The objective of this Small Grant for Exploratory Research is to investigate the feasibility of developing metrics for sustainable engineering design of discrete products through an analogy with cell biology. The basis for this work is to extend the concepts of industrial ecology and biomimicry to accommodate the principles of optimization in engineering design. Industrial ecology is modeled on the biological metabolism that occurs across a system of organisms, where input-output analysis or exergy and materials flow analysis are used to establish the degree of effectiveness of the system. Engineering design metrics are necessary so that design optimization tools that include sustainability objectives can be developed. The novel aspect of this project is that the focus will extend to the scale of the biological cell, where the model for efficient cell behavior based upon available (free) energy will be related to the design of sustainable products. The fundamental hypothesis of this high risk, high potential project is that the thermodynamic Maxwell relationships can represent the connectivity between the cell (product) and the metabolism (industrial ecology system). Since these relationships are based upon the derivatives of free energy, it is expected that algorithms can be established and tested for the product, identifying state variables that can serve as metrics for the sustainable product design. The significant risk in this project lies in the uncertainty that while exergy (availability) and free energy are the thermodynamic foundations for ecology and cell biology (effectiveness and efficiency), it is not known whether such a bridge can be established between industrial ecology and sustainable product design.
The greatest potential for this research lies in the broader impacts that would be achieved when metrics for sustainable product design could be integrated with the principles of industrial ecology and design for the environment. Once these metrics are identified, engineering design tools could be modified and new tools developed that would provide engineers with the ability to design and demonstrate the veracity of ?green: products. Setting sustainability as a preference for the design of products would then become an achievable objective.
