This document summarizes key points about the price and availability of materials over time. It discusses short term market fluctuations in material prices but long term increases driven by inflation, energy costs, and depletion of high quality resources. It also examines patterns of material usage in developed countries and strategies like material substitution and recycling to cope with future scarcity.

1. Lecture 1- Price and Availability of
Materials
Key Points
● Short term fluctuations due to market forces
● Long term increase in raw material prices
● Use patterns for materials in developed
countries
○ Mix of materials
○ Rate of consumption
● Resource base vs reserves
● Materials substitution & recycling
Chapter 2, Slide 1

2. Material $/ton
Material
Costs
Chapter 2, Slide 2

3. Short term fluctuations
● market forces
● Political turmoil
● Natural calamities
Chapter 2, Slide 3

4. Long term increase in raw material
prices
● Inflation
● Increased energy costs
● lean ores
● Availability: Scarce or abundant
Chapter 2, Slide 4

5. Elemental Abundance in Earth’s
Crust
Element %
Chapter 2, Slide 5

6. Growth in Consumption:
Exponential
Consumption
Co
Time
Chapter 2, Slide 6

7. Production of Engineering
Materials is Energy Intensive
Material Energy Content (GJ/ton)
Chapter 2, Slide 7

8. How to cope future scarcity
● Material-efficient design
○ Thin surface film of the rare material bonded to a
cheap plentiful substrate
● Substitution
● Recycling
Chapter 2, Slide 8

9. Substitution
Properties, vs. the material itself
● New or alternative materials can replace
scarce conventional materials
○ Bridges: Stone & wood --> concrete & steel
○ Plumbing: Copper --> polyethylene
● Replacement may involves new costs
○ Plant & equipment
○ Processing & manufacturing methods
○ Workforce training
Chapter 2, Slide 9

10. Recycling
● If energy costs, capital costs, or resource
costs (e.g. through scarcity or depletion)
are high, recycling can be an effective
method for reducing material costs
● Problems of recycling:
○ Labor intensive
○ Requires design for recycling
○ May involve its own capital and
training costs Chapter 2, Slide 10

11. References
● Engineering Materials, Vol 1; 2nd Ed; Michael F.
Ashby and David R. H. Jones; Butterworth-
Heinemann.
Chapter 2, Slide 11