During milestone 3 my team got the opportunity to perform a material selection for a turbine blade, based on our assigned scenario. We used the skill of using the material performance index (MPI), to rank which materials have properties were most suitable for a particular application.

Investigating MPI values using Granta Anys Software.

Our team then ranked the top 5 materials for our assigned MPI based on their index value.

As a team, we looked over our rankings and narrowed down the material candidate list. and discussed additional engineering considerations (beyond mechanical performance) that are relevant to our assigned scenario.

We discussed:

• Consider maintenance if the part got damaged. Based on the material, is it easy to fix or will the entire part need replacement?
• Will the material degrades over time (e.g. due to chemical resistance, corrosion resistance, fatigue resistance)?
• If the material is easy to source in the country, are there tariffs due to international trade policy?

Finally we used a weighted decision matrix. We performed our evaluation using the Decision Matrix provided to us and selected one material to be used for the rest of our design process.

Low Alloy steel has won in the decision matrix because based on all our criteria's low alloy steel seems to be superior to wood and bamboo as it is the most weather-resistant, in terms of cold and rain. It is also the easiest to maintain in case of fractures or cracks. Lastly, it is the most cost-effective as it has the lowest price per kg.