Economic & Environmental Issues in Materials Selection
Course facts
- Payment: Free, no certificate
- Credits: Non Credit
- Learning style: Self-paced, start anytime
- Resources: Exams; Lecture Notes; Problem Sets; Projects; Written Assignments with Examples
- Before you start: 3.012, 3.014, 3.022, 3.024, or permission of instructor.
MIT OpenCourseWare details
- As taught in: Fall 2005
- Department: Materials Science and Engineering
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Weigh material choices with engineering economics, materials indices, manufacturing cost models and life cycle assessment of environmental impact.
Choosing a material settles much of what a product will cost and what it will do to the environment over its whole life. Four analytical toolkits address that choice: discounting and cash flow analysis, materials indices, models of manufacturing cost, and life-cycle evaluation of environmental impact. Each one ends in a project that applies it.
What You Will Achieve
- Compare design alternatives using present worth, annual worth and internal rate of return
- Choose materials and shapes using materials indices
- Build a spreadsheet cost model that separates variable and fixed costs
- Set the goal and scope of a life cycle assessment and read its impact results
Program Overview
Engineering Economics
The time value of money and methods for choosing among alternatives under uncertainty.
- Single and multi-payment discounting
- Effective interest rates and MARR
- Uncertainty and changing prices
Materials Selection and Cost Modeling
Picking a material and process, then estimating what manufacturing will cost.
- Materials indices
- Material, shape and process selection
- Variable costs
- Fixed costs
Life Cycle Assessment
Environmental evaluation of materials use across a product’s life.
- Analysis goal and scope
- Inventory methods
- Impact assessment
Course Completion
Job Outlook
These methods apply in product development and manufacturing, where engineers weigh material choice against cost, process and environmental performance.
Good for: Engineers and product developers who need numbers, not intuition, when weighing a material’s cost against its environmental performance.
Keep in mind: Only some fall 2005 homework is published, the group presentations happened in class, and readings come from books you would need to find yourself; there are no videos.
Bottom line: Four compact toolkits, each with its own project brief, turn material choice into a calculation you can defend.
Frequently Asked Questions
What software do the assignments rely on?
The projects and many homework assignments rely on spreadsheet tools. The instructors supported Microsoft Excel and Lotus 123, though any package that can run the models will work.
Are the exams available?
Yes. Two exams are published, one on engineering economics and one on cost modeling and materials selection. The materials list exams, with no solutions named.
Which books does the class draw on?
Readings and homework come from Engineering Economy by Sullivan, Wicks and Luxhoj, Materials Selection in Mechanical Design by Ashby, and a guide to life cycle assessment by Bauman and Tillman.
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