Design of a measurement tool for objective stiffness measurements in the MCP joints of rheumatoid arthritis patients

<b>Background</b><br/>Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a progressive, chronic, inflammatory, autoimmune disorder, affecting 0.5-1.5% of the world's population. Current RA disease activity assessment methods rely on subjective, labor-intensive methods. Therefore, an unmet need exists for objectively assessing RA disease activity through a low-labor...

Redesign of the Centring Unit in the Wafer Handler

Background<br/>One of VDL most complex products is the Wafer Handler a machine with the function of thermal conditioning, centering and aligning wafers for the subsequent photolithography processes. The function of centering a wafer is performed by a submodule of the WH, the Centring Unit (cu) Currently the CU has two main limitations which make...

The design, build and verification of the Forcesix measurement setup: capable of observing low-level flow-induced vibration forces in 6-DOF

The goal of this study is to develop a measurement setup that can accommodate the water-cooled modules present in the innovative e-beam lithography tool developed by Mapper Lithography and to perform flow verfication measurements on them. The overall objective is to verify the stage-stability requirements set for the Matrix-machine with regards...

Prioritisation of Measurement System Analyses: At the Airbus plant in Stade, Germany

The thesisproject concerns the development of a methodology to connect data, from theAirbus department in Stade, with each other and find relationships between themwhich lead to a prioritising tool with which justifiable decisions can bededuced in order to plan which Measurement System Analysis (MSA) to conductnext, focusing...

Measuring Device for Controlling a Vaporising Liquid Microthruster

The objective of the project is to design a system which can control the temperature of a va-porizing liquid microthruster (VLM). The liquid in a VLM is heated using a heater resistor.This resistor will be used to both heat the liquid and measure the temperature.In this thesis the subsystem responsible for the measurements and the conversion of...

Modelling of a Fast EQE Measurement System

External Quantum Efficiency (EQE) is an important performance measure parameter of a solar cell. EQE characterization gives deeper insights into the opto-electrical properties, current generation and recombination mechanisms in solar cells. Conventional EQE characterization of solar cells are done using a monochromator and lock-in amplifier....

Evaluating the use of a piezo-resistive pressure sensor system for performance feedback in long track speed skating

In the sport of long track speed skating, in recent years there has been an increasing desire for training tools which provide deeper technical insight of the skating movement to the athlete and coaches. In previous literature a variety of measurement systems have been presented; one such system included the instrumented klapskate developed at...

Aerodynamics of transiting objects via large-scale PIV - the Ring of Fire Concept

A novel measurement system, the Ring of Fire, is deployed which enables the aerodynamic drag estimation of transiting cyclists. The system relies upon the use of large-scale stereoscopic PIV and the conservation of momentum within a control volume in a frame of reference moving with the athlete. The rider cycles at a velocity of approximately 8...

Improving distribution-performance for Ready-mix Concrete at Van Nieuwpoort Transport: Applying the Balanced Scorecard to performance measurement system-design

Van Nieuwpoort Transport (VNT) wants to optimise its logistics by applying the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). However applying the BSC to optimize VNT’s logistics presents five challenges: (i) no experience with the BSC, (ii) lacking performance drivers, (iii) traditional culture, (iv) ambiguous leadership commitment, (v) scarce staff-resources. The...

Quantifiable Performance Information, the road to winning tenders? A research into the optimisation of the application of QPI by vendors

A Framework for Measuring the Alignment between Business Models and Business Processes in Software Development Companies

Currently, there are plenty of tools and frameworks of measuring the strategic alignment of a company – the consistency between the corporate strategy and its business processes. However, no one has proposed a tool for measuring the alignment between a business model and business processes. This research project aims to fill this gap in the...

Validating and Improving a Measurement System for a Deformable Mirror

The semiconductor industry is on an ongoing quest to realize smaller feature size, requiring the constant implementation of new technology. A possible new technology is the use of a spatially controlled heat source to actively deform a mirror substrate to compensate for wavefront aberrations. In order to validate the ability to generate...