Technology & Engineering
Material Index
The material index is a measure used in engineering to evaluate the performance of materials in specific applications. It is calculated by considering the properties of a material in relation to its cost, allowing engineers to make informed decisions about which material to use for a particular design. The material index helps optimize the selection of materials for various engineering projects.
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6 Key excerpts on "Material Index"
eBook - PDFProduct Design for the Environment
A Life Cycle Approach
- Fabio Giudice, Guido La Rosa, Antonino Risitano(Authors)
- 2006(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
Defining these indices makes it possible to compile selection charts summarizing the relations between properties of materials and engineering requirements (Ashby, 1999). Usually taking into consideration the physical-mechanical properties of materials, these selection charts can be extended to introduce some environ-mental properties (Navin-Chandra, 1991). From this standpoint, several impor-tant studies have been based on the development of indices able to express the environmental performance of materials by introducing the energy consump-tion and emissions (into the atmosphere or water) associated with the materi-als (Holloway, 1998), or eco-indicators developed on the basis of Life Cycle Assessment methods (Wegst and Ashby, 1998). An alternative approach is that of translating environmental impact in terms of economic cost of production, introducing functions of environmental cost such as energy consumption and toxicity that depend on the properties of the materials (Chen et al., 1994). All the methods proposed are limited to quantifying the environmental impact of the choice of materials on the basis of their environmental properties associated with the production phase. Only a few studies have considered the influence of the choice of materials on the impact associated with the working life of the component (Kampe, 2001). To date, the problem of choice of materials from the viewpoint of Life Cycle Design (taking into account the environmental impacts involved in all phases of the life cycle, from production to retirement) has been considered only in general terms, with the aim of defining guidelines for choices that integrate properties of materials, manufacturing demands, and end-of-life impacts, and suggesting a distinction of selection criteria between component design and assembled product design (Stuart, 1998).
- P.E. Fisher, P.E., Lawrence W. Fisher(Authors)
- 2005(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
most flexibility to adjust the design to accommodate material-specific considerations. With an up-to-date materials database the exercise of exploring the available materials using the indices of interest can be enlightening to the senior engineer and an invaluable tool for the student. The methodology bolsters what may often be a selection based solely on past experience or the use of industry-specific materials most often selected because of their known performance. The hidden danger of this method lies in users’ ability to fully define the use environment and apply the appropriate indices for the evaluation. It is often the case that an industry-specific material is used on a regular basis but the actual properties that make it successful are not fully realized by the design engineer. For example, the use of PVC in engineering applica-tions can be successful if it is used judiciously in design configurations that place the material in compression. Environmental effects on PVC in conjunction with its brittle properties need to be closely considered. Some of the more common material indices include axial tensile, torsion, beam, column, and plate loading cases ( Table 1.3 ). The indices are provided for both specific strength and stiffness for each of the load cases, representing 10 different material indices to choose from, which assists in the material selection during the design phase. The derivation of these and other indices is covered by Ashby in several of his texts, so readers are encouraged to refer to them if they are interested in obtaining other indices. For example, indices involving fracture toughness, thermal expansion, or cost per unit weight might be required, depending on the design objectives. When making use of Ashby’s selection charts, the most generic charts are those representing yield strength versus density (specific weight) and Young’s modulus versus density (specific stiffness).
eBook - PDF- Lokesh Pandey(Author)
- 2023(Publication Date)
- Arcler Press(Publisher)
Engineering material is described as: “A topic that deals with the manufacture, qualities, and applications of materials utilized in applied engineering.” 5.1. INTRODUCTION Engineering materials range in weight from lightweight to heavyweight. Alloys for aircraft, Semiconductor chips for computers, Photovoltaic for energy storage, Semiconductor scanners, and so on. Material means engineering materials, limited to solid materials only. Science refers to the branch of applied science which deals with investigation of the relationship existing between the structure of materials and their properties. Materials differ from one another because of the difference in their properties for example, gold differs from iron because of its color, density, and corrosion resistance, among other things. Property differences occur owing to variations in material structure. All solid materials are made up of a huge number of molecules that are linked together to create the bulk substance. Each molecule is made up of microscopic particles known as atoms. The qualities and structure of a material are determined by the individual properties of atoms and their order in the molecule. A design engineer’s understanding of materials and their characteristics is critical. The machine elements should be built of a material that is suitable for the operating circumstances. A design engineer must also be knowledgeable about the impact of manufacturing techniques and heat treatment on the characteristics of materials (Figure 5.1). Engineering Materials and Their Applications 129 Figure 5.1. Image showing engineering material. Source: Image by archdaily.com. We will explore the most often used engineering materials and their qualities in this section. Metallurgy is the science and technique of economically extracting metals from their ores, purifying them, and preparing them for use. It investigates the microstructure of a metal, the structural details that may be observed under a microscope.
eBook - PDF- Atila Ertas(Author)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
341 6 Design Analyses for Material Selection Engineering has never been easy. The speed of introduction of new materials, tools, and techniques is increasing. We are approaching a human processing bottleneck for effective use of these inventions in better engineering of cost-effective, timely, useful and reliable artifacts. 6.1 Introduction Materials engineering is a field of engineering that includes a range of kinds of material and how to use them in manufacturing. To convert the basic materials into an engineering product, materials with specific properties should be selected. Material selection is a process that is performed to select the best materials for the specific application and product development. If an appropriate material selection is not performed, the product life tends to be highly unpredictable. The competitive market mechanism and increase in product consumption makes product designers think more about materials than before. Among the many factors to consider in product design, selecting proper materials and embracing the challenges to explore and develop a variety of manufacturing processes associated with design are two of the most important responsibilities of a design engineer. A primary design requirement in the selection of the proper materials for a specific application is that the material be capable of meeting the design service life requirement at the least cost. For a defined service life, first, the designer assess the suitability of a range of candidate materials. Then, the designer narrows the available choices to a few candidate materials that best meet the mechanical, thermal, electrical, and economic constraints of the product design. The final selection of a particular material can be made based on past experience, accessed through a questionnaire-based selection engine. Selecting materials based on past experience is still popular because the designer feels confident in using a tried and proven material.
- Donald Askeland, Wendelin Wright, Donald Askeland(Authors)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
If you are an engineer and you need to decide which materials you will choose to fabricate a component, the knowledge of principles of mate- rials science and engineering will empower you with the fundamental concepts. These will allow you to make technically sound decisions in designing with engineered materials. Table 1-2 Strength-to-weight ratios of various materials Material Strength (kg/m 2 ) Density (g/cm 3 ) Strength-to-Weight Ratio (cm) Polyethylene 70 3 10 4 0.83 8.43 3 10 4 Pure aluminum 455 3 10 4 2.17 16.79 3 10 4 Al 2 O 3 21 3 10 6 3.16 0.66 3 10 6 Epoxy 105 3 10 5 1.38 7.61 3 10 5 Heat-treated alloy steel 17 3 10 7 7.75 0.22 3 10 7 Heat-treated aluminum alloy 60 3 10 6 2.71 2.21 3 10 6 Carbon-carbon composite 42 3 10 6 1.80 2.33 3 10 6 Heat-treated titanium alloy 12 3 10 7 4.43 0.27 3 10 7 Kevlar-epoxy composite 46 3 10 6 1.47 3.13 3 10 6 Carbon-epoxy composite 56 3 10 6 1.38 4.06 3 10 6 Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 15 Summary ● Materials science and engineering (MSE) is an interdisciplinary field concerned with inventing new materials and devices and improving existing materials by develop- ing a deeper understanding of the microstructure-composition-synthesis-processing relationships. ● Engineered materials are materials designed and fabricated considering MSE principles. ● The properties of engineered materials depend upon their composition, structure, synthesis, and processing. An important performance index for materials or devices is their performance-to-cost ratio.
- Donald Askeland, Wendelin Wright(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
If you are an engineer and you need to decide which materials you will choose to fabricate a component, the knowledge of principles of mate-rials science and engineering will empower you with the fundamental concepts. These will allow you to make technically sound decisions in designing with engineered materials. Table 1-2 Strength-to-weight ratios of various materials Material Strength (kg/m 2 ) Density (g/cm 3 ) Strength-to-Weight Ratio (cm) Polyethylene 70 3 10 4 0.83 8.43 3 10 4 Pure aluminum 455 3 10 4 2.17 16.79 3 10 4 Al 2 O 3 21 3 10 6 3.16 0.66 3 10 6 Epoxy 105 3 10 5 1.38 7.61 3 10 5 Heat-treated alloy steel 17 3 10 7 7.75 0.22 3 10 7 Heat-treated aluminum alloy 60 3 10 6 2.71 2.21 3 10 6 Carbon-carbon composite 42 3 10 6 1.80 2.33 3 10 6 Heat-treated titanium alloy 12 3 10 7 4.43 0.27 3 10 7 Kevlar-epoxy composite 46 3 10 6 1.47 3.13 3 10 6 Carbon-epoxy composite 56 3 10 6 1.38 4.06 3 10 6 Copyright 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 15 Summary ● Materials science and engineering (MSE) is an interdisciplinary field concerned with inventing new materials and devices and improving existing materials by develop-ing a deeper understanding of the microstructure-composition-synthesis-processing relationships. ● Engineered materials are materials designed and fabricated considering MSE principles. ● The properties of engineered materials depend upon their composition, structure, synthesis, and processing. An important performance index for materials or devices is their performance-to-cost ratio.
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