Challenges in materials and process selection

Recent developments are outlined of materials and process selection methods leading towards industrial applications. The systematic implementation of selection for multiple criteria and multiple design elements is presented a s a natural extension of Ashby's method. The importance of a "pre-defined q uestionnaire" approach in process selection is illustrated for casting, joi ning and surface treatments. The use of materials selection methods for mat erials and multi-materials development is described for the case of glass, composite materials and sandwich structures, and the application of various optimization techniques adapted to each problem is given. In conclusion, p ossible new developments toward a better integration of materials and proce ss selection in the whole design procedure are proposed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.