Materials for sport and rehabilitation: mechanical performance and sustainability

In the sport and rehabilitation world, lightness is a key property to make parts and devices more efficient and easier to be used. The mechanical resistance of the adopted materials is another well-known aspect to be considered. In fact, the design of components for sport and rehabilitation applications is often based on the material specific strength and elastic modulus to find the best compromise between weight and strength. Nowadays, a further aspect must be considered, i. e. the environmental impact. For this reason, among the selection criteria, the density and the mechanical properties are no longer sufficient because sustainability parameters must be considered as well. In the present paper, the authors compared metallic and non-metallic alloys looking for the heat treatment parameters able to maximize strength and exploit the maximum material potentiality. Moreover, two carbon-fibers reinforced-polymers were considered for their well-known outstanding mechanical properties. Finally, the primary energy demand and the global warming potential were included in the comparison of the materials.