Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Projects
Using CES EduPack
Cambridge
University
Version MFA 10
CES EduPack Resource Book 5 Projects using CES Edupack
1.2 Find the record for the ferrous metal Stainless steel. What is the value of
its thermal conductivity? Is it a better or worse conductor than Aluminum
or Copper? (All three are used to make cooking pans.)
Stainless steel has a much lower thermal conductivity than the other two, so it
doesnt spread the heat as well. You are most likely to burn your cooking in a
stainless steel pan. To overcome this, the best stainless steel pans have a
copper layer attached to the bottom to spread the heat.
1.5 Find the records, first for the composite CFRP (Carbon-fiber reinforced
1.3 Find the record for Borosilicate Glass, commonly known as Pyrex. What
polymer). It is in the family HYBRIDS, under Composites. What is CFRP
is the value of its maximum service temperature (the highest temperature
used for? Is it denser or less dense than Magnesium? Click on the
at which it can be used in a product)? What is Pyrex used for?
ProcessUniverse link at the bottom of the CFRP record to find processes that
can shape, join, or finish CFRP. Can CFRP be shaped by Water-jet cutting?
(Double click on any name in the list to expand the list and see the records.)
Answer, taken from the record:
Pyrex can be used at temperatures between 230 and 460C. This makes it
Answer, taken from the record:
suitable for ovenware and cookware.
(The strength depends on how much it is alloyed and whether it has been
worked rolled or forged.)
(Titanium is also much more expensive, so it is only used when its enormous
tensile strength is really needed.)
1.6 Find the Composite shaping record for Filament winding, a way of making
high quality composite structures. What are its typical uses?
1.7 Find the shaping record for Injection molding, one of the most commonly
used of all polymer shaping processes. Find materials that can be injection
molded by clicking on the LINK button, labelled MaterialUniverse, at the
bottom of the record. Can Polyethylene be injection molded? (Double
click on any name in the list to see the record.)
Answer:
1.8 Find the shaping record for Die casting, one of the most-used ways of
shaping metals. What sort of products are made by die casting?
2. SEARCHING
Searching lets you pull up any record that contains the word or word-
string you enter in the search box. It is really useful when you only
know the trade name of a material or process, or when you want to
search for materials that are used to make a particular product.
2.1 Find the record for Plexiglas by searching. What is its proper
name? Can it be injection molded? (Click on the ProcessUniverse
link at the bottom of the record to find out.)
Answer:
Answer:
2.3 What are spark plugs made of? Search on the name and find out.
Answer:
2.4 Search on cutting tool to find materials that are used to make industrial 2.6 Find what the process SLS is all about by searching on SLS. Since it is a
cutting tools. You will find that some are metals, but others are ceramics process, not a material, you will have to change the table in which you
hard ceramics are good because they dont wear, but they are expensive search from MaterialUniverse to ProcessUniverse, in the box immediately
and hard to make. below the search box.
Answer:
Answer:
Cutting tools are made from
high carbon steel or stainless steel (the usual choice for knives and scissors). Four records appear. All are for rapid prototyping processes in which a
the ceramics: alumina, silicon nitride, zirconia, or tungsten carbide (circular computer-controlled laser beam is used to sinter (fuse together) a powdered
saws often have tungsten carbide cutting teeth, and drills for drilling stone, metal, polymer, or ceramic to make a prototype of an object. The letters SLS
glass, and masonry have tungsten carbide tips). stand for Selective laser sintering.
2.5 Find what the process RTM is all about by searching on RTM. Since it is a
process, not a material, you will have to change the table in which you
search from MaterialUniverse to ProcessUniverse, in the box immediately
below the search box.
Answer:
Three records appear, two of which are for Resin transfer molding, RTM for
short. It is a way of making composites by laying glass or carbon fiber in a mold
and then squirting in liquid resin and hardener. The third is for Vacuum-
assisted resin transfer molding, a variant of RTM in which the mold is
evacuated before the resin is let in to stop bubbles of air getting trapped.
3.1 Find materials that cost less that $1/kg and are good electrical
conductors. Enter the upper limit on Price and the constraint that the
material must be a good conductor, as shown in the figure. Then click
APPLY at the top of the Limit window. The materials that do not meet the
constraints are removed from the RESULTS window on the lower left,
leaving those that do.
Answer:
The figure shows how the limits are applied. Only ferrous metals survive. The
Results window looks like this:
Results: 6 of 67 pass
Cast iron, ductile (nodular)
Cast iron, gray
High carbon steel
Low alloy steel
Low carbon steel
Medium carbon steel
Now well do a GRAPH STAGE. It lets you plot properties and select those
materials that lie in a chosen part of the plot.
Delete the Limit stage (right-click on the stage name and select Delete).
3.3 If you want to make a high-quality cooking pan to go on the top of a gas
stove, you need a material with a high thermal conductivity. The high
conductivity is to spread the heat, preventing hot-spots where the flame hits
the pan. The material must have enough Elongation to be shaped to a
pan (requiring elongation > 15%), and a Maximum service temperature of
at least 150C. First make a Limit stage and put these (lower) limits on
elongation and maximum service temperature. Then make a graph with
thermal conductivity on the Y-axis. To do this, click on the Graph button, as
in the figure. On the Y-axis tab, find Thermal conductivity in the Attribute
list and click to select it. When you click OK you get the graph shown. Use
a Box selection (the little box icon in the toolbar just above the graph) to
select the materials with the highest thermal conductivities.
Answer:
The limits on elongation and maximum service temperature reduce the number
of materials in the Results window from 67 to 15 they are the ones that are still
colored in the graph. The ones with the highest thermal conductivity are the
ones at the top of the graph copper and aluminum. They are the best choice.
Note that cast iron and stainless steel have conductivities almost a factor 10
lower than copper they do not spread the heat nearly so well.
Now well do a TREE STAGE. A Tree stage is essential if you want to find
materials that can be processed in a particular way, or you want to limit the
selection to just one class of material just metals, for instance. To make a
Tree stage, click on the Tree button. This gives a window in which you can
select the part of the MaterialUniverse or of the ProcessUniverse that you
want to explore.
3.4 You want to make a casing for a mobile phone, exotic in color and design.
It snaps onto the front of the phone, transforming it from a drab object to
one of splendor. Research reveals that the shape is best made by
Thermoforming (a very cheap process for shaping polymer sheet into
dished and curved shapes) and that the decoration is best applied by In-
mold decoration that can be done at the same time as the thermoforming.
Find materials that can be processed in this way.
To do this, make two Tree-selection stages. Start in the way shown in the figure.
That brings up the Tree Stage wizard. Under the word Trees, half-way down the
box, it says MaterialUniverse. We want to impose constraints on processes, so
first click on the down-arrow and change the Tree to ProcessUniverse. Open
Shaping and find Molding Thermoforming and click Insert or double click to
make it appear in the box below. The wizard window now looks like the one to the
right (we have closed Shaping again for clarity). Click OK and the number of
materials in the Results window drops to 17 these are materials that can be
thermoformed. Repeat the job with a second, new, Tree stage, this time opening
Surface treatment and choosing Painting and Printing In mold decorating.
The Results window now lists materials that can both be thermoformed and in-
mold decorated.
Answer:
The final Results window looks like this. At this stage it would make sense to
add another stage to find the cheapest one (a graph of Price would do it).
Results: 9 of 67 pass
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) Polyoxymethylene (Acetal, POM)
Cellulose polymers (CA) Polystyrene (PS)
Polycarbonate (PC) Polyvinylchloride (tpPVC)
Polyetheretherketone (PEEK)
Polyethylene terephalate (PET)
Polymethyl methacrylate (Acrylic, PMMA)
Objective
To select a material that meets the requirements for the filament.
Selection box
Requirements
Must be a good electrical conductor
Must tolerate temperatures up to 850C
Must have the highest possible melting point
Set CES EduPack to select Edu Level 2: Materials with durability
properties. Use a Limit stage to apply the first two requirements, then a
Graph stage of melting point to find the material with the highest value that
also meets the first two requirements.
Remember materials on the graph that do not meet the Limit stage criteria
are grayed-out by default. You can switch this on and off by clicking the
little icon like two intersecting circles in the row of icons along the top
of the graph.
Now make a Graph stage to plot melting point (Under the Selection Stages
heading, click on the Graph button). In the Graph Stage Wizard on the Y-
axis tab, select Thermal properties / Melting point. A graph with all the
materials in the database is displayed, ranking materials by their melting
point with the highest at the top left, as in the second figure. Use the Box
selection tool (a square box, in the row of icons just above the graph) to
select materials near the top of the graph, and drag the box up until only
one material is left in the Results window. It is the one that satisfies the
first two requirements and has the highest melting point. The result is
Tungsten alloys.
Objective
To select materials that meet the
requirements for the lens.
Requirements
Must be transparent with optical quality
Must be able to be molded easily (4 to 5)
Must have good durability in fresh and salt water
Must have good durability to UV radiation
Selection box
Good abrasion resistance, meaning a high hardness
Low cost
Set CES EduPack to select Edu Level 2: Materials with durability
properties. Use a Limit stage to apply the first four requirements,
selecting Optical properties to apply the first, Processability to apply the
second, Durability: water and aqueous solutions to apply the third
(select both Acceptable and Excellent to avoid eliminating too many
materials), and Durability: Built environments the fourth (select both
Good and Excellent to avoid eliminating too many materials). Then
make a Graph stage with Price on the X-axis and Hardness on the Y-axis
to find the ones that are cheap and have high hardness.
(Remember that you can hide materials on a Graph stage that have failed
previous limits by clicking on the two icons that look like this at
the top of the graph.)
polymer is wanted, the cheapest one is PMMA, acrylic it is used for car
Notes for instructors
tail lights.
The procedure is the same as that for Project 1. Open CES EduPack at
Level 2. Click on Select. Select from Edu Level 2: Materials with
durability properties. The Results window in the lower left of the screen
displays all 98 materials since none have yet been eliminated. Under the
Selection Stages heading, click on the Limit button. The upper figure
shows the first two requirements that for optical quality transparency and
for good moldability entered in the Limit stage. The next two are
Durability properties. They are entered in the same way, checking
Excellent, and Good or Acceptable. When these limits have been
entered, click Apply. Only three materials survive. The Results window
now looks like this:
Requirements
Must be tough the rule of thumb here is that the fracture toughness
should be greater than 15 in the usual units (MPa.m1/2)
Must be moldable
Good durability in fresh and salt water
Must be light
Should not cost too much
The procedure is the same as that for Project 1. Open CES EduPack at that carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) are a little less dense, and
Level 2. Click on Select. Select from Edu Level 2: Materials with thus lighter, than glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRPs), but considerably
more expensive. The final decision depends on whether this is to be a
durability properties. Use a Limit stage to apply the first three
requirements, selecting Mechanical properties to apply the first, cheap case or an up-market, high quality, minimum weight case.
Processability to apply the second, and Durability: water and aqueous
solutions to apply the third. Then make a Graph stage with Price on the
Y-axis and Density on the X-axis to find out which of the survivors is the
cheapest, and which the lightest.
Remember that you can hide materials on a Graph stage that have failed
previous limits by clicking on the two icons that look like this at
the top of the graph.)
Lightness and cost can be examined simply by opening the record and
looking up the density and price (both are under General Properties), or by
making a Graph Stage of these two properties, like that shown. It shows
The casing carries compressive loads of 500 N but because of its Reading
larger section (50 mm2 or more giving stresses of order 10 MPa), McKearin, H. (1973) On Stopping, Bottling and Binning, International
strength is not the main problem. The challenge is to find a material Bottler and Packer, April issue, pp. 47-54.
compatible with a process that can make the shape.
Perry, E. (1980) Corkscrews and Bottle Openers, Shire Publications Ltd,
Aylesbury, UK.
Function Casing a hollow tube loaded in compression
Watney, B.M. and Babbige, H.D. (1981) Corkscrews for Collectors,
Constraints Must carry tensile strength ts > 10 MPa Sothebys Publications, London, UK (ISBN 0 85667 1134).
Be compatible with a process that can make
3-D hollow shapes economically at a batch
size of 100,000 The Web
Objective Minimize cost A search on CORKSCREW HISTORY using Google gives interesting
Free Choice of material and process returns.
variables
The selection is made by using the appropriate Material Index. That for a
Notes for instructors: Project 9, Bicycle frames
tube of specified bending strength and minimum cost is
This is a project that can be run at many different levels. The simplest is Cm
outlined on the accompanying project sheet. It can be extended to include M1 =
aspects of shape and of trade-off between mass and cost. y
Some points to bear in mind: if the outer diameter of the tube is fixed and the wall thickness is the free
The forks and cranks of a bike carry bending moments. The spokes variable. A Graph stage of elastic limit y against material cost per unit
and brake cables carry tension. The tubular frame of a bike carries volume C m (where is the density), with a K1c > 15 MPa.m1/2 imposed
bending, torsion, and axial loads the bending moments are usually using a Limit stage allows materials with low values of M1 to be found.
the most severe. The selection using the Level 1 database gives steels and cast iron. Cast
The design-load must take account of impact riding the bike off a iron cannot be drawn to thin-walled tube. It is eliminated if a further
curb, for instance when decelerations of 10G are possible. A lower constraint on elongation > 40% is added, but common sense is probably
limit of 15 MPa.m1/2 on fracture toughness is essential. enough to suggest that steel is the best choice.
A mountain bike is strength-limited, but stiffness is important too a
bike that is too stiff gives a harsh ride. In bikes for sprint events,
stiffness can be the most important consideration excessive flexing
of the frame dissipates energy. Stiffness and strength are constraints, The selection is made by using the appropriate Material Index. That for a
not objectives (they must meet specified values). Objectives, usually, tube of specified bending strength and minimum mass is
are mass and cost (for these a minimum is sought).
M2 =
The books by Sharp and by Witt and Wilson are good on bike y
mechanics. Oliver is good on materials.
if the tube diameter of the tube is fixed and the wall thickness is free. A
Typical specification for the forks of a cheap street bike. The fork is Graph stage of elastic limit y against material density , with a K1c > 15
modeled as a tube loaded in bending.
MPa.m1/2 imposed allows materials with low values of M2 to be found.
The selection using the Level 1 database gives CFRP, Magnesium alloys,
Function Forks a hollow tube loaded in compression and Titanium alloys.
Constraints Strength specified The dominant constraint for a sprint bike is probably that of stiffness
Fracture toughness > 15 MPa.m1/2 (at minimum mass), found using the indices
Objective Minimize cost
Free Tube wall thickness M3 = or M4 =
variables
E E1/ 2
Choice of material
depending on whether the tube diameter is fixed and the wall
thickness is free, or the other way round.
That for a toddlers tricycle might be that of ease of manufacture at Current magazines detailing bicycles.
minimum cost, favoring a polymer molding method, and requiring a
material that can be rotation or compression molded, found using a
Tree selection stage. The Web
A search on BIKE DESIGN using Google gives interesting returns. Try
http://materials.npl.co.uk/IOP/TheBike.html
Resources for the student
Access to bicycles and bicycles shops
One or more of the documents listed under Reading
The booklet Useful Approximate Solutions for Standard Problems
that appears as Appendix A of the text Materials Selection in
Mechanical Design or can be downloaded from the Granta website
Access to CES EduPack software, set to Level 1, 2, or 3, depending
on the ambitions of the project
Reading
Fisk, F.C. and Todd, M.W. (1993) The Wright brothers, from bicycle to
biplane, Toddfisk, 2815 Moraine Avenue, Dayton, Ohio, 45406. No ISB
number. A fascinating study of the way in which bicycle design
contributed to the design of early aircraft.
Oliver, Tony (1992) Touring bikes The Crowood Press Ltd, Ramsbury,
Marlborough, Wiltshire SM8 2HR. ISBN 1-85223-339-7. Analysis of
bicycle design and of materials and tube-shapes used to make them, with
useful tables of strengths of bike materials.
Sharp, A. (1993) Bicycles and tricycles, the MIT Press, Cambridge,
Mass. ISBN 0-262-69066-7. A classical analysis of the mechanics of
bikes.
Watson, R. and Grey, M. (1978) The Penguin book of the bicycle,
Penguin Books Ltd, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England. ISBN 0-1400-
4297-0. A history of bicycles, cyclists, and events.
Witt, F.R. and Wilson, D.G. (1995) Bicycling science, the MIT Press,
Cambridge, Mass, USA. ISBN 0-262-73060-X. Bicycle mechanics,
analyzed.
Notes for instructors: Project 10, Disposable cutlery Material choice must be compatible with process
that is economic at a batch size of 100,000
Here are some broad indicators and suggestions Objective Minimize process cost
In use the fork is loaded as a cantilever in bending. The use-load is of Free variables Choice of section area and shape
order 2 N. If an end deflection of 10 mm (!) is acceptable, the required Choice of material and process
bending stiffness, S, is 200 N/m. The deflection of a cantilever of length L
(from Ref 1, Appendix A.3 p. 479) is Choosing thermoplastic injection molding as the process gives material
selection of Polystyrene (PS), Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or
3E I Polyvinylchloride (tpPVC), all of which are recyclable.
S=
L3 Students should be encouraged to explore how shape can be used to
3
where E is the modulus and I = bt /12 the second moment of area. Taking increase stiffness and strength without increasing the amount of material
length L = 80 mm, thickness t = 3 mm and width b = 10 mm gives that is used (Lectures, UNIT 6).
I = 20 x 10-12 m4 (using data for prong thickness and width from a typical Students should be encouraged to explore recyclability issues. (see
fork) puts a limit on E of 1.7 GPa. A similar calculation for failure strength below).
uses the expression (from Ref. 1, Appendix A.4, p. 481)
I f
F < Resources for the student
t/2 L
Disposable cutlery
where F is the use-load load and f is the failure strength of the material
The booklet Useful Approximate Solutions for Standard Problems that
of which the fork is made (take it to be the same as the tensile strength). appears as Appendix A of the text Materials Selection in Mechanical
This gives a required tensile strength of 12 MPa. Safe design requires a Design or can be downloaded from the Granta website
safety factor take a value of 2.
Access to CES EduPack software, set to Level 2 so that the process cost
A typical disposable fork weighs about 10 g (students should measure this model can be used and material Environmental notes are available
for themselves). If the material cost exceeds 1 pence (1.5 cents) it will be
hard to meet the cost-target. This imposes a material cost limit of around
1 ($1.5) per kg. References
Processing cost is critical. A high-speed net-shape process with no 1. Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 3rd Edition, by M.F. Ashby,
finishing is essential. Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford 2005.
This gives the following approximate design requirements: The Web
A search on DISPOSABLE CUTLERY using Google gives surprisingly rich
returns. A perspective on the recycling issues can be found by exploring
http://www.recycle.net/recycle/Plastic/
Function Disposable fork
Constraints Modulus E > 1.7 GPa
Tensile strength > 24 MPa
Material cost < $1.8/kg
Notes for instructors: Project 11, Containers for liquid drinks Finally, an in-depth study of use-pattern, possibility of reuse, recycling
issues and other disposal routes should be made. CES EduPack will
Real containers help you get started here, but further resources (the library, the
Reading listed below and the Web) will be needed.
Common containers are made of PET, HDPE, aluminum, steel, glass,
and various paper-based laminates. CES EduPack has records for all
of these except laminated paper at both Levels 1 and 2. Level 2 with
Eco properties has Embodied energy, primary production (the
energy consumed in creating 1kg of material from ore or feedstock), Resources for the student
Environmental notes for materials and processes, and Recycle
Drink containers
marks for polymers, useful in this project.
Literature on Green Design (see below)
The diversity of materials and arises for a number of reasons:
The booklet Useful Approximate Solutions for Standard Problems
Gassy drinks require that the container can withstand an internal
that appears as Appendix A of the text Materials Selection in
pressure; still drinks do not.
Mechanical Design or can be downloaded from the Granta website
Some drinks are acidic (particularly Coca Cola, which is full of
phosphoric acid); others are alkaline (milk, for instance). Access to CES EduPack, set to Level 2 so that the process cost model
can be used and material Environmental Notes are available
Some containers allow the contents to be seen; others do not.
Those with a square or rectangular section can be stacked more
closely than those with a circular section; and for some the shape Reading
is further constrained by the need to fit the door-shelf of a Mackenzie, D. (1997) Green Design Design for the Environment,
domestic refrigerator. Laurence King, London, UK. ISBN 1 85669 096 2. A comprehensive
source of information and case studies in green design
There are several ways to get into this project using CES EduPack.
The simplest is to use the SEARCH facility to search on BOTTLE,
BEVERAGE, CONTAINER etc. if that word appears in a record it will The Web
be recovered. A second is to identify processes that can make
containers (blow molding, for instance), isolate the materials that can The Web is a potential source of information for further specialized
be formed in this way (a Tree stage), then make a graph of Strength information on materials, processes, drink containers, and recycling.
against Price and select the cheapest materials that can be blow
molded and have reasonable strength.
Once materials and shaping processes have been identified (and if
the student is given a specific goal such as a container for orange
juice a specific choice is made), ways of joining and finishing the
container should be explored using CES EduPack Joining and Surface
Treatment data tables.
Notes for instructors: Project 12, Storage heaters Taking T = 300C and a typical value of Cp of about 1000 J/kg.K gives
the very considerable mass of 60 kg. Clearly minimizing the mass as well
Approximate modeling as the cost is desirable. It is instructive to make a Graph stage with
The energy stored in a mass m of material with a specific heat Cp Cp / Cm on the Y-axis and m (using the equation above) on the X-axis (use
when heated through a temperature interval T is the Advanced option in a Graph stage to enter the equation). It reveals
that concrete, stone, and brick give a unit that is lighter by about half than
Q = m C p T cast iron.
The cost of mass m of material with a cost per kg of Cm is The design of the storage element must balance the time over which
heat is to be extracted and the thermal diffusion distance. The
C = m Cm distance x that heat diffuses in time t is approximately x = a t where
Thus the heat stored per unit cost per Kelvin is a = / C p is the thermal diffusivity of the material about 10-6 m2/s
Q Cp for concrete, stone, and brick. This means that the storage unit in the
= domestic storage heater can be divided into blocks as large as 0.1 m,
CT C m but that the unit for the hypersonic wind tunnel must be subdivided into
units of 3 mm or less, arranged so that the gas can flow around them.
There is one other obvious constraint: the material must be able to
tolerate the temperature to which it will be heated say 300C (575 K).
The basic design requirements for the heat storing unit is: Resources for the student
The booklet Useful Approximate Solutions for Standard Problems
Function Heat-storing material for storage heater that appears as Appendix A of the text Materials Selection in
Constraints Maximum service temperature > 300C Mechanical Design or can be downloaded from the Granta website
Objective Maximize the index Cp / Cm Access to CES EduPack software, set to Level 1 or 2
Free Choice of material
variables
The Web
A search on STORAGE HEATERS using Google gives lots of information.
Imposing the constraint on service temperature with a Limit stage and
selecting materials with high Cp / Cm by plotting a bar chart of this quantity
using a Graph stage gives the four materials that best meet these
requirements: concrete, stone, brick, and cast iron.
If the unit is to provide a power of 1 kW over 5 hours (roughly
18,000 seconds) it must store 18 MW, requiring a mass m of
18 x10 6
m =
C p T
The project can be run at a more advanced level. Here are the real design
Notes for instructors: Project 13, Housings for electrical plugs
requirements for the casing of a 25-pin parallel port plug. The Level 3
database allows selection to meet these constraints, giving a list of
candidates that can be explored in further depth by searching for them by
At the elementary level the student might be guided towards a material
name (using the SEARCH option) in the CAMPUS database that is
specification such as that listed below. available at Level 3.
The shape for a casing is complicated, and the part will be made in
very large numbers. Start by imposing the essential constraints, listed
below. The most important are that the material be an insulator and
that it is compatible with processes that can make the complex 3-
dimensional shape at an economic batch size of 105 106. The limit
on modulus is set at the boundary between rigid polymers and
elastomers (1 GPa). It will help to run two investigations in parallel,
one selecting the material and one the process, using the results of
the one as constraints on the other.
Fw 3 wt3
= with I =
384 E I 12
and the maximum stress is
Ftw 3F
= =
16 I 4t2
Project 15. A fan blade for an aircraft turbine engine material will last 10,000 cycles if the stresses are held below one half of the
ultimate tensile strength ts .
Most of the thrust for propulsion in Tolerance to damage (dents, cracks) from impact of foreign objects (rocks,
a modern commercial jet engine birds) is also important. A 0.5 mm deep impact-induced crack should not
comes from a large diameter fan at propagate under the cyclic loads imposed by centrifugal force. Fast fracture
the front of the engine, which is will occur if the fracture toughness K 1c = a ; use this criterion to set a
driven by the low-pressure turbine
at the rear of the engine. The fan, lower limit for the allowable fracture toughness of your material.
similar to a room fan, consists of In addition to the centrifugal loads, blades are subjected to lateral vibrational
multiple blades that rotate about loads due to air turbulence, system excitation, etc. The method used to
the fan axis at high speed, and reduce vibrational fatigue is to keep the natural frequency (first flex) as high as
push the air backward past the
possible. Natural frequencies scale as E / , so the answer is to make this
engine. The power to the fan is
transmitted through a long shaft as large as possible. In practice, torsional stiffness is important too: to prevent
down the centerline of the engine torsional modes from developing, torsion (shear) stiffness must be at least
and then into a large disk into 25% of longitudinal stiffness.
which the fan blades are inserted. The temperature of the fan blade will reach a maximum of 100C during
The mass of the blades rotating at operation.
high speed not only creates high
stresses in the blades themselves, Cost is always a constraint in jet engines, particularly commercial ones, and it
it also requires that the fan disk be is desired (though not essential) to keep blade cost below $2000. Cost is not
strong enough to hold the blades, only a function of starting material, but also fabrication. To consider fabrication
further increasing the weight of the system. Since increased engine weight costs, calculate the surface area, internal and well as external, and multiply by
increases the takeoff weight and reduces the payload, it is desired to minimize $6000/m2. For composite systems, count each ply interface as a surface (e.g.
the weight of the fan blade, subject to other limitations. if there are 10 plies per thickness in a solid rectangle, then to the outer surface
area add the surface area of the internal 9 ply interfaces.)
To perform its aerodynamic function (pump air) the fan blade has to have a
specified size and shape. The size to be considered here is 460 mm long x Describe the principal risks in the material selection approach you have
150 mm wide by a maximum thickness of 10 mm. The shape is typically a adopted, and what actions you would take to reduce these risks.
complex airfoil with twist and taper along the radial axis, and may be hollow for
weight reduction. For this problem, assume the blade to be rectangular in
outer cross section with internal cavities per your description. This Project is based on one provided by Dr. Ken Wright at General Electric
Aero Engines. I wish to thank him and Professor Kevin Hemker of the
The blade is to withstand a tensile stress caused by centrifugal loading. Engineering Department, Johns Hopkins University who brought it to my
For a given angular velocity, this stress scales with the density of the attention.
material of the blade:
= 0.11 ( in MPa , in kg / m 3 )
and must withstand these loads for at least 10,000 engine flights (1 start-stop
cycle per flight). You may simplify your fatigue criterion by assuming that a
Solution
There are several ways to tackle this problem. Here is one, using the
Level 2 database.
The fatigue strength requirement can be expressed as
ts
> 2 x 0.11 = 0.22 MPa / (kg/m3)
The damage-tolerance requirement imposes a limit on K1c of
There are two critical equations in this materials selection problem: 1) the
thermal distortion of the beam as a function of applied solar heat flux, and
2) the natural frequency of the boom in bending. From the geometry, relate L to R and substitute in (2):
Substituting (3) into (5) and then (4) into the new equation gives: between lbf and lbm using the conversion 1 lbf = 386.4 lbm-in/s2 or 1 lbf =
32.2 lbm-ft/s2.
3.52 EI
f = (9)
2 AL4
This Project is courtesy of Dr. Tom Dragone at Orbital Science Corporation
and Professor Kevin Hemker of the Engineering Department, Johns
Using the definition of shape factor and substituting gives: Hopkins University.
I I B A
B = 4 = (10)
A2 A 4
3.52 E B A
f = (11)
2 4L4
Solution
Under the solar flux, a temperature gradient is set up through the depth of
the beam. The flux is related to the temperature gradient by equation (1)
above. The temperature gradient causes the beam to deflect into a
circular arc. The tip deflection is given by equation (6)
Combining equations (1) and (6) to eliminate the temperature gradient
yields:
L q&
= (12)
tw 2
The best materials will be those with maximum values of
M1 =
This material index is shown in the first stage results opposite.
The best materials to maximize the frequency of the beam will be those
with maximum values of
E B
M2 = (14)
Note that this index will also minimize the mass of the beam. This index is
shown in the second stage results shown below for only those materials
passing the first stage.
In a multiple objective optimization such as this one, it is beneficial to set
both material index lines relatively low and creep up to the optimum
corner (upper left in this case) until a reasonable number of materials are
left for further evaluation.
The damping, strength, fracture toughness, and cost constraints should be
straightforward, implemented in a Limit stage, leaving a short list of
materials shown in the table. Of these, beryllium has the best stiffness
performance, but aluminum matrix composites have the best performance
balance for both stiffness and thermal distortion.
M1 M2 Thicknes Thermal
6 s Mass distortion Natural
Material 10 BTU/hr-ft Msi/pcf Material (in) (lbm) (in) frequency (Hz)
Al/C 682.0 0.24
Al/C 0.02 1.825 0.002 3.74
Al/SiC 9.2 0.15
Al/SiC 0.02 2.125 0.164 2.93
Ep/Gr 1.5 0.23
Ep/Gr 0.04 2.400 0.500 3.66
Mg/C 7.3 0.12
Mg/C 0.02 1.400 0.205 2.60
Be 18.1 0.37
Be 0.02 1.4375 0.083 4.67
The stress and deflection of a spherical cap can be found in any standard
reference book (e.g. Roark, Table 28, Case 3f) as:
PR 2 PR
= and =
2 Et 2t
where R is the radius of curvature, P the pressure, t the shield thickness
and E its modulus. The heat-shield must survive only one cycle of this
loading, so fatigue endurance is not a design driver.
The cap is in compression under the aerodynamic load, so buckling is a
concern. The critical pressure at which the heat-shield will buckle is given
by:
t2
PCrit = 0.17 E
R2
Damage tolerance is also important. Non-destructive inspection of the
Figure courtesy of Dr. Tom Dragone, Orbital Science Corporation, designers of the heat-shield can detect flaws down to 0.050 in size. Damage smaller than
probe.
this should not result in fracture of the material under the design load
condition (including the factor of safety above). Use the criterion for a
The carrier spacecraft can hold a probe with a maximum diameter of 30 in. simple crack, KIC = ( a)1/2 , to set a limit for the allowable fracture
The heat-shield is shaped as a spherical cap with a radius of curvature of toughness of the material.
36 in. The heat-shield structure is covered with ceramic tiles (similar to the
tiles on the Space Shuttle) to insulate it from the surface temperature of
2500F and keep the structure temperature below 350F.
Cost is also a concern, and total fabrication cost for the heat-shield must
be below $20,000. In addition to raw material costs, fabrication and
tooling costs must be included. Fabrication and tooling costs can be
estimated by calculating the surface area, internal and well as external,
and multiplying by $1000/ft2 to account for fabrication, labor and tooling
costs. For composite systems, count each ply interface as a surface (e.g.
if there are 10 plies per thickness in a solid rectangle, then to the outer
surface area add the surface area of the internal 9 ply interfaces).
Because launching a spacecraft to Mars is so costly both in energy and
dollars, the total mass allocation for the airplane, the heat-shield and all
associated electronic equipment is only 80 lbm. Most of this must be
reserved for the airplane and the cameras to gather the flight data, so the
mass of the heat-shield must be as small as possible, subject to other
mission constraints.
What is the best material for this heat-shield application? What is the
driving design constraint? What is the minimum thickness that satisfies all
the design criteria? What is the minimum mass of the heat-shield? What
is the total cost of the heat-shield?
One of the members of the design team has suggested replacing the BackShell
spherical heat-shield with a flat heat-shield to allow more internal volume CL
and better packaging for the airplane. The equations governing deflection
and stress for this configuration are found in Reference 1 on p. 487. Why R = 36in
Heatshield
is the form of these equations different from the equations given above? Structure
What is different about the way the heat-shield in this configuration would
Heatshield
support the load? Does the choice of material change for this Tiles
configuration? How much would a flat heat-shield weigh, given the same r = 15in
requirements described above? Is a flat heat-shield a good idea?
References
1. Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 3rd edition, by M.F. Ashby,
Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford 2005. P = 6 psi
Solution
The figure is best used by employing the coupling line construction
(1) The deflection constraint requires that < max with max = 0.01 in :
described in Reference 1, Section 9.2, pp. 241 245. Setting m1 = m 2
PR 2 PR 2 gives the equation for the coupling line:
= Max t (1)
2 Et 2 E Max E 2 max E E E
= = 0.68
For a spherical cap, the mass m depends on the thickness and the 0.11 R P
surface area:
(using the data given in the question, and remembering that the units of
m = 2 R 2 ( 1 cos ) t (2) stress and pressure are 106 psi). Slide the box up the line until a small
subset of materials is left.
where R is the radius of curvature and is the included angle.
Substituting for t and rearranging in terms of Functional, Geometric, and
Material requirements gives the mass m1 of the shield required to meet the Selection box
deflection constraint:
P
m1 R 4 ( 1 cos ) (3)
Max E
t2 P
S f P PCrit = 0.17 E t R (4)
R2 0.11 E
(with Sf = 1.5). The mass is still given by equation (2). Thus the mass m2 Coupling line
required to resist buckling is:
m 2 = 2R 2 ( 1 cos )t (5)
Substituting for t and rearranging gives:
2
m2 P R 3 ( 1 cos ) (6)
0.11 E
This suggests mass is minimized by maximizing E1/2/ , shown as the
other axis of the figure.
(5) The temperature criterion is easily applied using a Limit stage (not
shown). Material Properties
Database Material Modulus Strength Density Toughness Price Temp
(6) The cost constraints are not easily separable, but are not very Msi ksi pcf ksi rtin $/lbm F
stringent. Manufacturing and tooling costs amount to ~$5000 for an Generic Be 40 25 117 8 360 1000
isotropic material, leaving ~$15,000 for the heat-shield that weighs on the CRFPLam 10 37 100 27 47 350
order of 1 lbm. Therefore, all materials are allowed in terms of cost. Note MMC Al-Al2O3 26.8 150 207 34 360 550
that this is a common occurrence for unique, high performance aerospace Mg-Graph 13 95 116 8 60 450
products: raw material costs usually do not factor heavily into the overall
design equation.
Thickness Calculation
Database Material tStiff tBuckle tStrength tTough tmin
Material selection The short list of best materials and their properties in in in in in
are shown below. Note that the minimum performance and maximum Generic Be 0.010 0.042 0.006 0.008 0.042
mass and cost values have been used. Also shown are calculations of the CRFPLam 0.039 0.083 0.004 0.002 0.083
minimum thicknesses based on the deflection constraint, the buckling MMC Al-Al2O3 0.015 0.051 0.001 0.002 0.051
constraint, the strength constraint, and the fracture toughness constraint Mg-Graph 0.030 0.073 0.002 0.008 0.073
using the equations derived above. In all cases, buckling is the limiting
design constraint. Finally, the calculation of minimum mass and cost for
the driving design constraint is shown.
Mass and Cost
Calculation
Functional Constraints Geometric Constraints
Database Material Mass Matl Plies Fab Tool Total
P 6 psi R 36 in Cost Cost Cost Cost
lbm
Delta 0.01 in Rstar 15 in
Generic Be 2.08 $ 750 1 $ 5,143 $ 2,946 $ 8,839
A 0.05 in theta 24.6 deg CRFPLam 3.56 $ 167 17 $ 46,283 $23,225 $69,676
Sf 1.5 h 3.27 in MMC Al-Al2O3 4.50 $ 1,621 1 $ 5,143 $ 3,382 $10,145
SA 740.5 in2 Mg-Graph 3.62 $ 217 1 $ 5,143 $ 2,680 $ 8,040
Clearly, the best choice based on this table is beryllium, giving the thinnest
section (0.042) and lowest mass (2.1 lbm) with a low total fabrication cost This Project is courtesy of Dr. Tom Dragone at Orbital Science Corporation
($8800). The driving constraint is buckling as stated above. and Professor Kevin Hemker of the Engineering Department, Johns
Note that CFRPUni has been eliminated from consideration because the Hopkins University.
heat-shield must have bidirectional strength. If CFRPUni was used and
oriented in one direction, it would be very stiff and strong in that direction,
but in the transverse direction, it would be compliant and weak, resulting in
failure.
Final note
Both the spherical shell and the flat plate heat-shield design can be
improved (in terms of mass) by considering sandwich construction. Just
separating the shell thickness with a core can increase the bending
stiffness (and buckling resistance) of these thin shells by two orders of
magnitude. This would reduce the amount of material required for the
facesheets accordingly. However, then there would be concerns about the
weight and stiffness of the core as well as the minimum gage limits on
facesheet thickness from a manufacturing and cost standpoint.
Solution
The bar chart below shows that the total energy consumed (and hence The use of the heater over its entire life, delivering 14 kW, or 50.4 MJ/hour
CO2 footprint) by the usage phase of the life-cycle dominates the other with the release of 0.071 kg CO2/MJ, emits 2300 kg of CO2. (note
efficiency of 70%)
phases.
Sea transport over 8000km, consuming 0.011 kg CO2/ tonne.km, releases
2.2 kg of CO2 per unit, so small as to be invisible on the bar chart.
Use Location United States Recycled Mass Difference between CO2 saved by
material (kg) material CO2 and recycling per
Energy Equivalence, Source (MJ/MJ) 1 recycling CO2 (kg/kg) unit (kg)
Stainless steel, 17 3.678 61.816
Power Rating (kW) 14 rolled
Carbon steel, 6 1.787 10.470
Usage (hours per day) 3
rolled
Usage (days per year) 30 Brass, cast 0.6 4.689 2.788
Polypropylene, 0.4 - -
Product Life (years) 5 thermoplastic
polymer molded
Total Life Usage (hours) 450 Totals 24 75.069
Recycling saves the difference between the carbon footprint of virgin and
that of recycled material. The above table lists these differences. However,
the CO2 saved is only 75.1kg, much less than the CO2 given off in usage.
Product
Definition
Page:
Open-ended projects
Here is a list of a few of the many projects arising from real industrial
problems that have been explored in teaching programs on Material
Selection at Cambridge and Grenoble.
0
Book 5: Projects Using CES EduPack
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