First and above all, I thank God, for providing me with this opportunity.
Mygratitude to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Diego Felipe Sarzosa Burgos for his support, guidance, tutoring and patience. A special thanks to my colleagues from Continental Brasil, Mr. Glenan Lago for the encouragement and Mr. Douglas Custodio for the support with the testing. This dissertation is dedicated to my beloved wife Natalie Cuzziol Pascualinotto, for her unconditional support during the elaboration of this work, to my son Miguel Cuzziol Pascualinotto and my daughter Olivia Cuzziol Pascualinotto for being my source of inspiration.