Seleccion de Materiales

Materials Selection
Function
High Performance Materials
Fábio Simões
Master in Product Design Engineering
1) Review of Materials in Product Design
2) Material Selection Basics
Summary a) Function, Objectives and

restrictions
b) Performance Index
c) The material charts
3) Case studies
2
Review of Materials in
Product Design
3
Design
● Design may have several meanings, according to who pronounces it;
● In an engineering context, design means mechanical driven design, as
opposed to industrial design
● “Design is the process of translating a new idea or a market need into the
detailed information from which a product can be manufactured.” Ashby, Materials
Selection in Mechanical Design, 2005
● In this scope, the process of materials selection for fulfilling the

application requirements has been the main influencing factor
MPDE - High Performance Materials | MEFDD - Materias de Elevado Desempenho| Fábio Simões 4
Factors influencing design and their relationships
Example functions: By accomplishing:
To bear a load, or Minimum mass
pressure; Minimum cost
To insulate or Minimum
conduct heat; environmental
Energy storage; impact, etc...
function
material shape
Material attributes :
manufacturing Shape factors
Physical, mechanical, Typical values for
electrical, thermal, Manufacturing process attributes: bending, torsion and
environmental Material; elastic instability
properties, cost Size, shape, mass;
Tolerance and surface roughness;
Batch size Cost;
Materials Selection Basics
6
Materials selection
● The number of materials available is huge, and always

growing
● It then becomes necessary to adopt systematic
procedures to select a material for a given application
Materials selection- Systematic procedure
1. Consider all materials available

2. Eliminate those who do not satisfy basic requirements
3. From the remaining, evaluate their properties as a
function of the requirements, until a solution is achieved
4. Acknowledge the solution may not be unique, and
optimize, if possible
Functions, objectives and restrictions
9
The selection problem
Materials have attributes
● Strength;
● Density;
● Corrosion resistance;
● Toughness;
● Hardness;
● Cost
● …
During the design stage of a component, one defines certain functions,
objectives and restrictions that it must accomplish:
● the function: what the component must do: support a load, insulate heat,
conduct electricity, contain pressure…
● the objective: the thing that should be maximized, or minimized:
minimizing cost, minimizing mass, maximizing stored energy (springs)
● the restriction(s): limits that must be met: the component must not yield,
the component has maximum dimensions...
Examples:
● the part needs to be cheap, while also being strong

● the part needs to be light, while also being able to insulate heat efficiently
The function, objective and the restrictions will correspond, lead

to, a material profile.
● combination of attributes (Elastic modulus, Hardness, Electrical
Conductivity…)
Determining this combination will enable Material Selection

The performance index
13
The performance index
This combination of attributes, aiming to define the

performance of a given material when applied to a function,
with an objective and restriction(s), will yield one or more
material indexes:
combinations of material attributes that translate its

performance on a function (within an objective and with
restriction(s))
The performance index - Example
Example: Material index -“Delta” 3D Printer Arm
This component will be subjected to

tension/compression during its service. The
manufacturer wants the lowest possible mass, to
optimize the machine speed.
Function: to support tension / compression loads
Objective: minimize mass
Restrictions: Length predefined; maximum diameter

predefined; must not yield under the expected loads
F
Material index for a cylindrical rod subjected to tension /
compression, having minimum mass:
A
The objective-function (mass) is:
L
Where m is the mass of the rod, L its length, ρ the material
density and A the cross section area
The only free variable is A (besides ρ, the variable related to

the material ), since L is specified (fixed)
F
The other restriction is the ability to support the load F without failure. That
condition is translated by:
Where σyield is the yield stress of the material. From this equation, we express me
minimum value of A:
Replacing A, derived from the restriction expression, on the objective function:
The only variables related to the material are ρ and σyield. Hence, we find, for this
case,
Following a convention, we define the Performance Index as the factor that,
when maximized, will minimize the objective function. In this case:
(inverse of the Material Index)
Other indexes identifiable within the objective function:
● Functional Index - in the case, F - comes from the functional requirements

● Geometric Index - in the case, L - comes from the geometric constraints
The performance index - summary of procedure
1. Define the design requirements:
a. Function: what does the component do?
b. Constraints: essential requirements that must be met: stiffness, strength, corrosion
resistance, forming characteristics, . . .
c. Objective: what is to be maximized or minimized?
d. Free variables: what are the unconstrained variables of the problem?
2. List the constraints (no yield; no fracture; no buckling, etc.) and develop an
equation for them if necessary
3. Develop an equation for the objective in terms of the functional
requirements, the geometry and the material properties (the objective
function)
4. Identify the free (unspecified) variables
The performance index - summary of procedure
5. Substitute for the free variables from the constraint equations into the
objective function (P)
6. Group the variables into three groups: functional requirements, F, geometry,
G, and material properties, M, thus
a. Performance metric P ≤ f1(F) . f2(G) . f3(M) or
b. Performance metric P ≥ f1(F) . f2(G) . f3(M)
7. Read off the material index, expressed as a quantity M, that optimizes the
performance metric P. M is the criterion of excellence.
The material charts
22
Maximization of performance – to select a material
● Performance indexes can be
calculated for all materials.
● But there are already charts
available that aggregate the most
common indexes. These are
called Material Property Charts
○ relate two or more material properties
into one chart
○ allow to make a guided choice and
produce a short list of candidates for
a given index
Maximization of performance – to select a material
Chart features:
● logarithmic scale
● M values correspond to
parallel lines on the chart
● Materials crossed by the
same line have the same M
value - and hence, the same
performance!
Case studies
25
Case studies - Materials for oars
● Oars are designed on stiffness,
measured in the way shown in
the lower figure, and they must
be light.
● Function: Oar — meaning light,
stiff beam
● Constraints:
○ Length L specified
○ Bending stiffness S specified
○ Toughness K1C > 1 kJ/m2
● Objective: Minimize the mass
● Free variables
○ Shaft diameter
○ Choice of material
● the performance index
for a light, stiff beam can
be found to be
where E is Young’s modulus

and ρ is the density.
Summary table
Material Index M (GPa) 1/2/(Mg/ Comment

m3)
Woods 3.4 –6.3 Cheap, traditional, but with natural

variability
CFRP 5.3 –7.9 As good as wood, more control of

properties
Ceramics 4 –8.9 Good M but toughness low and cost

high
Case studies - Materials for table legs
Luigi Tavolino, furniture designer,
conceives of a light-weight table of
daring simplicity: a flat sheet of
toughened glass supported on
slender, un-braced, cylindrical legs
● The legs must be solid (to make

them thin) and as light as
possible (to make the table
easier to move).
● They must support the table top
and whatever is placed upon it
without buckling. MPDE - High Performance Materials | MEFDD - Materias de Elevado Desempenho| Fábio Simões 30
● Function: Column (supporting
compressive loads)
● Constraints:
○ Length L specified
○ Must not buckle under design loads
○ Must not fracture if accidentally
struck
● Objectives:
○ Minimize the mass, m
○ Maximize slenderness, i.e. the
diameter of the legs
● Free variables
○ Diameter of legs
the performance index for a
light, stiff beam can be found
to be
where E is Young’s modulus

and ρ is the density.
Additionally, for slenderness, a

2nd index is
Summary table
Material Index M1 (GPa) Index M2 (GPa) Comment
1/2
/(Mg/m3)
Woods 4.5 10 Outstanding M1; poor M2
GFRP 2.5 20 Cheaper than CFRP, but lower M1 and

M2
CFRP 6.6 100 Outstanding M1 and M2, but expensive
Ceramics 6.3 300 Outstanding M1 and M2. Eliminated by

brittleness
Case studies - Materials for springs
The primary function of a spring is to store
elastic energy and - when required - release
it again. The elastic energy stored per unit
volume in a block of material stressed
uniformly to a stress σ is:
● Function: Elastic spring
● Constraints:
○ No failure, meaning σ < σf throughout the
spring
● Objectives:
○ Maximum stored elastic energy per unit
volume, or
○ Maximum stored elastic energy per unit weight
● Free variables
The performance index for a
spring is:
where E is Young’s modulus and

σf is the failure (yield) stress.
If weight is the main objective,
dividing this by the material
density, ρ, gives a new index:
Summary table - index M1
Material Index M1= σf2/E Comment
(MJ/m3)
Ti alloys 4 –12 Expensive, corrosion-resistant
CFRP 6–10 Comparable in performance with steel; expensive
Spring steel 3–7 The traditional choice: easily formed and heat treated
Nylon 1.5–2.5 Cheap and easily shaped, but high loss factor
Rubber 20–50 Better than spring steel; but high loss factor
Summary table - index M2
Material Index M1= σf2/ρE Comment
(kJ/kg)
Ti alloys 0.9 - 2.6 Better than steel; corrosion-resistant; expensive
CFRP 3.9–6.5 Better than steel; expensive
GFRP 1.0–1.8 Better than spring steel; less expensive than CFRP
Spring steel 0.4 –0.9 Poor, because of high density
Wood 0.3–0.7 On a weight basis, wood makes good springs
Nylon 1.3–2.1 As good as steel, but with a high loss factor
Rubber 18–45 As good as steel, but with a high loss factor

Outstanding; 20 times better than spring steel; but with high loss factor
Bibliography
D. Jones and M. Ashby, Engineering materials 1: an introduction to properties,
applications and design. Butterworth-Heinemann, 2011.
Ashby, Michael F. , Materials selection in mechanical design, Butterworth

Heinemann, Oxford, 2005.

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Materials Selection

Summary a) Function, Objectives and

● In this scope, the process of materials selection for fulfilling the

● The number of materials available is huge, and always

1. Consider all materials available

Materials have attributes

● the part needs to be cheap, while also being strong

The function, objective and the restrictions will correspond, lead

Determining this combination will enable Material Selection

This combination of attributes, aiming to define the

combinations of material attributes that translate its

This component will be subjected to

Function: to support tension / compression loads

Objective: minimize mass

Restrictions: Length predefined; maximum diameter

The only free variable is A (besides ρ, the variable related to

(inverse of the Material Index)

Other indexes identifiable within the objective function:

● Functional Index - in the case, F - comes from the functional requirements

where E is Young’s modulus

Material Index M (GPa) 1/2/(Mg/ Comment

Woods 3.4 –6.3 Cheap, traditional, but with natural

CFRP 5.3 –7.9 As good as wood, more control of

Ceramics 4 –8.9 Good M but toughness low and cost

● The legs must be solid (to make

where E is Young’s modulus

Additionally, for slenderness, a

Woods 4.5 10 Outstanding M1; poor M2

GFRP 2.5 20 Cheaper than CFRP, but lower M1 and

CFRP 6.6 100 Outstanding M1 and M2, but expensive

Ceramics 6.3 300 Outstanding M1 and M2. Eliminated by

where E is Young’s modulus and

Ti alloys 4 –12 Expensive, corrosion-resistant

CFRP 6–10 Comparable in performance with steel; expensive

Ti alloys 0.9 - 2.6 Better than steel; corrosion-resistant; expensive

CFRP 3.9–6.5 Better than steel; expensive

Spring steel 0.4 –0.9 Poor, because of high density

Wood 0.3–0.7 On a weight basis, wood makes good springs

Nylon 1.3–2.1 As good as steel, but with a high loss factor

Rubber 18–45 As good as steel, but with a high loss factor

Ashby, Michael F. , Materials selection in mechanical design, Butterworth

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