Materials selection

In this course, engineering students will have the opportunity to gain a panoramic view of the world of materials, while developing transferable skills such as the systematic and rational selection of materials, and the analysis and interpretation of complex data. Students will discover the design context in which materials are selected and used. A wide range of materials is introduced: aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, titanium alloys, Ni superalloys, steels, and hybrid materials.
This course is based on case studies where realistic scenarios and considerations are explored using Ashby's advanced material selection method. As part of the course, students will have the opportunity to use GRANTA EduPack. This software offers an interactive approach to exploring various aspects of materials science and engineering.
In addition to this, a component of this course will focus on the integration of data science and data mining applied to materials. Here, students will learn how to analyze large datasets enabling deeper understanding and better decision-making.
Students will learn to:

apply selection strategy to different situations in the transportation, aerospace and energy sectors using performance indices and materials databases,
manage the trade-off between mass, cost and carbon footprint reduction to balance conflicting objectives,
evaluate how environmental considerations affect materials selection,
design new composite materials to reduce an application's CO2 footprint,
solve real-life materials problems,
use data science tools to analyze and interpret large amounts of materials data.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

implement a materials selection process,
translate design requirements into constraints that the material must meet and objectives used as merit criteria,
establish appropriate performance indices taking into account mechanical performance, cost and environmental impact in order to classify materials using software and databases,
use data mining techniques to identify trends and patterns in materials data.


In short, this interactive course promises to be a captivating adventure into the fascinating world of materials, combining theory, practice, critical thinking and data analysis to prepare students for the materials engineering challenges of tomorrow.

Materials selection and material property diagrams (lecture).
Exploring structural lightweighting, how to reconcile mass reduction and cost increase (case study).
Eco-audit and eco-informed materials selection (case study).
Designing lightweight composite materials with a low CO2 footprint (case study).
Low-carbon energy and storage materials (case study).
Beyond materials selection: data science (case study).

Inorganic Chemistry and Materials