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      MSE 5090: Case Studies in Material Selection

      Week 3 - Material Selection Process

      Read this entire document before starting the assignments.
       
      1. Objectives
      2. Reading assignments
      3. Discussion questions
      4. Week 3 assignments:  Index Problems  Case Study Introduction
      5. Reference Materials


      Objectives:
      Depict the on-going refinement of the materials aspects of the design process.
      Explain two methods of materials selection.
      Describe an Ashby chart
      Define Complexity in Materials processing
      Define the relevance of codes and standards in the design process
      This week we will discuss the basics of materials selection and materials screening. The concepts of Ashby charts, screening tools, conformity to codes, complexity and the use of spreadsheet techniques in weighted property methods will be discussed. The homework includes spreadsheet selection techniques. These techniques are, in essence, decision support tools for selecting between materials that pass initial screening. 


      Reading Assignment:
      Ashby pages 1 - 20-   A summary of materials behavior formulas
      ASM pages 66 - 71-  Codes and Standards in design 
      ASM pages 243 - 254- Overview of materials selection- Ashby charts and weighted property method


      Discussion Questions:
      Why are systematic design procedures needed?
      How do costs enter into a material selection process?
      How do codes, standards, and ethics enter into a material selection process?
      What are the advantages and limitations of weighted properties and Ashby charts
      What is the difference between materials selection and materials screening


      Week 3 Assignments:

      Weighted Property Index Methods (Due 9/23//98)
      Subject: Week 3 - Index Methods
      Demo Problem   "Gear Case in a Military Helicopter"  - Example problem and solution
      Problem 1.   "Diaphragm for an Artificial Blood Pump"
      Problem 2.   "Halide Glasses"
      Problem 3.   "Precision Optics Components"
      Problem 4.   "Use of Polymers in Optical Applications"
      Problem 5.   "Connecting Rod in a Four stroke Spark Ignition Internal Combustion Engine"

      In the ASM  Handbook, page 254  there are examples of this technique. What you need to do for these problems is to normalize the data and weight the properties according to the priority you assign to that property (or parameter, which is a combination of properties). Justify your priorities briefly, i.e. in one or two paragraphs. At the end of this step you should sum the normalized and weighted property values to give a selection based on the highest ranking.

      Click week3index.zip to download  the Excel spreadsheets you need to complete this assignment. Left click on the link and save the file. Unzip the files. If you do not have WinZip you can download a shareware copy from www.winzip.com.  Open your saved files in Excel 97 and expand the tables. Normalize the data. Then attach a weight to each variable. Add these  normalized and weighted properties to arrive at a final selection.  The Excel File for the Demo Problem has the solution for your review. At the conclusion of your solution attach all five spread sheets to the email for this weeks assignment. Any written material such as the justification of your priorities can be written either on the spread sheet or on the email .

      Oral presentation of Case Study Introduction (Due 9/18/98)
      Tip: This is where you gain the audience interest - make it an good story!
      What is the setting? Who are the main characters? What are the issues?
      For presentation tips , refer to the notes from the lecture of Friday 9/11, the hints given on the week 2 page and the three hyperlinks given below.

      There is still some time to adjust your topic. Some of you plan to have a career in research. In that regard it could be useful to choose a problem concerning selecting between research alternatives. This is the environment into which you will be submitting your research proposals and it will do you a world of good to have sat on the other side of the table at least once. See me if you want to discuss this option. I will be discussing a Duval Plastics case in class either this week or next. That is a case regarding selecting a research portfolio from a range of attractive alternatives.



      Reference Material:

      Below are links to sites which have substantial tutorial resources on public speaking. Between them just about all of your questions about giving a presentation should be answered.
      http://www.sentex.net/~casaa/resources/sourcebook/acquiring-leadership-skills/public-speaking.html
      http://www.ukans.edu/cwis/units/coms2/vpa/vpa.htm
      http://www.la.psu.edu/speech/100a/workbook/wrkbk.htm

      The following link has a page devoted to computer aided materials selection which also contains links to other computer aided materials selection pages. This page is contained in Volume 1 #3 of the amptiac MaterialEASE journal. It should form a good reference for the rest of the term.
      http://amptiac.iitri.org/library.html

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      Last update 9-12-98