IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i19p5465-d272942.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Material Indices Method in the Sustainable Engineering Design Process: A Review

Author

Listed:
  • Bogdan Branowski

    (Faculty of Transport Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, ul. Piotrowo 3, 60-965 Poznań, Poland)

  • Marek Zabłocki

    (Faculty of Transport Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, ul. Piotrowo 3, 60-965 Poznań, Poland)

  • Maciej Sydor

    (Faculty of Wood Technology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, ul. Wojska Polskiego 28, 60-637 Poznań, Poland)

Abstract

The material indices method has its application in both the design of construction materials and products. The method has evolved since the 1960s and has been described in German, Russian, Polish, and English scientific literature. In the 1990s, the method was adapted to Design for the Environment with the inclusion of specific energy consumption indicators for various construction materials. The article cites six principles of Design for the Environment and presents specific energy consumption indicators according to various authors. This data was then used in two sample applications of the material indices method to determine the specific energy consumption of product manufacture: of a support structure of the standing frame and a compression spring design. In the conclusions, the significant limitations of the material indices method are emphasized, which are not extensively discussed in the literature on the subject, such as its high sensitivity to the accuracy of the adopted energy consumption indicators for materials in view of the actual production process; not taking into consideration all the negative aspects of the materials’ impact on the environment, or the difficulties associated with predicting the impact of material production technology on the material indices. On the other hand, their simple functional form makes them ideal for incorporation into modern CAD software and in product optimization at the initial stage of concept design.

Suggested Citation

  • Bogdan Branowski & Marek Zabłocki & Maciej Sydor, 2019. "The Material Indices Method in the Sustainable Engineering Design Process: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-16, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:19:p:5465-:d:272942
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/19/5465/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/19/5465/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anna Lewandowska & Bogdan Branowski & Katarzyna Joachimiak-Lechman & Przemyslaw Kurczewski & Jaroslaw Selech & Marek Zablocki, 2017. "Sustainable Design: A Case of Environmental and Cost Life Cycle Assessment of a Kitchen Designed for Seniors and Disabled People," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-20, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sasha Shahbazi & Kerstin Johansen & Erik Sundin, 2021. "Product Design for Automated Remanufacturing—A Case Study of Electric and Electronic Equipment in Sweden," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-19, August.
    2. Jarosław Gabryelski & Przemysław Kurczewski & Maciej Sydor & Agnieszka Szperling & Dariusz Torzyński & Marek Zabłocki, 2021. "Development of Transport for Disabled People on the Example of Wheelchair Propulsion with Cam-Thread Drive," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-13, December.
    3. Isabel García Gutiérrez & Daniel Elduque & Carmelo Pina & Rafael Tobajas & Carlos Javierre, 2020. "Influence of the Composition on the Environmental Impact of a Casting Magnesium Alloy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-20, December.
    4. Sasha Shahbazi & Anna Karin Jönbrink, 2020. "Design Guidelines to Develop Circular Products: Action Research on Nordic Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-14, May.
    5. Julie Kamp Albæk & Sasha Shahbazi & Tim C. McAloone & Daniela C. A. Pigosso, 2020. "Circularity Evaluation of Alternative Concepts During Early Product Design and Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-25, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andrzej Pacana & Dominika Siwiec & Robert Ulewicz & Malgorzata Ulewicz, 2024. "A Novelty Model Employing the Quality Life Cycle Assessment (QLCA) Indicator and Frameworks for Selecting Qualitative and Environmental Aspects for Sustainable Product Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-24, September.
    2. Marko Jausovec & Metka Sitar, 2019. "Comparative Evaluation Model Framework for Cost-Optimal Evaluation of Prefabricated Lightweight System Envelopes in the Early Design Phase," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-24, September.
    3. Kristina Čižiūnienė & Jonas Matijošius & Audrius Čereška & Artūras Petraška, 2020. "Algorithm for Reducing Truck Noise on Via Baltica Transport Corridors in Lithuania," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-22, December.
    4. Zhidiankui Xu & Yixi Bao & Hua Dong & Yu Wu & Guyue Tang, 2024. "Heart of the future home: a multidimensional model of inclusive kitchen for older people in the UK," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, December.
    5. Ying Wang & Di Lin & Ze Huang, 2022. "Research on the Aging-Friendly Kitchen Based on Space Syntax Theory," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-13, April.
    6. Paweł Lonkwic & Krzysztof Przystupa & Tomasz Krakowski & Hubert Ruta, 2020. "Case Study of Support Frame Optimization Using a Distant Load," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, January.
    7. Oleksandra Shepel & Jonas Matijošius & Alfredas Rimkus & Kamil Duda & Maciej Mikulski, 2021. "Research of Parameters of a Compression Ignition Engine Using Various Fuel Mixtures of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and Fatty Acid Esters (FAE)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-18, May.
    8. Bogdan Branowski & Marek Zabłocki & Przemysław Kurczewski & Maciej Sydor, 2022. "A Method for Modeling the Individual Convenient Zone of a Human," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-12, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:19:p:5465-:d:272942. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.