3.080 | Fall 2005 | Undergraduate

Economic & Environmental Issues in Materials Selection

Readings

Class readings will be assigned from the following books:

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

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

[LC] 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.

LEC # TOPICS READINGS
1 Introduction  
Engineering Economics
2 Introduction, Time Value of Money, Single Payment Discounting EE: Chapter 1, sections 2.1, 2.2, and 3.1-3.10.
3 Value, Multi-payment Discounting, Non-uniform Cash Flows EE: Sections 3.11-3.18.

Bloomberg News. “Toyota Says It Plans Eventually to Offer an All-Hybrid Fleet.” Published in New York Times online, September 14, 2005.

4 Effective Interest Rates

Evaluating Alternatives, MARR, PW, AW, IRR

EE: Chapter 4.
5 Uncertainty EE: Chapter 5.
6 Comparing Alternatives EE: Sections 8.1-8.5.
7 Dealing with Changing Prices EE: Chapter 10.
8 Combining Concepts Statistical Resources on the Web: Cost-of-Living. University of Michigan compilation of links on cost of living; many provide useful information on inflation.
9 Presentations and Review  
10 Exam 1  
Materials Selection
11 Concepts of Materials Indices, Software Introduction MS: Chapters 1 and 5, section 2.5.
12 Material and Shape Selection MS: Chapter 11.
13 Process Selection, In-class Examples MS: Chapter 8.
14 Presentations and Review  
Cost Modeling
15 Using Cost Models: Concepts and Principles Kirchain, R., and F. Field. “Process-Based Cost Modeling: Understanding the Economics of Technical Decisions.” In Encyclopedia of Materials Science and Engineering. Vol. 2. San Diego, CA: Elsevier, 2001, pp. 1718-27. ISBN: 9780080431529.
16 Tackling Variable Costs  
17 Modeling Fixed Costs  
18 Presentations and Review  
19 Exam 2  
LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)
20 Introduction: What is the Cost of Materials Usage?  
21 An Overview of Life Cycle Assessment LC: Chapter 1.
22 Analysis Goal and Scope; Inventory Methods LC: Chapters 3 and 4.
23 Impact Assessment LC: Chapters 5 and 6.
24 Presentations and Wrap-up  

Course Info

As Taught In
Fall 2005
Learning Resource Types
Problem Sets
Exams
Lecture Notes
Projects
Written Assignments with Examples