Progettazione di Prodotti Ecosostenibili

The course aims to provide the fundamental knowledge for environment-oriented product design by introducing strategies, methods, and tools for assessing environmental criticalities, as well as preventing and reducing product impacts throughout all life cycle phases, from manufacturing and use to end-of-life disposal. To this end, the main issues of the product development process will be outlined, and key aspects of design for environmental sustainability will be addressed, including the generation of eco-sustainable concepts, the optimization of material selection and resource utilization, design for durability and life extension, and product design for end-of-life recovery.

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to manage the core aspects of product eco-innovation by applying basic tools to develop design solutions aimed at enhancing the environmental performance of the product life cycle, while fulfilling technical and functional requirements, and integrating environmental sustainability criteria into the traditional product design and development process.

The course is divided into two modules, A and B, taught by Prof. Giudice and Prof. Fargione, respectively. Both modules comprise theoretical lectures, aimed at imparting the knowledge required by the course, and practical exercises on the course topics to develop applied skills.

If the course is delivered in blended or remote mode, appropriate adjustments may be made to the above, in order to ensure consistency with the syllabus.

The teaching materials consist of lecture slides and additional documentation (available on studium.unict.it).

Important: Knowledge of Physics and Mathematics.

Useful: Fundamentals of Solid mechanics

Attendance is mandatory. Lectures will take place twice a week during the first semester of the third year.

Module A

·       Introductory concepts of environmental sustainability in product design

·       Product life cycle and environmental impact

·       Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

·       Environmental strategies for the life cycle approach and project framing

·       Optimal material selection for environmental performance

·       Life cycle design and Design for X (DfX) for product sustainability

Module B

·       Material fatigue.

·       Thermal stresses. Viscoelasticity. Creep and relaxation.

·       Characteristics of Successful Product Development

·        Development Processes and Organizations

·       Opportunity Identification

·       Features of Successful Product Development

·       Introduction to TRIZ theory for solving innovative problems

·       Problem formulation

·       Ideal system innovation

·       System modeling

·       EcoGreen TRIZ matrix

Module A

1. F. Giudice, G. La Rosa, A. Risitano, Product Design for the Environment: A Life Cycle Approach, CRC/Taylor & Francis, 2006 (testo di riferimento/reference book)

Module B

1. K.T. Ulrich, S D. Eppingher: Product Design and Development. Mc Graw Hill

The assessment consists of a final oral exam covering the contents of both teaching modules. The assessment criteria are: the relevance of answers to the questions asked, the quality of their content, the ability to make connections to other topics within the course, the ability to provide examples, the use of appropriate technical terminology, and the overall expressive clarity of the student.

Ongoing assessments, in the form of tests and project assignments, will be conducted during the course, covering topics from both teaching modules; details regarding these ongoing assessments will be agreed upon with the lecturer of each respective module.

Learning assessment may also be carried out online, should the conditions require it.

·       Methodological framework and regulatory reference standards for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

• Environmental strategies for the life cycle approach in product design
• Extension of performance indices for material selection in sustainable design
• DfX tools for sustainable design
• • Determination of the fatigue limit and the Wohler curve
• • Determination and propagation of a crack
• • Application of the TRIZ matrix
• • Definition of the steps of a project