Material Selection for Eco-design

Abstract

Product performances are directly influenced by both classical and non technical properties of the materials used. That is why Material Selection Process (MSP) is an important part of the design process. The objective of this paper is to show that existing material selection approaches including mechanical and environmental criteria are not enough complete to make optimal material choice in preliminary design phase. Indeed, in this design phase, it is necessary to do the best choice in order to optimize technical and economical requirements of a component while reducing the product Environmental Impact (EI) in the whole Life Cycle (LC). Another LC approach is proposed here, including material in several life cycles and influencing the material selection process.