APRÈN. Portal de la producció docent del professorat de la UPC

Els recursos comuns són uns béns que es caracteritzen per ser rivals, però no excloïbles, ja que no sempre es pot restringir l'ús de l'aigua a una persona i a la vegada que un individu utilitza una certa quantitat d'aigua, la capacitat d'aquest bé es veu reduïda per la resta d'individus. Aquesta memòria conté, en primer lloc, una part introductòria sobre el concepte dels recursos comuns i la problemàtica que sorgeix a l'hora de gestionar-los. En aquesta primera revisió s'analitzarà quina és la classificació d'aquests béns, un exemple de la problemàtica que sorgeix al gestionar-los, el concepte de capacitat de càrrega, les principals causes de la sobreexplotació i finalment les solucions proposades per diferents economistes fins avui en dia per la gestió dels recursos comuns. Tot seguit es presenta una introducció teòrica dels aqüífers, un clar exemple de recurs comú, on es detallarà el funcionament de la seva recàrrega i de quins factors depèn aquesta i la seva estructura. A més, es veurà una introducció de les embotelladores on s'observarà la seva magnitud tant a escala econòmica com volumètrica, s'analitzarà com extrauen l'aigua i d'on. En el cas pràctic s'estudia el cas de Font Vella a Sant Hilari Sacalm. Es veurà que la producció i facturació de Font Vella augmenta any rere any tot i l'escassetat de pluja i d'aigua que s'ha produït en els darrers anys. L'objectiu del cas pràctic és descobrir si s'està sobreexplotant el recurs comú de l'aigua per part de les embotelladores. Per esbrinar la resposta a aquesta pregunta s'ha avaluat les situacions de les fonts de la zona i s'ha entrevistat a diferents catedràtics en hidrologia i ecologistes del Montseny. De l'estudi es conclou que els aqüífers estan sent sobreexplotats, ja que s'està superant la capacitat de càrrega de les fonts, aquestes estan fortament relacionades amb els aqüífers. Tot i així, per poder afirmar al 100% que els aqüífers de Sant Hilar Sacalm estan sent sobreexplotats, serien necessàries les dades de les extraccions d'aigua per poder fer un balanç hídric, les quals posseeix Font Vella i no comparteix.

A technical and economic analysis of a solar-hybrid mini-grid system for the Mokoloki community was conducted using Homer Pro simulations to assess the impact of rising diesel prices on system optimisation and sustainability. Two scenarios were considered: continuing with a diesel-based system (Option B) to meet the electricity demand or increasing renewable energy penetration (Option A). The technical results indicate that Option A, despite requiring a higher initial investment, proves more sustainable in the long term, reducing reliance on diesel would enhance the resilience against fuel price fluctuations for the power facility. The economic analysis showed that neither option is profitable using the current cost-reflective tariff at $0.35/kWh because to achieve an NPV = 0, the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) for Option A is $0.549/kWh compared to $0.839/kWh for Option B. Option A, however, can be adjusted to generate profits when paired with the appropriate financial instrument. In contrast, Option B cannot be altered due to policy constraints linked to cost-reflective tariffs. In Nigeria, modifying the cost-reflective tariff proves challenging, as it is subject to strict regulation and cannot be raised without government involvement. A sensitivity analysis revealed that upfront financial support, such as grants, is crucial for achieving financial feasibility, with grants required to offset initial costs and ensure the project's Net Present Value (NPV) reaches zero. Delaying grant support does not provide the same economic benefit. The analysis further highlights the importance of policy reforms, financial instruments, and a shift toward 100% renewable energy to ensure the long-term sustainability of mini-grid systems like Mokoloki's.

El estudio se centra en examinar el impacto de la procedencia socioeconómica en el acceso y el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes, principalmente en el contexto de la Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña (UPC), con un enfoque particular en la Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Industrial de Barcelona (ETSEIB). Para llevar a cabo la investigación, se ha utilizado una metodología mixta que combina el análisis estadístico de datos con una revisión profunda de la literatura existente en el área de estudio. Los resultados obtenidos revelan una serie de correlaciones significativas entre la procedencia educativa de los estudiantes, sus notas académicas y diversos factores socioeconómicos. Estos hallazgos evidencian la existencia de desigualdades en el acceso a la educación superior, así como sus implicaciones en el rendimiento académico una vez dentro de la institución. Por ejemplo, se ha observado que, aunque los estudiantes provenientes de escuelas privadas tengan mayores probabilidades de acceder a la universidad, no tienen necesariamente en un mejor desempeño académico una vez dentro de la misma, al menos en el caso específico de la ETSEIB. Estos resultados plantean desafíos significativos en términos de diversidad y equidad dentro de la comunidad estudiantil, subrayando la importancia de implementar políticas de inclusión y apoyo más efectivas. Se hace evidente la necesidad urgente de políticas educativas que garanticen la igualdad de oportunidades en la educación superior y promuevan el éxito académico y profesional de todos los estudiantes, independientemente de su origen socioeconómico. El estudio muestra una visión sobre las dinámicas socioeducativas en el ámbito de la ingeniería en el contexto específico de la UPC y la ETSEIB y destaca la importancia de abordar las disparidades socioeconómicas en la educación superior para construir una sociedad más equitativa y justa.

The aim of this project was to design a shoulder rehabilitation machine tailored for elderly individuals, focusing solely on the mechanical aspect initially. Following industry-standard and safety-regarding methodology, the specific rehabilitation needs of the elderly population were identified, and detailed specifications and requirements were established. A design concept was proposed and evaluated, with the selected concept being further developed to address the identified rehabilitation needs effectively, meeting all the previously specified requirements. Risk assessment methodology has been carried out, deeply defining the limits of the designed machine, identifying the potential hazards, estimating and evaluating the risks and proposing the first iteration of safety measures to be furtherly implemented. Basic design has been developed, by considering weights and dimensions of the mechanical components, considering factors such as ease of use, comfort, and safety for elderly users. Also material selection was carefully assessed, taking into account properties like durability, cost-effectiveness, and eco-friendliness. More detailed design was materialised via virtual CAD model, which has been created using SolidWorks software, allowing for detailed visualisation and refinement of the design. Structural analysis was conducted using SolidWorks FEM simulations to ensure the mechanical integrity and safety of the machine. Optimisation was performed based on the results of the structural analysis to enhance the machine's performance while minimising its weight and ensuring it met safety standards for elderly users. Finally, the project's technical and economic feasibility was assessed, documenting the manufacturing and assembly processes, as well as considering factors such as environmental impact and budget constraints specific to the development of a shoulder rehabilitation machine for elderly individuals.

The impact of new technologies on the society we live in is undeniable; these devices are already part of our work, studies, and private lives. Part of this impact is due to the importance of small electronic components called chips, also known as semiconductors, which are found in most electronic devices we use in our daily lives. The aim of this project is to understand the fragility of the global value chain of these semiconductors, or chips, and to examine the history, crises, and opportunities that this chain has faced in recent years. Another objective of the work is to identify the most critical points in this value chain, those companies or countries without which the chain would fail completely. The information provided in the work often comes from the companies involved in the semiconductor industry, especially when it comes to market values or sales. In other cases, the information comes from analyses in books, especially from the book, from published articles or video reports. Finally, the conclusions of the work are diverse. The first one is that the global value chain discussed in the work is one that is very fragile due to its lack of diversity, where just a few companies share all the influence, and sudden changes like the COVID-19 crisis cause serious supply problems. Secondly, it is worth highlighting some of the critical points analyzed in the work, such as the company TSMC (Taiwan), which is the most important among chip-producing companies and provides 90% of the latest generation chips worldwide. Finally, another conclusion is that this industry is still emerging and will only gain more importance in the future. As a result, different countries, regions, or companies are already preparing for the opportunities it may bring

This research work focuses on the study and design of a new supply chain for the fast fashion industry, with the objective of minimizing waste generation. To achieve this, first of all, an exhaustive research on the fast fashion supply chain has been carried out, analyzing each of its stages. In addition, the concept of circular fashion has been studied, as well as the supply chain of this sector, with the aim of identifying how circular methodologies could be implemented in the context of fast fashion. On the other hand, a detailed study of several successful companies in both sectors has been carried out to understand their business models, strategies and to determine the key factors of each of them to achieve success in each of the two sectors. From this research, it has been possible to identify several requirements that must be present in the new supply chain, being the implementation of circular practices in fast fashion one of the most outstanding aspects. Subsequently, a QFD (Quality Function Deployment) analysis has been carried out to determine the prioritization of requirements according to their importance and impact. Finally, solutions have been proposed in order to meet the identified requirements and achieve the new supply chain in the fast fashion industry. This project seeks to promote sustainability and reduce environmental impact in an industry known for its fast production and consumption cycle. It is expected that the findings and proposals presented in this work will provide a solid basis for the implementation of a more responsible and circular supply chain in the fast fashion industry.

The efficiency of the PSCs has increased significantly from the values as low as 3.8% to evolving around 25.7% within a decade. However, the stability of the solar cells based on this technology are not yet comparable to the commercially successful crystalline silicon solar cells. Another challenging aspect of the perovskite technology is its scalability. Most of the PSCs with high efficiencies described in the literature have an area of 0.1 cm2, and PSC efficiencies decline with increasing area. The Pk-Si (Pk-Si) TSCs have attracted a lot of interest as a practical, competitive choice for ultra-high photovoltaic efficiency. Upscaling, stability, and performance improvements for devices are also a subject of ongoing research. However, not enough focus has been made on the improvement of the device stability when exposed to the real-world conditions. To improve the performance of the modules in the outdoor condition, sufficient data needs to be collected, which can be used first for energy yield calculation and then for stability study of the existing technology. Therefore, in this work, a set-up has been designed and made operational to record precise electrical characteristics of the mini modules with a maximum Voc of 2.064 V. The monitoring set-up consists of a structure that has in inclination of 30º for the modules, a pyranometer to record the irradiance at POA, a spectrometer to measure the solar spectrum, a weather station, thermocouples to measure the temperatures of each module, and a MPPT controller to keep the modules at MPP. Initially, the set-up was versatile enough to record the data of four different cards with 24 channels each, allowing 96 modules to be operated at MPP, but without capability of tracing I-V characteristics. It was necessary, therefore, to develop this capability by programming it through LabVIEW. This task has been carried out by the design of a state machine that allows to trace I-V curves for specific time intervals for each one of the cards, enabling the possibility of analysing the impact that modules could suffer depending on how often the I-V is traced. Another goal of the thesis was to come-up with a solution to mount and dismount the modules quickly and frequently whenever required by the user for indoor analysis. For this an innovative approach was taken to fabricate 3D printed sleeves consisting of magnets for attaching to the structure. One module per each I-V tracing frequency has been studied, which is not enough data to understand the behaviour of the devices. Therefore, it is recommended to continue these experiments with more modules under different climatic conditions (summer, winter, etc.) to get useful information for further research

Decentralized wastewater treatment and reuse emerges as an alternative approach to conventional water management with the potential to alleviate escalating pressures on the water cycle and secure future supply. This study performs a complete environmental assessment of a building-scale system capable of recycling urban wastewater on-site and treating rainwater to drinking water quality. Material flow analysis and life cycle assessment are performed with the aim to quantify the impacts of extreme decentralization in a European setting and compare the environmental profile of the system with that of traditional, centralized treatment. The impact assessment is performed in Brightway2 following the ReCiPe (H) v1.03 methodology and covers both the construction and operation of the technology. The comparison with the centralized approach considers all infrastructure involved in water management. Four site-specific implementation scenarios are modelled to evaluate the sensitivity of the results to regional parameters. The results confirm the environmental benefits of implementing decentralized water reuse systems in terms of resource recovery and life cycle impacts. The assessed reuse layout can double the nutrient and energy recovery potential of conventional treatment and outperforms the centralized approach in 10/15 of the studied ReCiPe midpoint indicators. The operation of the system dominates impacts to all environmental indicators and is greatly influenced by the switch of regional factors (esp. national electricity mixes), which contrastingly have a limited influence on the construction phase. The inclusion of rainwater capture and treatment equipment yields positive results in all studied locations. However, it must be accompanied by site-specific assessments as insufficient rainfall can cause avoided impacts from water recycling to be lower than those caused by installation of the necessary equipment

Torque control techniques have been proven to control robotic arms more adaptive and safely, adding accuracy to the robot and thus allowing a wide range of applications in which uncertainties are existent such as the presence of humans in the workspace or working with materials with different stiffness. In order to implement torque control, an awareness of the aggregate of torques intervening in the system to control is needed, separating the internal torques caused by elements in the robot itself and the external torques caused by external elements. Therefore, general solution uses torque sensors to measure the external torques. Torque sensors give information with much noise, and also increase the budget, making it more expensive their use in industrial applications, together with the collocation problem present in their correct positioning on the design. Furthermore, sensors add weight, increasing the inertia of the dynamic system which makes the control of the robot more complex and computationally expensive. Moreover, stable contact with the environment is difficult when a torque sensor is used because of its soft mechanical structure and narrow bandwidth of torque sensing [1]. In this thesis, a disturbance observer (DOb) and a reaction torque observer (RTOb) are proposed, implemented and validated in a 1 DoF geared robotic arm system for torque estimation purposes, and their performance has been compared with torque sensor information. The correct functioning of disturbance observers on a geared system also add difficulty to the system due to non-linearities on the friction on the reduction gear. Moreover, simulations have been carried out and experimental data has been collected in order to validate the observers and the control algorithm diagram. With the real system mounted, tests have been performed to find the parameters that define the system dynamics accordingly. With the parameters found, the implementation in the real system of the control loop has been done and validated

Wastewater treatment plays a crucial role in preserving the environment and public health, particularly by promoting access to clean water and sanitation, which is a fundamental human right. Moreover, in a world where many still lack access to safe drinking water services, the increasing risks of water scarcity due to the climate crisis underscore the urgent need for effective water resource management. The Downflow Hanging Sponge (DHS) process is a promising technology that utilizes vertical sponges to facilitate the growth of microorganisms, providing a cost-effective and highly efficient system for wastewater treatment compared to other conventional aerobic processes. Additionally, the use of Pure Oxygen (PO) has garnered attention for its significant potential in enhancing treatment performance compared to traditional aeration methods. Consequently, combining Downflow Hanging Sponge (DHS) systems with pure oxygen supply could present a suitable solution for treating urban effluents in areas with limited resources. Therefore, the objective of this research is to investigate the impact of supplying pure oxygen on the performance of Downflow Hanging Sponge (DHS) systems treating municipal wastewater. The study involved a four-month experiment with two reactors (control and treatment) conducted in two phases (stabilization and operation), where pure oxygen was supplied during the operation phase to assess its effects on the system's performance. Different analyses were conducted, such as pH, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Ammonium (NH4), Nitrites (NO2), and Nitrates (NO3), using standardized analytical models to assess the water quality and evaluate the treatment efficiency of the system. Also, a taxonomical microbiological analysis was conducted on the initial inoculum sourced from a wastewater treatment plant in Nagaoka (Japan) to determine the composition and diversity of microorganisms present in the system at the start of the experiment. Results indicated a constant alkaline environment (7 – 8.5 pH), with a drastic increase in Dissolved Oxygen (DO) concentration (15 – 20 mg/L) during the operation phase in the reactor with Pure Oxygen (PO) supply. Although periodic drops in Organic Matter Removal (OMR) rate occurred, the overall efficiency (61 ± 6%) for wastewater treatment was acceptable in the treatment reactor. Additionally, during the operation phase, the treatment reactor experienced a notable decline in both nitrification (15 ± 5%) and denitrification (1 ± 1%) rates, suggesting the inhibition of these processes attributed to the supply of Pure Oxygen (PO). Besides, even though the treatment reactor did not show excessive biomass growth, the control reactor exhibited unidentified fungus growth. In conclusion, the supply of pure oxygen inhibits the performance of Downflow Hanging Sponge (DHS) systems in treating municipal wastewater, particularly affecting the nitrification and denitrification rates. Therefore, the research results contradict the initial hypothesis that increased oxygen concentration would enhance performance efficiency, highlighting the necessity for further investigations

The aforementioned work centres on demonstrating the significance and efficacy of collaboration, as well as its various manifestations, within corporate settings. In the contemporary era, characterised by the ubiquitous phenomenon of globalisation and the convergence of diverse business domains, I have conducted a comprehensive analysis of the nature of collaboration, its applications, and advantages. The introductory chapter, titled The Theory of Collaboration, expounds upon various facets of inter-organizational collaboration. These include an elucidation of the definition and characteristics of collaboration, the diverse types of collaborative relationships, the entities involved in collaboration, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of collaborative efforts. Inter-organizational collaboration pertains to the phenomenon wherein two or more autonomous organisations collaborate to attain shared business objectives that are beyond the capacity of a single organisation to accomplish. Collaboration can manifest in diverse forms, including but not limited to business amalgamations, joint ventures, strategic partnerships, strategic alliances, and business networks. Each of the aforementioned forms exhibits unique characteristics and distinctions; however, the fundamental component that underlies all of them is inter-organizational collaboration. Collaborative partners play a crucial role in the process of inter-organizational collaboration. Inter-organizational collaboration is a phenomenon that can occur among diverse entities such as competitors, customers, suppliers, and other companies within the same industry or sector. In order to attain shared objectives, collaborative partners ought to exhibit reciprocal trust, transparency, and comprehension. The collaboration between organisations yields several advantages, including enhanced resource utilisation, heightened innovation, superior market positioning, and improved financial outcomes. Simultaneously, it is imperative to acknowledge that collaborative efforts entail certain hazards, including limited authority over collaborators, amplified intricacy and expenses, and potential conflicts and misinterpretations among collaborators.Following a thorough analysis of the aforementioned aspects, I have embarked on a research endeavour that examines the various forms, types, motivations, and methods of globalising enterprise internationalisation. The subsequent chapter delves into the worldwide fashion sector, which constitutes a component of the thesis subject matter and serves as the backdrop for the research. This study examines the various modes of corporate collaboration within the fashion industry between companies based in Poland and Asia

Nissan Motor Corporation proceeded with the closure of its productive plant located in Zona Franca, Barcelona, in December 2020, driving the shutdown of two other productive centers in the region and implying the loss of 3 thousand direct jobs and 20 thousand indirect jobs(1). The closure had an approximate cost of 1.450M€(2). The objective of this investigation project has been to find out the reasons that support the closure of the plant and those that explain why Nissan closed its plant in Barcelona and not another of its European plants, then be able to support each of the reasons with something tangible, state an importance list of the reasons, elaborate a decision tree, and extract several lessons. To reach the objective, the investigation starts with the elaboration of a theorical backbone that covers the closure of productive plants in multinational companies, then follows with a general analysis on the automotive sector, and then with a historical, corporative, operative, and financial analysis on Nissan Motor Corporation and its Spanish subsidiary Nissan Motor Ibérica. Afterwards, a list of the reasons behind the closure supported by the previous investigation has been elaborated, finally proceeding with the selection of the most relevant reasons based on their impact on the closure, also comparing the conclusions with the initial theoretical backbone of the investigation, extracting several lessons. After the investigation, it has been determined that the main reasons for closing the Barcelona factory were, firstly, the poor results of the company globally, followed by the decision to reorganize the alliance and the pressures for the relocation of factories by the French government, then the high costs and the poor results of the Barcelona factory, the national factors of distancing by governments and political instability in the region of Catalonia, the possibility of transferring production to England, the free trade agreement in Japan and finally the environmental regulations of the European Union. Therefore, the operations of the production plant were not one of the most important reasons

Making the transition to a sustainable economy is an important goal for both the society and the companies, particularly in large manufacturing industries such as aviation. The unstoppable growth of the aerospace industry during the last decades has contributed to about 2% of global annual carbon emissions. Owning half of the aerospace production of the entire Canada, the province of Quebec needs to deploy strategies to drive sustainable growth for the incoming decades, and achieve the global climate-action goals set for this industry for 2050. To make this transition possible, the innovative concept of Circular Economy (from now on CE) stands for the principle of “closing the life cycle”, allowing a reduction in the consumption of raw materials, energy, water and waste generation. Yet the complexity and interdependencies of the concept put some difficulties to achieving it individually. Thus, circular ecosystems must be embraced to support the implementation of CE to the whole industry. This project is aligned with current research carried out in École Polytechnique Montréal, whose goal is to conduct case studies to understand how circular ecosystems are being implemented by aerospace companies in Quebec. Based on qualitative approach, we conducted an interview with managers of an aerospace company in Quebec, to inquire about which circular practices are being adopted and identify key collaborators. To protect the identity of both the company and the participants, only their main features have been revealed. We provide evidence that the aforementioned company sustains a transition toward CE practices in different stages. From a product-focused perspective, the company states to deploy strategies to reduce waste and recycle materials in their end-of-life cycle, such as a qualified dismantling process of the aircrafts. Based on institutional theory, we analyzed the main drivers and barriers that enable their circular activity

This paper is divided into two parts, a literature review, and a case study on Airbnb. The first section exhaustively describes startups, considering the different stages they experience throughout their first years and the forms of financing they have. Next, twelve valuation methods are evaluated, divided into six traditional and six alternative methods for startups. Finally, in order to adapt the study to aspects that are beyond the intrinsic characteristics of the company, it is important to take into account macroeconomic facets such as interest rates, which are directly related to the valuation of startups. This is what is being seen in the current situation, that a high inflation has resulted in a pronounced rise in interest rates, causing the valuation of companies to plummet, as investors have less incentive to risk their capital with less predictable ventures instead of lending it at high rates, and founders find it more expensive to borrow money from banks, making them more dependent on investors. The second section begins with a qualitative assessment of Airbnb, with both a company and an industry overview, and it is followed by the company valuation using the methods analyzed before. The study suggests a share price range between $170.0 and $185.0, which is above the market price at the time of the valuation, on April 30, 2022, valuing the company's stock at $159.7. These results indicate that Airbnb stock is slightly underpriced in the market, probably due to the still uncertain COVID-19 future outcome. In addition, it is shown that the price of $68 per share in the IPO was particularly low, a fact that could already be seen on the same day when the price was adjusted to $146 before starting to trade. Thus, the price with which Airbnb started on the stock market is also justified, having been a success for its first shareholders. Finally, from this analysis can be seen the great complexity when valuing a startup given the variability of the results obtained in the study. In the case of Airbnb, which has some characteristics of startups and others of a mature company, it is especially important to combine both traditional and alternative methods to try to assess this characteristic with maximum precision. The most reliable methods for this case study are those that consider longer-term forecasts since the effects of the pandemic are minimized, in particular the DCF, the LBO, the Venture Capital, and the First Chicago approaches.

This thesis assesses the robustness of the design of an existing test rig used to calibrate clamp-on multi-axial moment sensors. The test bench was designed to recreate different loading conditions involving bending, torsion and a combination of both. A three-dimensional finite element model was developed to identify the test rig by performing static and modal analysis. Several assumptions were done during the modelling of the setup, and a simplified version of the test rig was used for the static analysis. Based on the results of the different analysis, some suggestions are done to improve the test rig design and its performance. Using a finite element model to test different design updates leads to a reduction of the time and costs in the design process. The main proposed changes in the design include a different way of applying torsional load to ensure that the input torque using a wrench is the same as the output, and some updates in the housing of the test rig to increase its stiffness. This improves the torsional and bending stiffness and gives a higher quasi-static behaviour frequency range

During the course of this project, the A3 methodology has been rigorously followed in order to improve the original situation, in addition with the different lean tools and principles that have defined the theoretical framework of the project. Thus, the initial scenario has been defined and quantified, and the relevance of the project for the company has been evaluated. It has been observed that one of the biggest areas for improvement, due to its high impact on OEE, was the batch change, so the project has focused on them. Subsequently, some goals have been established to be reached with the improvement project, in order to be able to benchmark the results obtained. Once it was clear, using techniques such as the 5-Why's and the Ishikawa diagram, a selection of possible causes that affected the problem was successfully identified. To mitigate or eliminate these causes, countermeasures have been developed. These countermeasures have been implemented following a defined roadmap and the results from the final scenario have been monitored. Thanks to the implemented countermeasures, a very positive outcome has been obtained, reducing the batch change time from 72 minutes to 58 minutes, exceeding the nice-to-have target, and the SKU change time from 46,4 minutes to 41,8 minutes, reaching the must-have target. In order to maintain this improvement and to prevent it from reverting to the original situation, some control charts have been designed to identify any out-of-control observation, analyse it, and detect the possible causes. To continue striving for the best, some future development countermeasures have been designed and presented, ready to be implemented in the future by the company.

This documet shows step by step the procedure of aproject develpement from an analytical and executive point of view. The aim of this work is to explain how a project is started, how it develops and how it ends till the installation start-up. Going through these steps, it is going to be shown the aspects to care about in order to proper design a photovoltaic grid connected self-consumption installation. Some years ago, renewable small-scale projects have started to play a more important role in the society and industry developements. The main idea is to use the plots used for other goals, in the case of study to potabilaze water by several treatments from residual flows, to generate electricity. That way, not just the consumption is reducing but the visual impact of large-scale power plants needed to support the world's sustainable deveolpement do so.

The growth of e-scooter users on the urban micromobility over the past years has been such that the study of this vehicle is gaining more and more importance thus opening many branches of study. This paper intends to present a detailed study of the user comfort while riding an electric scooter through an exhaustive experimentation and the consequent creation of a mathematical model that simulates the e-scooter dynamics. The thesis is organized as follows. First, a thorough overview of the electric scooter will be presented. This contains a definition of the vehicle with an enumeration of its advantages and disadvantages, a brief story of its evolution, a comparison with other powered micromobility devices, a depiction of the different elements that form an e-scooter and a description of the specific model used throughout the study. Second, an explanation of the experiments carried out and the aim of every and each of them is detailed. While one of the experiments allowed to study the influence of the vibration on human comfort, another one permitted to study the vehicle's braking response. On the other hand, a couple of other tests helped to create the mathematical model. Next, an explanation of the data acquisition system can be found. The data acquirement was done thanks to the proper configuration of a SCADA-XS device and the appropriate disposition of the sensors: a GPS and four accelerometers. Afterwards, a preliminary study followed by an in-depth analysis are deeply exposed. Meanwhile the first one verified the rightfulness of the data acquired by the sensors to later process it, the second one post-processed the data by varying the survey according to the final aim of the corresponding experiment. Last but not least, the mathematical model created thanks to the data extracted from the study is showcased. Finally, conclusions from this research are drawn

The demand of rapid, portable and effective point of care testing has been increasing in the last decade. Point of care (POC) testing devices can rely on several analytical signals such as electrochemical (i.e. glucose meter used by diabetic patients) and optical (colorimetric, as in pregnancy tests). However, this project will focus on fluorescence signals. The ultimate aim will be to develop a POC based on a sandwich immunoassay with antibodies labelled with fluorescent probes (i.e. quantum dots) that can recognise and quantify simultaneously important disease biomarkers (such as the interleukins IL-6 or IL-1). For that, this work has been focusing on the first step and specifically on the fluorescence approach and the probes that will be used in the sandwich assays and will give the possibility to do multiple quantifications. One of the approaches investigated has been the FRET method and it has been discovered that it is necessary to have a complete overlapping between the acceptor (i.e. dye) excitation and the donor (i.e. quantum dot) emission for it to work properly. The second approach was to find fluorescent probes with similar excitation wavelength, but well separated emissions to permit their simultaneous quantification when they are present in the same solutions. A dye and a quantum dots were selected and tested here in this format and the results showed that, it is easy to quantify them simultaneously, when present in the same solution, by recording their fluorescence at different wavelengths