Economic & environmental issues in materials selection

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

3.012, 3.014, 3.022, 3.024, or permission of instructor.

Because the course covers a broad range of topics, there is no single textbook. However, I would recommend that students purchase the following text. It provides some coverage of the engineering economics topic, provides useful information on the general issues covered in class, and is very affordable:

de Neufville, R. Applied Systems Analysis: Engineering Planning and Technology Management. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1989. ISBN: 9780070163737.

Class readings and homework problems will be assigned from the following books:

Sullivan, W., E. Wicks, and J. Luxhoj. Engineering Economy. 12th ed. East Rutherford, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2002. ISBN: 9780130673381.

Ashby, M. F. Materials Selection in Mechanical Design. 3rd ed. San Diego, CA: Elsevier, 2005. ISBN: 9780750661683.

Bauman, H., and A. Tillman. Hitch Hiker's Guide To LCA: An Orientation in Life Cycle Assessment Methodology and Application. Lund, Sweden: Studentlitteratur AB, 2004. ISBN: 9789144023649.

Students will also be expected to consult the course lecture slides and other readings assigned during the term.

The course projects and many of the homework assignments rely heavily on the use of spread-sheet tools.

The instructors are most familiar with Microsoft® Excel and Lotus® 123, and will provide support for running exercises with this software. However, students can use any package that can run the models, with the understanding that support will be limited if the product is unfamiliar to the instructors.

All software for the course will be provided in DOS/Wintel format, but students can process assignments on any computer system. Note that the Microsoft® Excel materials are readable across platforms.

Grades will be based on various assignments throughout the term. Their approximate weights are:

The final grade will be modulated by an appreciation of the participant's progress throughout the semester, giving extra weight to those that finish strongly and demonstrate that they have mastered the material, in the end.

Students are expected to complete all assignments on time. Unexcused late assignments will be marked down. Reasonable excuses (sickness, unavoidable professional absences, family emergencies, etc.) will of course be accepted when presented near the event.

Students will likely work in teams for the unit projects. Indeed, we encourage this collaboration because it can lead to more interesting results. We require each student to turn in individually written interpretations of the common analysis.

To avoid any potential confusion that might result from different expectations in other courses or establishments, please note the standards that apply in this subject:

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