A method and case study of integrating engineering analysis with LCA for material selection and its uncertainty

Abstract

The environmental burdens and impacts of a product are determined at the design stage; thus design becomes the fundamental component for determining a product's environmental competitiveness. The key for environmentally conscious design is to integrate environmental considerations into the traditional design process and making environmentally oriented decisions in product design. This paper presents a method and an application that incorporates the environmental life cycle burdens into current material selection process. This methodology provides a systematic approach that links environmental considerations with engineering analysis at the stage of material selection. A case study of material selection for a midsize PC housing is presented to illustrate the method. Environmental impact is presented in terms of environmental costs to manufacturer and society caused by environmental burdens. A sensitivity analysis is carried out to see how the current data of environmental burdens and environmental cost affect material selection.