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