Green Industrial Engineering for Sustainable Development

MATERIALS SELECTION IN ECO-DESIGN

Course objectives

GENERAL OBJECTIVES Product performances are directly influenced by both classical and non-technical properties of the materials used. That is why Material Selection Process (MSP) is an important part of the design process. The objective of this course is to show that existing material selection approaches including mechanical and environmental criteria are not enough complete to make optimal material choice in preliminary design phase. Indeed, in this design phase, it is necessary to do the best choice in order to optimize technical and economical requirements of a component while reducing the product Environmental Impact (EI) in the whole Life Cycle (LC). The aim for this course is to provide the student with: - basic knowledge about different methods for materials selection - experience from case-studies with the methodology for systematic selection of materials, design and manufacturing methods for components or products - basic knowledge about the connections between environment, energy and materials selection with regard to their manufacturing methods and for different products during their life-cycle - knowledge about methods for design of processes and products with regard to sustainable development - ability to make environmentally sound selections of materials with regard to manufacturing methods and life-cycle aspects. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES Knowledge and understanding: Upon completion of the course, the student will have combined the knowledge of chemistry principles with application-oriented principles typical of science and technology of materials. The student will have a broad understanding of the different classes of materials that are relevant to industrial applications in terms of their chemical composition, microstructure, in-service applicability and recyclability. In addition, the student will develop a general understanding of the in-service performance of materials and of numerical criteria for their design. Applying knowledge and understanding: Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to select the right material to meet in-service requirements of the specific application. The student will be able to devise suitable chemical and physical treatments of the materials in order to modify their microstructure and improve their properties. The student will be also able to develop the correct strategies to enhance the lifetime and the recyclability of a material. Making judgement: Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to develop a critical assessment of the properties of a material with a view to predicting its in-service response. Communication skills: Upon completion of the course, the student will have gained a knowledge of the specific technical and scientific language and will be able to present and defend the acquired knowledge during the oral exam. Learning skills: Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to use the models and theoretical principles to discuss the suitability of a material to a specific real-life application.

Channel 1

FABRIZIO SARASINI Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program

DETAILED LIST OF TOPICS AND THEIR DURATION 1. Introduction to materials science and engineering, classification of materials and Processing/Structure/Properties/ Performance Correlations – 16 h - Metal Alloys - Ceramics Materials - Polymer Materials - Composite Materials 2. Introduction: Materials and Design – 6h - Materials in Design - The Design Process - Types of Design - Design Tools and Materials Data - Function, Material, Shape and Process 3. Engineering end Eco Materials and Their Properties – 6h - The Families of Engineering and Eco Materials - Materials Information for Design - Material Properties and Their Units 4. Materials Property Charts – 6h - Exploring Material Properties - The Material Property Charts 5. Materials Selection – The Basics – 7h - The Selection Strategy - Attribute Limits and Material Indices - The Selection Procedure - Computer-Aided Selection - The Structural Index 6. Processes and Their Effect on Properties – 7h - Classifying Processes - The Processes: Shaping, Joining, Finishing - Process–Property Trajectories 7. Processes Selection and Cost – 8h - Process Selection: The Strategy - Implementing the Strategy: Selection Matrices - Limitations and Quality - Ranking: Process Cost - Computer-Aided Process Selection 8. Selection of Material and Shape – 8h - Shape Factors - Limits to Shape Efficiency - Exploring Material-Shape Combinations - Material Indices That Include Shape - Graphical Coselecting Using Indices - Architectured Materials: Microscopic Shape 9. Materials and the Environment – 8h - The Material Life-Cycle - Material and Energy-Consuming Systems - The Eco-Attributes of Materials - Life-Cycle Assessment, Eco-Audits and Energy Fingerprints - Eco-Selection 10. Materials and Industrial Design – 8h - The Requirements Pyramid - Product Character - Using Materials and Processes to Create Product Personality 11. Sustainable Response to Forces for Change – 10h - Market-Pull and Science-Push - Growing Population and Wealth, and Market Saturation - Product Liability and Service Provision - The Information Economy, Critical Materials and Circularity - Response to Forces for Change: Sustainable Development

Prerequisites

The materials field represents an interdisciplinary subject, spanning the physics and chemistry of matter, engineering applications and industrial manufacturing processes. Therefore, the students are expected to have a good knowledge of maths and fundamental sciences including chemistry, physics and mechanics of materials.

Books

- Michael F. Ashby, Materials Selection in Mechanical Design 5th Edition, BH, Elsevier - Michael F. Ashby, Materials and the Environment, Eco-informed Material Choice, 3rd Edition, BH, Elsevier

Frequency

Class attendance is not compulsory, even though it is highly recommended.

Exam mode

The assessment will be based on the results of an oral interview, aimed at verifying the acquisition of the following knowledge and skills: - knowledge of microstructure, properties, design, production and transformation processes, use, analysis, characterization, degradation and recycle of materials of interest for industrial engineering; - ability to apply this knowledge to select the materials suitable for different applications, to recognize the conditions of potential in- service risks, to choose the most appropriate tests to evaluate the performance of materials. The minimum grade for passing the exam (18/30) is achieved only if the student is able to correctly classify and discuss the physical-mechanical properties of the main classes of materials of interest for industrial engineering. For the final evaluation the following aspects will be considered: - the level of knowledge - the ability to securely correlate different topics - the ability of applying knowledge to the solution of problems of limited complexity in the field of materials engineering - the ability to communicate the acquired knowledge and to illustrate the technical solutions proposed with clarity using a proper technical vocabulary. In order to obtain the highest mark (30/30 cum laude), the student must demonstrate that he/she has acquired excellent knowledge of all the topics covered in the course, and that he/she can apply this knowledge to the solution of problems in the field of industrial engineering, proposing original solutions and showing the results of an autonomous extension of knowledge.

Lesson mode

The teaching activities are organized in traditional lecture-based classes for the acquisition of knowledge. Students will be actively engaged by collecting information and asking questions. Numerical exercises will be solved in class in order to make theory more easily learned.