Metrics-driven Optimization for Circular Product Design

Designing products that embody circular economy principles is central to enabling macro-economic transition away from linear production practices and mitigating their associated environmental impacts. However, circular product design (CPD) is inherently complex, requiring trade-offs among functionality, cost, and numerous product circularity-driven requirements. While comprehensive product circularity metrics enable systematic assessment of such requirements, existing CPD optimization efforts are often limited by incomplete metric integration and insufficient consideration of interdependencies and trade-offs. Moreover, optimization alone does not guarantee robust or fail-safe CPD outcomes. This paper presents a novel axiomatic design-leveraged, product circularity metrics-driven approach to address these limitations.