MECN2010 A Introduction to material science and Engineering Assignment Brief 2025 | Wits University

1. Inspiration

Henry Petroski, a lifelong professor of engineering at Duke University, wrote in his book To Engineer is Human – The Role of Failure in Successful Design, “I believe that the concept of failure … is central to understanding engineering, for engineering design has as its first and foremost objective the obviation of failure. Thus, the colossal disasters that do occur are ultimately failures of design, but the lessons learned from those disasters can do more to advance engineering knowledge than all the successful machines and structures in the world. Indeed, failures appear to be inevitable in the wake of prolonged success, which encourages lower margins of safety. Failures in turn lead to greater safety margins and, hence, new periods of success. To understand what engineering is and what engineers do is to understand how failures can happen and how they can contribute more than successes to advance technology.” 

This assignment sets out to take the lessons learned from a failure analysis and apply them to a re-design; detailing the steps involved, from material selection, through design and calculation, material  testing  and  component  monitoring.  By  evaluating  the  mode-of-failure  and the contributing  factors  we,  as  engineers, are  able  to  apply  those  lessons  learned to  subsequent designs;  critically  evaluating  material selection,  design  structures  and  test  protocols  for  an improved design.    As Prof Petroski taught, engineering lessons may be learned from the infamous, industry-shaking disasters of  the past. One only needs  mention  Challenger, Chernobyl, Hyatt  Regency  Hotel or Tacoma Narrows to bring to mind the disastrous failings of those engineering designs. But valuable lessons can also be learned in our present, daily lives, looking closer to home at the objects and systems that we often take for granted. And such lessons are often best learned by understanding their failures…

2. Problem Description 

We encounter component failure in our daily lives. Whether it be in the form of worn-out brake pads, burnt out light bulbs, a buckled bicycle wheel, or simply a rickety table at home, we have all experienced the frustration at having things not work as we expect them to. As engineers our curiosity  drives us  to investigate, and  our solution-focused mindset often leads  us to  creative solutions and an inadvertent growth in our knowledge and understanding of how things work.

In  groups  of  five  (5)  you  are  tasked  with  conducting  a  thorough  failure  analysis  of  a  critical component, related to an encountered failed system identified in your daily life, and then, using those  lessons  learned,  re-design  the  system  or  component,  providing  a  complete  material selection rationale and material testing and component monitoring protocol. 
 
You are to critically evaluate  your  design,  considering  relevant  factors  such  as,  cost  implication,  manufacturing viability, ease-of-use and performance characteristics, to name but a few.   Your investigation must draw on the content covered in your Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering course (whether already covered in class, or requiring you to read ahead), while being supplemented with additional reading and case study analysis and interrogation. The use of AI for this assignment is  prohibited.  It  is your ability to research, interrogate and infer that  is being assessed.  As a group you are to prepare a recorded PowerPoint presentation reporting on all aspects of this investigation. You will then upload this presentation onto YouTube and provide the link in a PDF version of the presentation.

3.Key Elements 

In approaching this assignment there are four key elements to consider, which may be used as milestones to guide your progression.

Task 1 – Case study specification and comprehensive failure analysis.  Take some time to observe the world around you, your daily patterns and the objects and systems you encounter. Identify systems or components exhibiting failure, and choose one to use as a case study. Document your findings in writing and with photographic evidence. Build a case study around this failure; determining the root cause of the failure by considering both the function and status of the system or identified critical component. Make  use  of  literature,  either  to  confirm  or demonstrate  your  suspicions  through comparative failure analyses.   
  
Task 2 – Re-design with specific material selection.  Evaluate  the  case  study  design  in  detail,  examining  each  associated  part  in  terms  of design, function and material selection. Drawing on the knowledge and techniques of Materials  Science  and  Engineering  suggest  and critically  evaluate  possible  corrective actions. Use this in a re-design, providing motivation and relevant calculation for every decision made.  

Task 3 – Manufacturing and processing techniques. A design is only as good as the means to implement it. Investigate the manufacturing and processing  techniques  required  to  realise  your  design.  Provide  a  motivated  design methodology for the manufacture of your system or component.  Task 4 – Critical evaluation and future recommendations. No design is perfect. Even the Deacon’s masterpiece1 failed (and in a most spectacular way!) and so take a step back, and critically evaluate your design. Identify the weak spots, the components that may have been over-specced, possibly even predict its failure (life and failure mode). Compare your design to the original, discuss the improvements made, and where and how future work may further mitigate failure.

4. Resources 

• Prescribed and recommended course textbooks. A link to the VitalSource page is given here, where you may purchase the Askeland, D.R. & Wright, W.J., Essentials of Materials Science & Engineering (4th Edition in SI units) ebook.
• Lecture notes as found on the Ulwazi course page. 
• Perform  a  literature  review,  obtaining  case  studies  for  analysis,  corroboration  and demonstration  as  well  as  additional  knowledge  regarding  failure  analysis,  material selection and design.
• MS PowerPoint for preparing your assignment deliverable.
• The Engineering Library also has a number of books on the subject of failure analysis and design.
•  The use of AI is prohibited for this assignment.

5. Group Participation

This  assignment is to be  conducted and  presented as  a  group of five  (5)  students,  and yet is assessed with both a group and an individual component (detailed further on in this brief). You are given the opportunity of selecting your own group members for this assignment.