Engineering Materials Informatics
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Materials Data Needs for Engineering Types of Data
D. Cebon and M.F. Ashby Abstract This article discusses the need for materials data and materials data management software during product development. Key issues are the changing materials data needs (from general to specific) as the design process proceeds, as well as the requirements for software systems that can automate the key data management tasks: capture, analysis, deployment, and maintenance. Specific issues requiring attention are flexibility of data management, change control, version control, quality control, and traceability of information. Keywords: materials design, informatics, simulation.
Introduction Materials information is central to all aspects of engineering products. The needs for materials information change throughout the life cycle of an engineering component (see Table I). Early in the design process, the “conceptual design” phase, information is needed for all possible materials, but at a relatively low level of precision. The need is to select a small subset of materials that can optimally perform the function of the component with acceptable cost and environmental impact. “Typical” values of the engineering properties and environmental impact data are best suited to this task. Narrowing this subset to one or two preferred candidates requires encyclopedic data sources that can inform the designer of a wide range of (often unquantifiable) characteristics of the material. This supporting information includes details of corrosion, heat treatment, environmental impact, and joining characteristics, as well as previous in-house experience in using the material. As the design of the component is finalized, detailed stress analyses are needed and the service life of the component must be predicted accurately. The data requirement is for very precise “allowable” design values of the properties of a single material. Materials data requirements often do not end with product design. The component has to be manufactured. Modeling of manufacturing processes (mold filling; deformation processes like rolling or extrusion; machining processes, turning, grinding,
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requirements to support the engineering process in an organization: dissemination of data to designers, export to analysis packages, version control, access control, security, traceability, and auditability, to name a few.
etc.; powder processes like hot isostatic pressing) generates requirements for information about the processing characteristics of the raw material—the viscosity when molten, the strength at high temperature, hardness, toughness, and so on. When the component is in service, there is a need for materials data for maintenance purposes (e.g., for manufacturing spare parts), for predicting the remaining life, and for investigating failures. These requirements may come many years after the component has been designed, manufactured, and put in service. In some cases, it is possible that the information available for the material and the available modeling techniques may ha
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