Materials selection and substitution using aluminium alloys

This chapter presents a systematic material selection methodology for comparing candidate materials for a specified design scenario. Procedures appropriate for simple geometries and single objectives are presented initially; these procedures are expanded to accommodate sophisticated analyses, including design for a finite lifetime, compromise between multiple objectives defined in non-commensurate units, analysis of non-trivial geometries and topographic optimisation using numeric methods. These procedures are applied with reference to pertinent aluminium substitution scenarios. A specific focus of the chapter is the environmental consequence of material selection. The chapter concludes with a summary of the design scenarios which provide opportunities to achieve competitive advantage by the application of aluminium alloys.