Course syllabus

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Metallic material development for circularity and future trends: Non-ferrous alloys

Course code: TRA480, lp1 HT25 (2.5 hp). The course is offered by the department of TRACKS.

Contact details

Course purpose

Metals are among the most recyclable materials on our planet, but can they truly become "forever materials" within a circular economy? This course delves into the challenges of designing alloys for circularity and explores how to overcome future challenges. We will examine the sustainability aspects of metal recycling, assess the current state of recycled non-ferrous alloys, and explore cutting-edge research on designing alloys optimised for circular economy. 

This course focuses on aluminium, magnesium, titanium and nickel-based alloys. Every session explores the following topics for each alloy family:

  • Sustainability challenges, whether related to the primary material production or to the recycling stage at the product's end of life.
  • Key opportunities for alloy design: can a byproduct from one process become the perfect raw material for another one?
  • Secondary feedstock characteristics to understand how to become resilient and agile to supply chain disruptions through flexible material sourcing.

The students will have access to the most recent outcomes in research, and the aim is to gain the knowledge and apply it to everyday challenges in their professional lives.

Schedule: TimeEdit

Course literature

Mandatory literature:

  • D. Raabe, The Materials Science behind Sustainable Metals and Alloys, Chemical Reviews, Vol. 123, Issue 5, 2023, doi: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00799
  • Jaclyn L. Cann, Anthony De Luca, David C. Dunand, David Dye, Daniel B. Miracle, Hyun Seok Oh, Elsa A. Olivetti, Tresa M. Pollock, Warren J. Poole, Rui Yang, C. Cem Tasan, Sustainability through alloy design: Challenges and opportunities, Progress in Materials Science, Vol. 117, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2020.100722
  • Making sustainable aluminium by recycling scrap: The science of “dirty” alloys - Raabe et al. 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2022.100947
  • Other selected articles from international journals will also be used and provided on Canvas. 

Course design

This image summarises the course plan and the topics explored during the five weeks.

Course design.png

The course emphasises 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. This is how the activities of one week look like:

Course design 2.png

Learning objectives and syllabus

Learning objectives:

  1. Assess the advantages and challenges of different strategies for improving the sustainability of non-ferrous alloys.
  2. Critically evaluate solutions for new non-ferrous alloy designs with open solution spaces, which include being able to handle uncertainties and limited information.
  3. Show insights about and deal with the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental and societal context.
  4. Work in multidisciplinary teams and collaborate in teams with different compositions.
  5. Orally explain and discuss the challenges and solutions associated with non-ferrous alloys in a circular economy.

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen: https://www.chalmers.se/en/education/your-studies/find-course-and-programme-syllabi/course-syllabus/TRA480/?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. 10 points
  • Quizzes (20%) - Weekly quizzes will be conducted via the Canvas platform to assess participants' understanding of the course material. 20 points
  • Project (70%) - Participants carry out a project and present their results orally. 70 points

Course summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due