Search

Smart textiles have become a promising area of research for heating applications. Coatings with nanomaterials allow the introduction of different functionalities, enabling doped textiles to be used in sensing and heating applications. These coatings were made on a piece of woven cotton fabric through screen printing, with a different number of layers. To prepare the paste, nanomaterials such as graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were added to a polyurethane-based polymeric resin, in various concentrations. The electrical conductivity of the obtained samples was measured and the heat-dissipating capabilities assessed. The results showed that coatings have induced electrical conductivity and heating capabilities. The highest electrical conductivity of (9.39 ± 1.28 × 10−1 S/m) and (9.02 ± 6.62 × 10−2 S/m) was observed for 12% (w/v) GNPs and 5% (w/v) (CNTs + GNPs), respectively. The sample with 5% (w/v) (CNTs + GNPs) and 12% (w/v) GNPs exhibited a Joule effect when a voltage of 12 V was applied for 5 min, and a maximum temperature of 42.7 °C and 40.4 °C were achieved, respectively. It can be concluded that higher concentrations of GNPs can be replaced by adding CNTs, still achieving nearly the same performance. These coated textiles can potentially find applications in the area of heating, sensing, and biomedical applications., This work was supported by project LH4Auto-POCI-01-0247-FEDER-049652. Furthermore, it was partly financed by FCT/MCTES through national funds (PIDDAC) under the R&D Unit of the Centre for Textile Science and Technology (2C2T) with the reference UID/00264/2020.

Dissertação de mestrado em Administração Pública (área de especialização em Gestão Pública e Políticas Públicas), Em Vila Nova de Gaia as Áreas de Reabilitação Urbana (ARU) foram criadas numa perspetiva de promoção da regeneração urbana, tendo como ponto de partida a reabilitação de locais estratégicos e dos núcleos degradados, promovendo a valorização e transformação do território enquanto recurso natural, arquitetónico, paisagístico e social, do ponto de vista da sua identidade e culturalidade, definindo linhas de atuação integradas, quer ao nível do edificado, quer ao nível do espaço público. Partindo deste princípio, através desta Dissertação, e tendo como base a Estratégia de Regeneração Urbana de Vila Nova de Gaia aprovada em 2013, foram analisadas 7 ARU aprovadas para o concelho. Este trabalho visa estudar as dinâmicas urbanas das ARU enquanto política pública, o seu impacto no território e contributo para a regeneração urbana, em comparação com a restante área do concelho. Ambiciona aferir de que forma o território em ARU evoluiu ao longo destes últimos 11 anos (2010-2020), medindo-se a variação antes da delimitação e após a delimitação. As ARU são um instrumento de planeamento que visa a priorização e programação integrada das intervenções, onde se pretende a curto prazo, a regeneração urbana, através da recuperação e transformação do território, devolvendo a singularidade e autenticidade dos lugares, conferindo-lhe a vitalidade outrora perdida, servindo como mecanismo de contenção da expansão e embelezamento das paisagens. Em Vila Nova de Gaia, as ARU através da sua delimitação estratégica e dos benefícios fiscais e incentivos municipais elas associadas, vieram comprovar que são um instrumento de políticas públicas eficaz, que pode conduzir de forma rápida à regeneração urbana; no entanto, nem todas ARU se desenvolveram com a mesma velocidade. A melhoria das condições de vida proporcionadas pela localização geográfica, a proximidade ao centro da cidade, o aumento do turismo, as necessidades de habitação e a procura de investimento estratégico para relocalização e sedimentação do tecido empresarial, bem como a proximidade de equipamentos e de infraestruturas viárias de qualidade, foram os principais fatores que distinguiram a evolução de cada uma das ARU e tornaram do ponto de vista do investidor, mais apetecíveis algumas das ARU, em detrimento de outras. Por outro lado, os instrumentos legais, designadamente, o Regime Jurídico da Reabilitação Urbana, vieram estimular a reabilitação das construções degradadas, sobretudo nos locais mais periféricos, fora destas áreas delimitadas. Para a concretização de uma eficaz e eficiente regeneração urbana será necessário dar continuidade à estratégia desenvolvida pelo município, seja através da aprovação de Operações de Reabilitação Urbana (ORU), simples ou sistemática, da promoção e divulgação mais clara e assertiva dos benefícios fiscais e dos incentivos municipais, associados a estas áreas, quer através da monitorização sistemática destas áreas como contributo para a regeneração urbana nas suas varias vertentes, paisagística, ambiental, arquitetónica, económica e social., In Vila Nova de Gaia, Urban Rehabilitation Areas (ARU) were raised in a perspective of promoting urban regeneration, having as a starting point the rehabilitation of strategic sites and degraded nuclei, promoting the enhancement and transformation of the territory as a natural, architectural, landscape and social resource, from the point of view of its identity and culturality, defining integrated lines of action, both in terms of buildings and in terms of public space. Based on this principle, through this Dissertation, and based on the Vila Nova de Gaia Urban Regeneration Strategy approved in 2013, 7 ARU approved for the municipality were analyzed. This work aims to study the urban dynamics of the ARU as a public policy, its impact on the territory and its contribution to urban regeneration, in comparison with the renaining area of the municipality. It aims to measure how the territory in ARU has evolved over the past 11 years (2010- 2020), measuring the variation before the delimitation and after the delimitation. The ARU are a planning instrument aimed at prioritizing and integrated programming of the interventions, where urban regeneration is intended in short time, through the recovery and transformation of the territory, restoring the uniqueness and authenticity of the places, giving it the vitality once lost, serving as a mechanism to contain the expansion and landscapes beautification. In Vila Nova de Gaia, the ARU, through its strategic delimitation and associated tax benefits and municipal incentives, proved that they are an instrument of effective public policies, which can quickly lead to urban regeneration, however, not all the ARU developed with the same speed. The improvement in living conditions provided by geographic location, proximity to the city centre, increased tourism, housing needs and the search for strategic investment for the relocation and sedimentation of the business fabric, as well as the proximity of equipments and quality roads infrastructures were the main factors that distinguished the evolution of each of the ARU and made, from the investor's point of view, more attractive some of the ARU, to the detriment of others. On the other hand, the legal instruments, namely the Legal Regime of Urban Rehabilitation, came to stimulate the rehabilitation of degraded buildings, especially in the most peripheral places, outside these delimited areas. In order to achieve effective and efficient urban regeneration, it will be necessary to continue the strategy developed by the municipality, whether through the approval of simple or systematic Urban Rehabilitation Operation (ORU), the promotion and clearer and more assertive disclosure of tax benefits and municipal incentives, associated with these areas, or through the systematic monitoring of these areas as a contribution to urban regeneration in its various aspects, landscape, environmental, architectural, economic and social.

— In an increasingly competitive market, companies have the need to seek and implement best practices to continuously improve their processes. Recently, several quality management tools and quality improvement methodologies have emerged in literature. However, there is a gap between theory and practice. This study aims to assess to what extent the methodologies and tools cited in literature are used by industrial companies in Portugal. A questionnaire was developed to investigate both the importance, perceived by respondents, to each tool and methodology, and its level of use. The motivational factors and barriers to their implementation were also investigated. The questionnaire was sent to industrial companies of different sectors and 83 answers were analyzed based on descriptive statistics and statistical tests. Results show evidence about the perceived importance and implementation level of quality improvement practices in industries in Portugal. It also contributes to understand the factors that influence the use of such quality improvement techniques.