d'expériences, appuyée sur la mise en oeuvre de certains plans orthogonaux, a conduit à la détermination de certaines relations de dépendance entre les paramètres représentatifs du procédé. Les variables indépendantes prises en considération sont : la vitesse de roulage, le temps de roulage, le matériau mis en forme et la force maximale réglée pour générer 10 mm longueur de profil ou la vitesse d'avance (selon le mode d'usinage). Les variables dépendantes considérées comme paramètres de qualité des surfaces et des couches superficielles obtenues sont : des paramètres de la précision géométrique (les diamètres extérieur, moyen et intérieur, le pas et les angles du flanc de la dent), les paramètres de rugosité, l'épaisseur de la couche écrouie, la texture cristallographique et les valeurs de microdureté et des contraintes résiduelles de la couche superficielle. Les variables dépendantes considérées comme résultants du procédé de roulage sont : la force de roulage, le coefficient de frottement outil-semi-produit et la vitesse maximale de déformation de la couche superficielle. En vue de l'utilisation pratique des résultats de cette étude, les conclusions principales concernant l'aspect énergétique du procédé et les aspects géométriques et physiques des surfaces étudiées sont présentées synthétiquement. De même, un protocole de calcul des paramètres de mise en forme est proposé.

Malfunctions on loom machines are the main causes of faulty fabric production. An on-loom fabric inspection system is a real-time monitoring device that enables immediate defect detection for human intervention. This dissertation presented a solution for the on-loom fabric defect inspection, including the new hardware design—the configurable contact image sensor (CIS) module—for on-loom fabric scanning and the defect detection algorithms. The main contributions of this work include (1) creating a configurable CIS module adaptable to a loom width, which brings CIS unique features, such as sub-millimeter resolution, compact size, short working distance and low cost, to the fabric defect inspection system, (2) designing a two-level hardware architecture that can be efficiently deployed in a weaving factory with hundreds of looms, (3) developing a two-level inspecting scheme, with which the initial defect screening is performed on the Raspberry Pi and the intensive defect verification is processed on the cloud server, (4) introducing the novel pairwise-potential activation layer to a convolutional neural network that leads to high accuracies of defect segmentation on fabrics with fine and imbalanced structures, (5) achieving a real-time defect detection that allows a possible defect to be examined multiple times, and (6) implementing a new color segmentation technique suitable for processing multi-color fabric defects. The novel CIS-based on-loom scanning system offered real-time and high-resolution fabric images, which was able to deliver the information of single thread on a fabric. The algorithm evaluation on the fabric defect datasets showed a non-miss-detection rate on defect-free fabrics. The average precision of defect existed images reached above 90% at the pixel level. The detected defect pixels' integrity—the recall scored around 70%. Possible defect regions overestimated on ground truth images and the morphologies of fine defects similar to regular fabric pattern were the two major reasons that caused the imperfection in defect pixel locating. The experiments showed the defect areas on multi-color fabrics could be precisely located under the proposed color segmentation algorithm.

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2007
An assessment undertaken by the Clothing and Textile Centre in the Western Cape (Clotex) during 2002 revealed that there was a great need for quality in the clothing sector. Furthermore, the research undertaken by the Department of Science and Technology (2004) supports and recommends the development of simple, paper-based systems for implementation and measurement for quality and production systems. An analysis of the macro- and micro-environmental factors confronting the clothing industry revealed that substantial pressure was placed on the clothing industry due to unfavourable exchange rates, increased pricing and illegal imports. The result has been a decline in sales, profits and exports, which has lead to the closure of many clothing companies in the Western Cape during the period 2003 to present. Furthermore, this has resulted in the increase of SMME companies that have been established due to the increase in unemployment. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research techniques was applied during this study, namely focus-group sessions and survey questionnaires. Six focus-group sessions were held with participants from the retail sector, large manufacturers and small manufacturers with the purpose to establish the quality needs in the clothing industry and the type of quality systems utilised. The outcome of the focus group was the development of a questionnaire, using both a combination of scale response questions as well as dichotomous questions. As a result a research survey was conducted amongst the small manufacturing companies in the Western Cape who conform to the provisions contained in the National Business Act, 1996 (Act 102 of 1996). The research revealed that all the respondents had implemented quality control systems. Quality control systems are viewed as preventative systems in ensuring that goods not conforming to customer specifications are prevented from reaching the customer. The research analysis further revealed that communication between buyer and seller was an integral part of the success of the business. The research provides small-business with a framework, which will facilitate the evaluation of the current quality practices with the view to improving or implementing an effective quality assurance system.

The carbon in metallurgical coke is composed of textural units, varying in size and shape depending on the rank of coal carbonized. These induce a characteristic texture to coke surfaces. This thesis describes a study of the bearing of this texture on coke strength, particular emphasis being placed on investigating the feasibility of using textural composition data, determined by either scanning electron microscopy (SEX) of etched surfaces or polarized-light microscopy (PLX) of polished coke surfaces, as a basis of predicting the tensile strength of cokes produced from blended-coal charges from the behaviour of individual blend components. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of fractured coke surfaces revealed differences in the mode of fracture of textural components which implied variations in their contribution to coke strength. The tensile strengths of pilot-oven cokes, produced from blended-coal charges, could be related to their measured PLM textural compositions using equations derived from consideration of simple models of intergranular and transgranular fracture. The coke strengths could also be related, with greater precision, with textural data calculated from the coal blend composition and either the SEM or the PLM textural data for the cokes from the individual blend components. It was further found that the strength of blended-coal cokes were additively related to the blend composition and the tensile strengths of the single-coal cokes. Such relationships are useful, at the very least, for predicting the strength of cokes from other blends of the same coals carbonized under similar conditions. The various approaches to coke strength prediction have potential value in different situations.

Il miglioramento per la qualità del frutto dei piccoli frutti, in particolare per tratti altamente soggettivi quali la tessitura della polpa, metaboliti secondari ed aroma è allo stato dell’arte ancora una sfida. Sinora, il miglioramento genetico per texture ed aroma ha sfruttato molto poco metodologie assistite, la MAS per esempio, ed è invece molto dipeso da scelte soggettive dei breeders, in particolare in fasi di selezione molto precoci. L’obiettivo di questa ricerca è stato quello di sviluppare metodologie validate per le diverse classi di piccoli frutti e ciliegia, che possano oggettivare un tratto complesso e commercialmente molto importante quale la tessitura. Per le diverse specie esaminate si è applicato un piano sperimentale molto simile. Il primo obiettivo è stato riuscire a capire il grado di variabilità presente nei rispettivi germoplasmi a disposizione, validando, in un ampio numero di cultivars, i parametri descrittivi della tessitura specie-specifici. Il secondo obiettivo è stato capire quali modifiche la tessitura subisce in due momenti chiave della filiera produttiva e di consumo: al momento della raccolta e dopo conservazione. Per quest’ultimo aspetto si sono scelte le condizioni standard di postraccolta (2°C e umidità relativa tra 85-95% in assenza di atmosfera controllata per sei settimane per mirtillo, 8 giorni per fragola, 3 e 7 giorni per lampone e 7-14 giorni per ciliegio) per comprendere la dinamica della tessitura ed altri tratti correlati con la qualità. L’analisi delle componenti principali (PCA) sulle diverse proprietà meccaniche, ha così permesso di ottenere una chiara separazione delle varietà di mirtillo (Vaccinium) valutate, sia in fase di sviluppo del frutto, a maturazione ed in postraccolta. L’effetto dello stadio valutato e le differenze tra genotipi sono risultati significativamente diversi per i parametri che contribuiscono a definire il profilo di tessitura della specie e di altri tratti qualitativi. Lo sviluppo di queste metodologie è strettamente connesso con l’anatomia del frutto: tra i frutti considerati, il lampone, ad esempio, presenta, tra tutte, l’anatomia più complessa, essendo un aggregato di drupeole. In questo caso si è quindi scelto un approccio di analisi di tessitura tramite penetrazione ed in parallelo di compressione. Lo studio ha rivelato un’alta variabilità della tessitura all’interno del pool di 29 varietà di lampone valutate. Anche in questo caso, i pattern di profili di tessitura sono risultati essere significativamente dipendenti sia dal genotipo sia dal momento di analisi (maturazione e/o post-raccolta). Le due metodologie utilizzate hanno inoltre permesso di ottenere profili complementari di decomposizione della texture e i 22 parametri meccanici e morfologici utilizzati hanno permesso di individuare relazioni significative tra tratti che contribuiscono alla qualità del frutto. Per fragola, i profili di tessitura sono stati determinati su un doppio ciclo di produzione, per 87 diversi genotipi, includendo nel disegno sperimentale sia varietà unifere sia rifiorenti, al momento della raccolta ed in post-raccolta. Anche in questo caso si sono rilevate differenze significative dei profili di tessitura in fase di maturazione del frutto e dopo conservazione, dimostrando anche per questa coltura un grande potenziale nell’utilizzo di queste metodologie per comprendere meglio le diverse componenti di qualità del frutto nei diversi momenti di consumo. La tessitura della ciliegia (Prunus avium L.) è stata valutata in un germoplasma di 36 cultivars. Oltre a differenze al momento della raccolta ed in post-.raccolta, in ciliegio si sono valutati gli effetti sui diversi profili in relazione all’anno di valutazione e dal diverso portinnesto, testato su innesti di due cultivars commerciali (Kordia e Regina). Per le diverse specie sono stati sviluppati, sulla base dei parametri di tessitura scelti, specifici Indici di Conservazione, che hanno permesso un ulteriore identificazione dell’attitudine di ciascuna varietà alla conservazione. La validazione dei profili di tessitura e la loro associazione ad altri tratti relativi alla qualità del frutto nei piccoli frutti ed in ciliegio così ottenute mettono definitivamente in risalto che questi tratti sono ancora molto poco sfruttati nel miglioramento genetico, e che c’è quindi un ampio spazio di utilizzo dei parametri come biomarcatori. Il loro utilizzo consente non solo di accelerare i processi di selezione varietale per questi tratti specifici attraverso un’appropriata identificazione, ma possono anche essere validi strumenti nell’intera industria produttiva, quale ausilio nella cernita del prodotto o nella segmentazione di mercato in base a specifiche caratteristiche di tessitura.
Breeding for berries quality, and in particular for highly subjective goals like texture, secondary metabolites and flavour is challenging. Moreover, breeding both for texture and aroma has occurred mainly without assisted methodologies but mostly by subjective chance, in particular in early selection phases. The aim of this work was to obtain high-throughput quality profiles of different berries with regard to a complex and commercially important quality trait like texture. For the different crops, a similar experimental design was applied. The first aim of the different experiments was to unravel the widest variability for the different traits of interest to determine fruit quality within the respective germplasm. The second aim was to proof the differences present at the two cardinal time-points for the production and commercial pipeline: at harvest and after storage. More precisely storage conditions were: 2°C and relative humidity of 85-95% for six weeks at normal atmosphere conditions for blueberry, 8 days for strawberry, 3 and 7 for raspberry and 7-14 days for cherry, in order to monitor the dynamics of the different quality traits for each genotype. Principal component analysis based on fruit textural proprieties, allowed for blueberry a distinct separation of the 46 Vaccinium cultivars evaluated, revealed a clear separation of the four harvest ripening stages. As expected, storage also highlighted textural differences among cultivars that were magnified compared to ripening. The effect of ripening stage and genetic differences on the blueberry texture profiles and other fruit quality related traits were significantly high. The development of the texture raspberry methodology is highly related to fruit anatomy, which is more complex in raspberry than in the other berries. A parallel approach of penetration and compression on a double bite cycle measurements was thus chosen. A high variation was explained among 29 raspberry cultivars tested in this study. Differences among genotypes were observed at all ripening stages, showing a significant cultivar dependent pattern at harvest and after storage. The two methodologies allowed to complimentary profile raspberry texture and a clear relationship among 22 texture mechanical parameters and morphological quality traits was elucidated. For strawberry, the texture profiling was done on a double cycle production for different genotypes, both including in the experimental setting junebearing and everbearing. 87 genotypes were profiled at harvest and post-harvest. The strawberry texture variation in the genetic pool analysed was explained by changes of different parameters. The development of the fruit was also investigated for texture, morphological and metabolic traits. The results demonstrated the potential of using species specific methodologies towards the comprehensive study of strawberry fruit quality attributes during harvest and storage. The texture trait of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) was investigated on 36 cultivars. Changes in texture were investigated at harvest, after storage and the effect of the year and the rootstock were evaluated. Significant genotypic variation is present in the genepool for texture. The identification of a storage index specifically designed for cherry, based on the texture parameters developed, allows clustering at maturity and after storage the most suitable genotypes for storage attitude or postharvest use. The texture variability ascertained and association with other quality-related traits in the three berries and in cherry with this research shows that it is underexploited for its use in breeding, thus giving room for future improvements, increasing the chance not only to accelerate progress in selection processes for these novel traits through an appropriate identification and use of them as biomarkers but also allowing a much more focused and assisted process throughout the all industry chain, as for sorting and product segmentation.

The aim was to develop new methods for measuring texture of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) fillets and investigate the genetic basis of flesh quality traits. Firstly, a new tensile strength method was developed to quantify the force required to tear a standardized block of salmon muscle with the aim of identifying those samples more prone to factory downgrading as a result of gaping. The repeatability, sensitivity and predictability of the new technique was evaluated against other common instrumental texture measurement methods. Data from the new method were shown to have the strongest correlations with gaping severity r=-0.514, P<0.001) and the highest level of repeatability of data when analysing cold-smoked samples. The Warner Bratzler shear method gave the most repeatable data from fresh samples and had the highest correlations between fresh and smoked product from the same fish (r=0.811, P<0.001). It is therefore recommended that the new method be adopted for measuring gaping potential and the Warner Bratzler method become the standard for firmness assessment. Genes associated with post mortem softening in mammals were characterised in Atlantic salmon. A previously unknown ancient paralogue of calpastatin (here named CAST2) was identified. Evidence was provided for the existence of highly homologous recent paralogues of CAST2 and CTSD1. Evidence for the ancestral history of these paralogues was provided by phylogenetic analysis. Recent gene duplicates of 6 further genes were identified. In all cases, homology between recent paralogues was greater than 94%. Analysis of synonymous vs non-synonymous nucleotide substitution between the observed paralogue pairs shows a significant purifying selection in most cases. The CTSD1 gene shows significant purifying selection in a pairwise analysis between 12 teleost species (all cases P<0.0001) but a similar analysis of CTSD2 revealed no significant occurrence of purifying selection. The present study provides further support for the idea of asymmetrical selective pressure on paralogues. Genetic markers were developed that can distinguish individuals with above average fillet yield and texture. A database of firmness, tensile strength and fillet yield was made from 254 individuals from 5 batches of farmed salmon and these fish were genotyped at 7 novel SNP loci. Individuals with the combined favourable genotype at CAPN1a and MYOD1b were associated with an average increase in fillet yield of 2.7% above batch average. A combined genotype of CAPN1a, MYOD1b and MYF5 was significantly associated with an average increase in tensile strength of 9.8% above batch average (P=0.015). In both cases individuals with the combined favourable genotype occurred with a frequency of c. 6% across all batches. The favourable genotypes had no unfavourable effects on other traits. Highly polymorphic microsatellite loci were used to perform tests of assignment, which revealed an overall correct assignment rate of 92.7% to batch of origin and a minimum reference sample number of 25 was empirically determined. A phylogenetic analysis supported the results of the assignment tests. Given that 7 microsatellites is a relatively small number for a study of this nature, these results suggest that reliable assignment of unknown fish to the true batch of origin is potentially rapid and cost effective. Overall, the thesis presents molecular markers for broodstock selection, new genes of relevance to flesh quality, a new method of texture analysis and a proposal for an escapee traceability project.

Mechanical parameter characterization of very thin polymer films using digital im- age correlation is performed in this work. At present days DIC is widely used in the construction, food industries, and aviation. Despite advantages when compared to other conventional methods, but users still face difficulties with the analysis of thin polymers like low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) thin polymer films. For the application of sprays to obtain the best pattern quality as well as the potential of thin-film material properties tempering from the stochastic pattern paint. This research work will investigate the effect of several spray paints on the material response of thin polymer film. It also shows how to achieve good surface traction, time effect, and the type of spray to be used for DIC analysis. Finally, this research also studies how the width of the specimen affects the wrinkling effect, which is a common phenomenon while testing the thin polymer films and exhibits the appropriate width for reducing wrinkles on thin polymer films.