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This lecture covers the importance of material selection in design, emphasizing the need for a structured approach over intuitive methods. It discusses how materials influence product functionality and performance, and outlines factors affecting material development. Additionally, it introduces modern appraisal techniques like Digital Logic Method and Life Cycle Value Analysis for systematic material evaluation.

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5 views4 pages

Lec 1

This lecture covers the importance of material selection in design, emphasizing the need for a structured approach over intuitive methods. It discusses how materials influence product functionality and performance, and outlines factors affecting material development. Additionally, it introduces modern appraisal techniques like Digital Logic Method and Life Cycle Value Analysis for systematic material evaluation.

Uploaded by

martinevans2025
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to Material Selection

This lecture will seek to answer three questions:


1. Why do we study materials?
2. How does design development relate to material selection?
3. Why do we need a structured material selection process?

In obtaining a response to these, the value of structured material selection techniques will be demonstrated as opposed
to an intuitive material selection approach.

1. Why we study materials


We use materials to make tools and equipment that reduce the effort required to manage our tasks. Each product has
specific functions (purpose) and its shape, appearance, capability, etc are influenced by the material it is made from.

We therefore study materials to understand the following:

•e.g. should we pack milk in bottles made from glass, plastic or


How to use them
stainless steel?

•Form – shape the materials to make the desired product, e.g. roll
How to form the materials sheets, draw tubes, roll bars, blow bottles, cast brackets, stamp
brackets, machine dies, etc

•Alloying of metals
How to enhance a material's properties
•Heat treatments of metals

•Yield limits, creep temperature limits, glass transition of


The limits of the material's capability
polymers, etc

Having understood the properties of materials, the designer needs to select the best material for a given use.

2. Relationship between design and materials selection


Design involves the formulation of a product's shape and the determination of its functional characteristics such as load
bearing capacity, force transmission capability, durability. Design records include:
 specifications documents, that include:
o material specifications,
o process specifications,
o reference standards.
 Drawings:
o 2D projection drawings
o 3D models.

Design involves:
 the formulation of a product's shape (3D design),
 the formulation of its functional characteristics.
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© Eng. Dr. Kenneth D. Njoroge
[email protected]
Introduction to Material Selection
Additionally:
 the designer may determine the choice of materials from the design, or
 the designer may develop the design to use a certain material.

2.1. History of materials development and technological advancement

2.2. What factors affect the development and use of materials today?

# Factors Effects
Affects how governments invest in materials research and development.
1 Politics

Technical The absence of technical capacity stops investors in funding the


2
capacity developments.
The manner in which market demand is envisaged determines how
investors will channel their capital. A weak appreciation for the need for
3 Market forces
materials development results in reduced capital flows into the materials
development sector.
Certain materials development opportunities are not pursued due concerns
4 EHS concerns
on safety, health or environmental degradation.

3. Why do we need a materials selection procedure?


Industry often uses intuitive methods for material selection. These include:

Same material as that for a similar part


•This approach is based on the assumption that a material, which works satisfactorily in one application, will do so
on a similar one.

First best material


•The designer selects the best material from among the few familiar materials.

2
© Eng. Dr. Kenneth D. Njoroge
[email protected]
Introduction to Material Selection

Problem solving material selection


•A given material has a deficiency in some property, and this has given rise to problems.
•The designer chooses a new material from the same group of materials, but with a higher value of the given
property.
Random searching material selection
•The designer makes a random search for the material by considering one material property at a time, and narrowing
down the alternatives until a choice is obtained.

4. These approaches are not systematic and are unsuitable as:

Important requirements that are not met have often given rise to failures in operation.

The first solution at hand is often adopted and it may not be a good/best solution.

Unconventional solutions are not considered e.g. advanced materials are not analyzed.

All requirements (e.g. processing methods and aes


thetics) may not be adequately considered giving rise to performance problems in service.
Some requirement may also be over emphasized causing the part to possess properties that substatially exceed the
requirement - this may have a cost impact.
The solution may be far from the optimum giving the part a poor cost competitiveness.

4.1. A structured approach to material selection is necessary because:

The number of materials available for use is large.

There are new methods of manufacturing parts that enable the use of a different set of existing materials.

The properties of existing materials have improved over time and the designer needs to re-consider all alternatives
that would not have been suitable in the past.

The designer needs to balance product needs and cost constraints in a systematic way.

The designer needs to establish a set of criteria for the selection, as the set of all possible criteria is large. This
definition needs to be systematic. A typical material selection problem involves hundreds of variables and property
data points.

The methods of making the part vary with the type of material, and not all methods are suited for the part.

Different materials meet the aesthetic values differently.

4.2. How do material properties influence component performance?


The selection of a material whose properties do not meet those required for correct performance of the component leads

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© Eng. Dr. Kenneth D. Njoroge
[email protected]
Introduction to Material Selection
to failure of the component. The failure may comprise excessive deformation, fracture, surface deterioration such as
corrosion, indentation, melting, decolorizing, etc; all that will result in component replacement. The larger the deviation
of the material properties from the required values, the greater the rate of deterioration.

Recent research has given rise to modern material appraisal techniques e.g.:

 Digital logic method (DLA)


Material selection will often consider several material properties. Weighting of each property as a function of their
relative importance is used to determine a material's score as a measure of their suitability for a given purpose.
Intuitive attribution of weighting factors is subjective and instead the digital logic method has been devised to
systematically evaluate the relative weights.
The method picks two properties at a go and determines which of the two properties is more important. A yes (1) or no
(0) score is entered. All permutations are considered with the resulting positive score used to determine its weighting
factor. e.g.

Property # 1 2 3 4 Score Weighting


factor
1 1 1 0 0 2 0.2
2 0 1 0 1 2 0.2
3 0 0 1 0 1 0.1
4 1 1 0 1 3 0.3
5 1 0 1 0 2 0.2
10 1

 Life cycle value analysis (LCVA)


LCA is a method used to evaluate the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle. This encompassing
extraction and processing of the raw materials, manufacturing, distribution, utilization, recycling, and final disposal.

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© Eng. Dr. Kenneth D. Njoroge
[email protected]

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