Chapter-6

Material selection

6.1 Material Selection

Material selection is one of the foremost functions of effective engineering design as it
determines the reliability of the design in terms of industrial and economical aspects. A great
design may fail to be a profitable product if unable to find the most appropriate material
combinations. So, it is vital to know what the best materials for a design are. The best material is
selected by analyzing the properties and its priorities.
In case of Solar window wiper, it is important for us to select the suitable materials to make it
better. However, selection of materials that are feasible for the modification of this product is a
difficult task. In an engineering design, it is a multiple attribute decision making problem. The
interrelations in between various engineering parameters with the selection provides complexity.
To ensure a simple, systematic and logical methods to make right decisions for material
selection, we use weighted average method. Which considers the objective weights of
importance of the attributes as well as the subjective preferences of the decisions maker to decide
the integrated weights of importance of the attributes.

6.2 Structural parts of Solar Window Wiper

1. Body frame
2. Suction cup
3. Wiper
4. Solar panel
5. Battery
6. 12V DC Motor

6.3 Materials Selection for different parts

Two types of methods are given below these were used for selecting materials for this product.
They are-
1. Qualitative method
2. Quantitative method

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6.4 Qualitative Method
Qualitative analysis deals with intangible, inexact concerns that considers social and experiential
factors rather than mathematical ones. This approach depends on factors that are arguably
impossible to capture in numerical inputs.

Table 6.1: Qualitative Analysis for Material Selection

Parts Selection Criteria Available Material Selected Material

 Strength  Al- 6063 Al-6063

 Corrosion  Al- 5052
Body frame resistance  Az-63(Mg
 Density alloy)
 Thermal  PVC
expansion  70 Cu-30
 Cost Zn
 Cleaning ability  Foam Foam
 Longevity  Pure cotton
Wiper  Cost  Brush

How we are going to get an idea about the best materials for a design? In this aspect
engineers use several facts of materials to come t

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6.5 Quantitative Analysis using Digital Logic Method

6.5.1 Material Selection: Body Frame

Table 6.2: Materials Selection for Body frame using Digital Logic Method

Selection Goals, N=5 Positive Relative

Criteria Number of positive decisions= N(N-1)/2 Decisions Emphasis
= 5(5-1)/2=10 Coefficient
(ɑ)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Strength 1 1 1 1 4 0.4

Corossion 0 0 1 1 2 0.2
resistance
Density 0 1 0 0 1 0.1

Thermal 0 0 1 1 2 0.2
expansion
Cost 0 0 1 1 0.1

Total Number of positive decisions = Ʃɑ=1

Table 6.3: Properties of candidate material for body frame

Material 1 2 3 4 5
Strength(MPa) Corrosion Thermal Density(g Cost
Resistance expansion cm-3)
(k-5)
Al-6063 200 5 2.34˰×10-5 2.69 5
Al-5052 190 4 2.38×10-5 2.63 4
AZ 63(Mg 136 3 2.38×10-5 1.8 3
Alloy)
PVC 52 5 20×10-5 1.38 5
70Cu-30Zn 180 4 2.49×10-5 3.3 2

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 Corrosion Resistance Cost
Very Good=5 Very Good=5
Good=4 Good=4
Medium=3 Medium=3
Bad=2 Bad=2

Table 6.4: Scaled Values of Properties and Performance Index

Material Scaled Properties Performance
Index(γ)
1 2 3 4 5
Al-6063 100 100 81 13 100 65.05
Al-5052 95 80 80 14 80 51.25
AZ 63(Mg 68 60 55 12 60 95.6
Alloy)
PVC 26 100 42 100 100 94.6
70Cu- 90 80 100 12 40 70.8
30Zn

Result: Material Performance Index is greatest for Al-6063. So, we should use Al-6063 for body
frame.

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6.5.2 Material Selection: Wiper

Table 6.5: Materials Selection for wiper using Digital Logic Method

Selection Goals, N= 3

Relative Emphasis
DecisionsPositive
Criteria

Coefficient(ɑ)
Number of positive decisions= N(N-1)/2= 3(3-
1)/2=3

1 2 3
Cleaning 1 0 1 0.33
ability
Longevity 0 1 1 0.33

Cost 0 1 1 0..34

Total Number of positive decisions = Ʃɑ=1

Table 6.6: Properties of candidate material for body frame

Selection Criteria Cleaning Longevity Cost

Foam 4 5 4
Pure cotton 4 3 3
Brush 3 2 4

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 Cleaning ability Longevity Cost
Very Good=5 Very Good=5 Very Good=5
Good=4 Good=4 Good=4
Medium=3 Medium=3 Medium=3
Bad=2 Bad=2 Bad=2

Table 6.7: Scaled Values of Properties and Performance Index

Materials Scaled Properties Performance
1 2 3 Index(γ)
Foam 80 100 80 86.66
Pure cotton 80 60 60 66.67
Brush 60 40 80 60

Result: Material Performance Index (86.66) is greatest for foam. So, we should use foam for wiper

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