Course syllabus

Course-PM

TRA475 TRA475 Metallic material development for circularity and future trends: Sustainability aspects lp1 HT25 (2.5 hp)

Course is offered by the department of Tracks

Contact details

Lecturer and examiner:

Prof. Fang Liu,phone 031-772 6786,e-mail: fang.liu@chalmers.se

Course assistants:

Course assistants are a critical part of the teaching team. You will be spending much time with them in the lab sessions. They are there to support your lab and your individual project assignment.

, phone , e-mail: @chalmers.se

Guest lecturers:

In order to help you understand how the basic principles of phase transformations are applied in research frontiers in industry, we invited three guest lecturers.

Dr. ,  at GKN Aerospace, e-mail: @gknaerospace.com

On-line lecture Zoom link:

 

password: TRACKS

Tracks management

Kristina Henricson Briggs, Director Tracks                                  kristina.henricson.briggs@chalmers.se

Ida Gremyr, Scientific lead Tracks                                                 ida.gremyr@chalmers.se

Ingemar Josefsson, Education administrator                               ingjose@chalmers.se

 

Course purpose

The aim of this course is to provide knowledge about the essential role of metallic materials in the green transition and the sustainability challenges related to these materials during the transition. Additionally, participants will develop skills to critically analyse sustainability aspects of metals and metal-related production and suggest measures towards a circular economy.

Schedule

TimeEdit

Course literature

  • Global resource outlook 2024 - Bend the trend, UN Environment Programme,

Global Resources Outlook 2024 - Bend the trend: Pathways to a Liveable Planet as Resource Use Spikes

  • The materials science behind sustainable metals and alloys - Raabe 2023, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00799
  • Sustainability through alloy design: Challenges and opportunities - Caan et al. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2020.100722
  • Materials and Sustainable Development, Michael F. Ashby, eBook ISBN: 9780323985468 (available via Chalmers library)
  • Other selected articles from international journals will also be used and provided on Canvas.

Course design

The course emphasizes active dialogue both among participants and between participants and lecturers. It integrates theoretical knowledge with real-world professional practices through a blend of in-person sessions, online workshops, and self-paced study via the Canvas learning platform. Between the sessions and workshops, participants engage in lectures, literature studies, analyses, and reflective exercises while networking and collaborating with peers.

Note: to be allowed to participate on-line seminars, the participants must study on their own and achieve certain points in weekly quizzes.

Learning objectives and syllabus

Learning objectives:

  1. Identify sustainable challenges related to the use of metallic materials we are facing and propose possible solutions.
  2. Analyse sustainability aspects of metallic materials and critically evaluate solutions for new alloy designs with open solutions spaces, which includes to be able to handle uncertainties and limited information.
  3. Evaluate the impact of sustainable metal solutions in a global, environmental, economic, and societal context.
  4. Work in multidisciplinary teams and collaborate in teams with different compositions.
  5. Orally explain and discuss sustainable challenges and solutions associated with metallic materials.

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen.

https://www.chalmers.se/en/education/your-studies/find-course-and-programme-syllabi/course-syllabus/TRA475/?acYear=2025/2026

Examination form

  • Participation and online workshops (10%) – Participants are required to attend in-person sessions and online workshops, actively engaging in discussions. 
  • Quizzes (20%) – Weekly quizzes will be conducted via the Canvas platform to assess participants' understanding of the course material. 
  • Projects (70%) – Participants will complete a project and present their results orally. 

Course summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due