Materials design and systems analysis

Materials, solids with a function, are basic modules of our living and work environment. There is a great worldwide demand for materials with improved or new functions, which allow for the development of innovative products and processes. In the last decade, material development was improved tremendously due to the introduction of test planning tools or simulation programs which increase the efficiency of the development phase itself. However, the main focus still lies on the technical aspect. From the life cycle point of view, economic and ecological impacts of innovative materials often are identified after their development only, if at all. In product design, on the other hand, the production costs at least will be considered in the design phase. Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) still are not common, but gained a higher relevance in recent years. The initial point of this workshop was the interdisciplinary research project: “Development of Geopolymers Supported by Systems Analysis”, which is funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.