A systematic material selection process applied to a luminaire diffuser

This paper presents a systematic material selection process for technical, environmental and economic criteria. This methodology has been applied to the design of a weatherproof luminaire. The materials selected for the production of this diffuser were characterised to obtain their mechanical properties and to perform exhaustive research on impact analysis by means of finite element modelling. Also an economic analysis and an ecological impact assessment have been performed. Thanks to this working methodology, a final design of the diffuser has been developed having the optimum thickness to achieve the mechanical specifications and minimise the environmental impact and the cost of the diffuser