Computer-aided Materials Selection Research Articles

Selecting composite materials considering cost and environmental impact in the early phases of aircraft structure design

Abstract The main aim of this study is to develop a computer-aided material selection tool that supports the designer in the selection of the most suitable carbon fiber-reinforced composite configuration (orientations, the number of plies, material type) for aircraft structures. The selection procedure is based on technical, economic and environmental performance objectives for a given design, in a multidisciplinary and multi-objective optimization scenario. Economic and environmental performance evaluation is based on an integrated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)/Life Cycle Costing (LCC) model. Technical performance evaluation is done using Hypermesh-Optistruct® solver. Direct multi-search (DMS) solver is used for the optimization framework. A cargo aircraft elevator design is optimized using the proposed material selection tool. Results show that the material selection tool is a suitable guide for reducing weight during the early phases of design and promoting sustainable development in the aircraft industry.

Multi Criteria Material Selection for Eco-design

ABSTRACTIn recent years, structural optimization has changed the way we think of product development. Optimizers allow to explore every possible product shape with the aim of maximizing performance, minimizing cost and accounting for environmental factors from the early phases of the design process. Material selection plays a big role, as one of the first and most binding choices of the product development. Current material selection schemes are too generic and bound to a less shape-driven design, which doesn't take full advantage of the optimization potential. They were developed for constant or self-similar shape products and allow for a substantial degree of subjectivity, when defining weight values for non-constant shape models. This paper proposes a computer-aided material selection scheme for structurally optimized products. It aims at integrating a multi-criteria decision making approach with the product awareness of a structural optimization, in order to systematically define the ranking weight va...

A target-based normalization technique for materials selection

Ranking and selection of the optimal material is an important stage in the engineering design process. However, most of the methods proposed for ranking in materials selection have tended to focus on cost and benefit criteria, with target values receiving much less attention in spite of their importance in many practical decision-making problems such as selecting materials to best match the properties of human tissue in biomedical engineering applications. In response to this perceived gap, the development of a new normalization technique is considered in this paper that provides an extension of the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method and objective weighting in materials selection. There are four example cases included to validate the accuracy of outcomes from the proposed model. It is believed that the proposed decision-making model is suitable for linking to material databases and has the potential to enhance the efficiency of computer-aided materials selection systems.

Computer aided material selection for additive manufacturing materials

The ease at which products can be manufactured directly from digital data in one step removing the need for tool design or manufacturing set up leads to a scenario where highly individualised and complex products can be created that avoid cost and time penalties enabling products that are competitive with mass produced equivalents. The reality of this scenario is that, although additive manufacturing (AM) offers a real solution to the problem of producing complex or customised products that are competitive with mass produced equivalents, information regarding available AM material and process capability is fragmented and difficult to generate. This stands as a suitable barrier to adopting AM strategies. This paper presents a knowledge system contained within an existing CAD environment, in this case SolidWorks CAD software, which can be accessed within the existing graphical user interface, enabling the selection of appropriate AM materials and process technology from user generated model data.

Computer aided material selection for circular tubes designed to resist axial crushing

We consider optimal design of cylindrical shells under axial compression. The main motivation is the comprehensive study of Weaver and Ashby [Material limits for shape efficiency. Progress in Materials Science 1997;41:61–128] concerning tubes designed to resist local buckling, global buckling and yield. In this paper we add another mode to this set of possible failure mechanisms, namely axial crushing. This failure-mode turns out to be dominate for many materials in several relevant load-cases. In many cases, taking this mode into account changes the optimal design substantially. By analyzing the formulae for the failure-modes we obtain piecewise defined functions describing the optimal cross-section and the minimum mass of the tube. Combined with advanced computer aided material selection tools like the Cambridge Engineering Selector (CES), these functions enable us to identify the best possible materials which give the lightest possible tubes.

State of the Art Review of Engineering Materials Selection Methods

In this paper, a review of materials selection methods is presented. It initially discusses the importance of materials selection in various fields of scientific study particularly in engineering design. Various tools and methods for the selection of materials are reviewed. These include materials handbook, materials data‐bases, materials selection charts, artificial intelligence systems, and other computeraided materials selection systems.

Computer aided materials selection for mechanical design : D. Cebon, M.F. Ashby. (University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England.) Metals and Materials, Vol 8, No 1, 1992, 25–30

Computer aided materials selection for mechanical design : D. Cebon, M.F. Ashby. (University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England.) Metals and Materials, Vol 8, No 1, 1992, 25–30

Computerized comprehensive numerical data system on the thermophysical and other properties of materials established at CINDAS/Purdue University

A computerized materials properties numerical data system has been developed and established at the Center for Information and Numerical Data Analysis and Synthesis (CINDAS) of Purdue University, which is a comprehensive, one-line, interactive, menu-driven, user-friendly, expert data system. This data system contains both critically evaluated reliable reference data and experimental data on the thermophysical, mechanical, electrical, optical, and other properties of various types of materials. It permits both the search of data and information for specified materials and properties and the search for materials that meet a set of requirements specified by the user (i.e., computer-aided materials selection). It permits also the on-line functional manipulation, statistical analysis, and mthemtical study of the retrieved data. The development, operation, functions, scope, contents, and other features of the data system are presented and discussed.

An approach to systematic materials selection

An approach to systematic materials selection is believed to be suitable for both manual and computer aided materials selection. The procedure is divided into two stages; the discriminating and the optimising parts. In the former, all requirements on properties which do not influence the final sizing of the component in question are considered. From this stage a number of materials survives which are used in the optimisation stage. To rank the materials, merit parameters are introduced. This is exemplified for pressurized containers. With the help of the merit parameters it is possible to decide which material is the most suitable in a given situation. A procedure is also proposed from which the influence of the design parameters on the selection can be evaluated. This is exemplified by analysing how the pressure in the containers affects the choice of optimum material.

Computer aided materials selection

Computer aided materials selection

Computer aided materials selection and design

The design of an end-product and the choice of the material from which it should be made are interdependent activities which nevertheless have separate and different requirements for supporting data. The provision of such data is not quite as straightforward as it might seem at first sight, mainly because the properties of a moulded item vary from point to point and differ from the properties exhibited by idealized specimens. At the very least this complicates the task of evaluation and on occasions it leads to the charge that the data provided bear little relation to service performance, but such situations are common whenever complex materials are used in exacting applications and are in no sense peculiar to plastics and the automotive industry which are the focus of this paper. Our comprehension of the materials is continually enhanced by new research results and the means by which that comprehension can be translated into data of value to the end-user industries improve in step with the advances in computer technology. One can now envisage an efficient flow of pertinent data across the interface between the end-user industries and the plastics industry. The first steps towards that ideal were discussed in two papers presented at SITEV 79 1,2; they described new results emerging from work in the research laboratories of thee Plastics Division ∗ ∗ Now the Petrochemicals and Plastics Division of ICY that offered a possible route to data that are both more concise and more relevant to downstream applications than earlier data described ways in which such data and more iraditional information can be manipulated by computer and “tailored” to the specific needs of particular users. This new paper develops that theme further and possibly marks the point at which responsibility for later developments should pass from research workers to those professionally concerned with the transfer of information from one group to another, for there now exists a prototype data system. The only issues to be resolved now are what information should be incorporated rather than how should the task be done. The paper is concerned primarily with the data and the underlying rationale rather than with the software that controls the various operations.