The 5^th edition of MSMD, as the publishers call it, will be published this month.  Another edition? Why do we need that?

Well, material data, selection methods and teaching needs all evolve with time.  We have several windows on this changing landscape.  Before initiating a new edition, the Publishers consult extensively and compile a wishlist. Granta Design, the company I co-founded back in 1994, collaborates with its industrial partners in the Aerospace, Automotive and Product Design sectors on Material Data Management and Selection and this gives another information stream.  The annual Materials Education Symposia coordinated by Granta Design and its extensive academic collaborations gives a third.  No shortage of inputs, then.  The result is this new edition with its colorful abstract cover inspired by Material Selection Charts, one of the defining features of every edition since the first.

The book, you’ll remember, develops a systematic, design-led approach to Materials and Process Selection.  The most noticable changes include a greatly increased number of in-text examples and exercises (with a full solution manual, of course), with exercises now located at the end of each chapter, redrawn figures, revised case studies and updated references.  There are a growing group of educators that teach in a student centered way through active learning and for this group, case studies for students to work through are very important.

There are expanded sections on electro-mechanical and magneto-mechanical properties with new Property Charts to bring them to life and guide selection.  The chapters on Processes and Process Selection have been revised and moved towards the front of the book, giving them greater prominence.  Materials and Processes are inextricably linked and it important that Processes are considered during material selection.  Here’s an example.  Flywheels store energy – they are one of the ways that intermittent generation from solar or wind power can be stored. The choice of material for the rotor is of central importance.  A systematic analysis, one of the great strengths of the book, points to CFRP (continous carbon fiber reinforced epoxy) as the best choice.  But how is it to be made?  A compatible process, able to make the shape and with the desire lay-up, is filament winding, described in the chapter on Process Selection.  The book contains many examples of this kind.

All chapters have been revised, some more extensively than others.  The chapter on Forces for Change now includes discussion of material criticality, the circular material economy and sustainable development – a response to Reviewers’ requests.  This is also a major topic for Granta Design’s industrial partners, who need to understand supply chain risk and the potential effect of regulation so that they can select materials strategically.  Granta Design have been able to focus on this emerging topic for the last 10 years and have worked hard to include these aspects in digestible ways in CES EduPack, their materials education teaching resource.

The Appendices of Standard Solutions, Material Data and Material Indices have all been revised and brought up to date.  As with previous editions, an Image Bank gives access to PDFs of the figures that may be used in lecture slides and class presentations.

Working with the team that has been involved with this project – Elsevier staff, Reviewers, Colleagues, Granta Design – has been a pleasure.  We all hope you will enjoy the new edition and find that it does what you want even better than the editions that came before.

Key Features of the 5^th Edition include;

• Includes significant revisions to chapters on advanced materials selection methods and process selection, with coverage of newer processing developments such as additive manufacturing
• Contains a broad scope of new material classes covered in the text with expanded data tables that include “functional” materials such as piezoelectric, magnetostrictive, magneto-caloric, and thermo-electric materials
• Presents improved pedagogy, such as new worked examples throughout the text and additional end-of-chapter exercises (moved from an appendix to the relevant chapters) to aid in student learning and to keep the book fresh for instructors through multiple semesters
• “Forces for Change” chapter has been re-written to outline the links between materials and sustainable design

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design is available now on the Elsevier store. You can save up to 30% on your own copy, enter STC215 at the checkout!

Read more from Michael – Materials and Sustainable Development: How to Teach It? What are the Challenges?