MA6812 Advanced

Materials Engineering

MATERIAL
SELECTION
IN DESIGN
AY2023-24 (S1) Sunil C. Joshi
Inputs taken from WWW resources for enriching this presentation are gratefully acknowledged
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 Primary reference book
MATERIALS SELECTION IN
MECHANICAL DESIGN

Michael F Ashby
Department of Engineering, Cambridge University,
England

Second edition, 1999

Butterworth Heinemann

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 Design process
Smallest (needle) to
largest (aircraft)

DEVICE
(Technical System)

Assemblies,
sub-assemblies,
components

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 Types of design
ORIGINAL DESIGN: development of a new idea or working principle.
New materials → high-purity glass - optical fibres
New product → space technology - lightweight composites

ADAPTIVE or DEVELOPMENT DESIGN: seeking an incremental

advancement in performance of an existing concept through a refinement of
the working principle.
Household appliances → Polymers replacing metals
Sports-goods → Carbon composites replacing wood

VARIANT DESIGN: involves a change of scale/ dimension/ fabrication method,

but no change in function.
Small boats → fibre glass, wood; Large vessels → steel
Small boilers → copper; Large boilers → steel

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Stages for material selection
Conception stage -
Approximate property
values for the widest
possible range of materials

Embodiment stage -
Data for a single set of
material

Detailed design -
Data for only one or for a
few materials

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General characteristics of material

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 Selection
strategy

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 Screening and Ranking
Screening: elimination → one or more attributes lie
outside design limits
Ranking: Best possible choice → fulfillment of the most
selection criteria with
high merit
 150-200ºC service temperature
 Complex and thin shapes
 High strength-to-weight ratio GRAPHITE/
 High stiffness-to-weight ratio EPOXY
 Different properties in different directions COMPOSITES

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How would you select a suitable material
for the below shown bus chassis?

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 Deriving material indices
1 Define the design requirements; function,
objective, constraints
2 Develop an objective function.
3 Identify the free or unspecified variables.
4 Develop equations for the constraints.
5 Substitute for the free variables from the
constraint equation/s into the objective function.
6 Group the variables into three groups: functional,
geometry, and material properties.
7 Identify material index (M) from these groups
and use that index to select a suitable material, or
to rank a few materials.

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 Function, objective and constraints
Function What does component do?
Ties→ tensile loads; Shafts → torque;
Beams → bending; Columns → compression

Objective What is to be maximized or minimized?

Light weight → aerospace
Fail safe → nuclear reactor

Constraints What non-negotiable conditions must

be met? (Hard - strength, stiffness?)
What negotiable but desirable conditions
to be achieved? (soft - cost, aesthetic?)

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 Performance function
The performance of an element may be described by an
equation, which is a function of various design requirements

P=f functional (F) geometric (G) material (M)

requirements, requirements, properties

P = f (F,G,M) or P = f1(F), f2(G), f3(M)

f1(F), f2(G) → Structural efficiency coefficient or

structural index
f3(M) → material index

Performance Function may also

be(Notcalled as Objective Function.
to be circulated without permission)
 How would you idealize?
Based on its Function and End conditions

Function: What does the chassis do?

Carry bending loads (Beam)
End Conditions: What are they?
Both ends supported on wheels (simply supported)

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 A light stiff beam
Function: Bending
Objective: Minimize mass
d Constraint: (i) fixed length
(ii) limited deflection
If all the parameters except d are fixed, d from constraint equation
1
F 48 EI 4 Ebd 3  Fl 3  3
= 3 = or d =  

  4Eb 
3
l l
the objective function
 
1
 Fl   F  3 2  
2

3 3
m = bdl = b  l =   b l   1 
 4Eb   4   E 3   13 
E 
M = 
To have minimum m, select a material with maximum   
 

HOW? (Not to be circulated without permission)

 A light stiff beam
Function: Bending (EI, bending rigidity)
Objective: Minimize mass (m)
d Constraints: (i) fixed length (l, span)
(ii) limited deflection ()

Moment of
Inertia (I)

All other parameters except d (depth) are fixed, get the free variable d from
constraint equation
1
3
F 48 EI 4 Ebd  Fl 3  3
= 3 = or
d =  
 l l 3
 4Eb 
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 A light stiff beam
Function: Bending (EI, bending rigidity)
Objective: Minimize mass (m)
d Constraints: (i) fixed length (l)
(ii) limited deflection ()

the objective function to minimize mass 1

 Fl 3  3
Mass (m) = Density () * Volume (b*d*l) d =  
 4Eb 

 
1
 Fl 3   
 F  3 2    
2 3
m = bdl = b  l =   b l
   1 
 4 Eb  4
  
 E 3 
f1(F), f2(G), f3(M)
 13 
E 
M = 
 
To have minimum m, select a material with maximum

Material Index M  
(Not to be circulated without permission)
  13 
E 

E- chart for stiff, light design

M = 
  
 

b free

C=M
bd free

d free Embodiment stage

(a single set of material)
Make use of log-log
plot to get equation
of a straight line
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More detailed E- chart

Detailed design
(only one or a few
materials)

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 More detailed E- chart
 13 
E 
M = 
  
 

Detailed design
(only one or a few
materials)

E 1/3 = C
log E = 3log  + 3logC

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 More detailed E- chart
 13 
E 
M = 
  
 

Detailed design
(only one or a few
materials)

E 1/3 = C
log E = 3log  + 3logC

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 Material substitution
On-going process
Affects the design and manufacturing
processes.
- Socioeconomic (lifestyle, human factor),
- New inventions,
- Deficiencies in current design,
- Limited quantity of the existing material.

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 Essentials in material substitution
• All characteristics of new material should be
well established (Long term heritage).
• The new material should be mechanically,
physically and chemically compatible with the
surrounding materials.
• Review and modify the existing design (one-to-
one simple substitution may NOT be safe and
optimum).
Steel → plastic Lowered stiffness, conductivity
Aluminum → steel High risk of galvanic corrosion
between Al and the rest of the steel

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Failure prevention at design stage
1. Environment profile - description of the
expected service conditions (operating
temperature, contaminants or corrosive media,
fatigue etc.)

2. Fabrication and process flow diagram -

effect of various stages of production on
the material properties and possibility
of quality control (internal defects)
3. Failure models - Description of possible
types of failures and failure mechanisms
(brittle/ductile, stress concentrations etc.)

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Fault tree analysis (FTA) model

OR gate

Useful for
Probabilistic
calculations

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Material failure logic (MFL) model

A welded low-alloy steel pressure vessel failed during

commissioning at less operating load. The failure event
can be described as:
F = A.B.(C1+C2).D.E.G.H
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 Post-failure analysis
Systematic approach

1. Collecting background information: function

of the failed component, fabrication, materials
used, service history etc.,
2. Visual examination: nature of fractured
surface, origin of failure, direction of loading
and defect propagation etc.,
3. Testing: If required, carry out NDT, chemical
analysis etc.,
4. Reporting: documentation, conclusions and
recommendations.

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 Practice MCQs
1. Seeking an incremental advancement in
performance of an existing design through a
refinement of the working principle is termed as –
(a) original design.
(b) adaptive design.
(c) variant design.
(d) economical design.
2. For an engineering product, which parameters are
not generally interdependent?
(a) Its shape, size and cost.
(b) Its function, material and shape.
(c) Its material, processing and shape.
(d) Its shape and reliability.
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 Continual Assessment 1
1 November 2022
• Closed book assessment.
• Will start class @ 7pm as usual (LT7).
• Will take a break at 745pm.
• Log in onto NTULearn.
• Go to ‘CA Quiz’ and wait.
• The CA1 will start at 8pm sharp.
• 20 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs).
• Questions will NOT change after 90 seconds.
• Once moved on, question cannot be revisited.
• The CA1 will be for 30 minutes maximum.
• The lecture will continue after the CA.
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 NTULearn

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Inputs taken from WWW resources for enriching this presentation are gratefully acknowledged