A component is made up of different materials. Material selection is a step in the process of designing any physical object. Today, a variety of materials are available, with each material having its own characteristics, applications, advantages and limitations. Designers have to consider a large number of material selection attributes. An improper selection will affect the productivity and profitability of a firm. Material selection is a multicriteria decision-making problem involving a large number of attributes. A systematic and efficient approach to material selection is necessary in order to select the best alternative for a given application. In this paper, an Inner Product of Vectors (IPV) method is proposed. The procedure is based on an IPV method considering the material selection attributes and their relative importance for the application considered. An example is taken to validate and demonstrate the proposed method.

A decision is a choice out of a number of alternatives in such a way that the preferred choice is the best option among the possible candidates. Therefore, the main objective of Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) is the design of mathematical tools to support the subjective evaluation of a finite number of decision alternatives under a finite number of criteria in order to find the best choice. Nowadays, a number of different methods have been developed for MCDM to select a preferred alternative and to rank the alternatives in a subjective order of preference.

The selection of materials plays an important role for engineers. The material selection should not be solely based on cost, but also on different properties of material, availability, recycling, production method, disposal method, design life, etc.
Selection of the appropriate material is an integral part of the successful implementation of an engineer’s design. The ability to select the most appropriate material for a given application is the fundamental challenge faced by the design engineer. A systematic and efficient approach to material selection approach is necessary in order to select the best alternative for a given application. Selection of material depends on a number of attributes or factors. Hence, selection of material is a multicriteria decision-making problem.

In the past, lots of research had been reported for selection of materials using classical multicriteria decision-making methods. Dweiri and Al Oqla (2006) used an AHP model for material selection. Shanian and Savadogo (2006) presented a material selection model using a method known as ELECTRE. Rao (2008) presented a material selection model using graph theory and matrix approach. Chaterjee et al. (2011) proposed an evaluation of mixed data approach for material selection. Jahanet al. (2011) used a comprehensive VIKOR method for material selection. Maniya and Bhatt (2011) proposed a Preference Selection Index (PSI) method for material selection. Karana et al. (2010) presented an approach named driven materials selection.

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