AlAshaab, AhmedCrawford, AdrianAlghamdi, Abdullah Ahmed2024-12-102024https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14154/74102The circular economy is one of the critical elements in the European Green Deal which aims at renewing the existing production and consumption system. Its goal is to optimise the functionalities of products and materials and maintains them for as long as possible while minimising the production of waste. Remanufacturing is the backbone of the Circular Economy (CE). Remanufacturing is the industrial process of returning a used product (or its components) to at least its original performance with a warranty that is equivalent to that of the newly manufactured product while post-disassembly, restoration of the product involves replacing components. Remanufacturing is a value-retaining process, which prepares used products for reuse through a controlled industrial process and recaptures inherent product value. Conceptual design impacts around 80% of the remanufacturing considerations. Therefore, is very important to capture the required knowledge (know-How) of the typical remanufacturing processes to support decision taken during design for circular economy. Typical remanufacturing processes are; inspect, clean, disassembly, sort, inspect and discard, replace/repair, clean, re-assembly, store, test, repackage for re-use. This project is going to capture the know-how knowledge and rules of the remanufacturing processes that are needed to formulate the right Circular Economy Design Environment; demonstrated via application on a case study from the company.This thesis investigates the optimisation of remanufacturing processes within the circular economy framework, focusing on enhancing product functionality and extending product use while minimising waste production. Central to this study is the industrial process of remanufacturing, which involves returning used products to at least their original performance level with a guarantee equivalent to that of newly manufactured products. This research is grounded in the conceptual design decisions that account for approximately 80% of the remanufacturing considerations, highlighting the significant impact of early design choices on the efficiency of remanufacturing. Using a detailed case study of the NIRS31 non-invasive road sensor provided by OTT HydroMet, the thesis captures and analyses the know-how of typical remanufacturing processes. It introduces a comprehensive remanufacturing process model that outlines structured activities and knowledge requirements at various stages, aiming to standardise procedures and enhance knowledge management across remanufacturing operations. By implementing different strategies, the study demonstrates practical applications of circular economy principles, emphasising the reduction of environmental impact and resource consumption through efficient remanufacturing practices. This research contributes to the theoretical and practical understanding of remanufacturing in a circular economy by providing a detailed model and empirical evidence of its benefits. The study proposes recommendations for integrating advanced technologies and further research into broadening the model's application across various industries to confirm the scalability and applicability to fully realise the environmental and economic potentials of remanufacturing.79enDesign for circular economyManufacturing knowledgeRemanufacturing processesKnowledge managementDesign for remanufacturingValue retentionProduct life-extensionThesis