TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Here we have a collection of case studies illustrating the screening methods of Chapter 5. They are deliberately simplified to avoid obscuring the method under layers of detail. In most cases little is lost by this: the best choice of material for the simple example is the same as that for the more complex, for the reasons given in Chapter 5. More realistic case studies are developed in later chapters.
Each case study is laid out in the same way:
the problem statement, setting the scene,
the model, identifying function, constraints, objectives, and free variables, from which emerge the attribute limits and material indices,
the selection in which the full menu of materials is reduced by screening and ranking to a short-list of viable candidates,
the postscript, allowing a commentary on results and philosophy.
Techniques for seeking supporting information are left to later chapters.
The first few examples are simple but illustrate the method well. Later examples are less obvious and require clear thinking to identify and distinguish objectives and constraints. Confusion here can lead to bizarre and misleading conclusions. Always apply common sense: does the selection include the traditional materials used for that application? Are some members of the subset obviously unsuitable? If they are, it is usually because a constraint has been overlooked: it must be formulated and applied.
Most of the case studies use the hard-copy charts of Chapter 4; Sections 6.17 and 6.18 illustrate the use of computer-based...
