Rational procedures for materials and process selection in mechanical design applied to aluminium alloys

Rational methods for materials selection in structural design are currently developed together with softwares to guide materials selection. A brief outline of the performance index method is given together with the multicriteria optimization methods. Applications of these methods to aluminium alloys are presented, either to compare aluminium alloys with possible competitors, or to identify a possible application of aluminium alloys. Case studies of materials selection are proposed to illustrate the selection methods as it can be used to help the designer. Current limitations of the methods are outlined and an extension to a more specific case concerning cast aluminium alloys is presented to illustrate the need to integrate process and materials selection.