Engineering Materials Selection

5 weeks · 0 milestones

Perform a structured materials selection exercise for a specific engineering application, documenting the full selection process from requirements to final recommendation. The exercise must include: translation of functional requirements into material property targets (at least 4 performance indices with calculated values), screening using an Ashby property chart or equivalent to eliminate unsuitable material classes, ranking of at least 5 candidate materials using a weighted decision matrix (criteria weights justified, not arbitrary), a documentation of supporting information searched for each shortlisted material (manufacturer datasheets, standards, published test data), and a final recommendation with an explicit cost-vs-performance trade-off discussion. The application must be real or physically grounded — not abstract. Accessible alternative: free Ashby chart resources from open mechanical engineering textbooks (Ashby's Materials Selection in Mechanical Design is in many university open-access repositories); CES EduPack student version is free. Proof artifacts: the decision matrix and screening analysis (analysis artifact) and the materials selection report with recommendation (documentation artifact). Verification: a mechanical engineer or materials specialist challenges the decision matrix weighting — 'if fatigue life was 3× more important than density, would your recommendation change?' — requiring you to defend your criteria priorities.

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