Metal matrix composites (MMCs) have superior mechanical strength and wear resistance as compared to base alloy. Aluminium matrix reinforced with low density discontinuous particulate composites has good potential in automobile and aerospace applications. The main challenge is to produce the light weight composite in a cost effective way to achieve the greater properties. In the present study, a...

Lightweight design, using high performance composites, which directly yields a reduced need for fuel is in the focus of new developments for traffic engineering. The increased substitution of traditional, metal based materials by fibre-reinforced composites in the aviation industry exemplifies this trend. In addition to mechanical properties, e.g. an increase in strength, that leads to direct w...

The usage of natural fibers on the composites development has grown rapidly in the recent years due to the fibers plentiful availability, renewable source, low density and biodegradability. However, there are some drawbacks, for instance, the fiber dispersion on a polyolefin matrix. In this work, the influence of processing speed on the mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties of polystyren...

With the increasing prevalence of polymer composites in engineering applications, invariably mechanical failures of these components are occurring. Key to addressing this is fractographic analysis; the examination of fracture surfaces to deduce information about the damage and failure of components. The fractography of isotropic materials, particularly metals, has been used as a tool for many y...

New designs for lightweight deployable structures require materials able to undergo high curvatures without damage. A possibility is the use of carbon fiber composites with a soft elastomeric matrix, such as silicone rubber. This type of composites can be folded to very high curvatures, while it retains the high axial stiffness of traditional epoxy-based composites. The reason is that the soft ...

Al-SiC composites are among the most demanding metal matrix composites due to their excellent strength, good ductility, good corrosion resistance, low coefficient of thermal expansion and reasonable price. Manufacturing of cast metal matrix composites usually involves some problems such as inhomogeneous distribution of the particles due to poor wetability of ceramics to molten alloys, porosity ...

Fly ash, which consists of hollow particles with porous shells, was introduced into polyurea elastomer. A one-step method was chosen to fabricate pure polyurea and the polyurea matrix for the composites based on Isonate® 2143L (diisocyanate) and Versalink® P-1000 (diamine). Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the fracture surfaces of the composites. Particle size and volume fractio...

Nanostructured composites with efficient percolation networks are promising candidates for packaging materials due to their high thermal conductivity. In this study, we investigate the thermal conductivity of composites consisting of a combination of exfoliated graphene nanoplatelet (xGNP) and aluminum nitride (AlN) particles in polyvinylidine fluoride (PVDF) matrix. The surfaces of the AlN par...

Titanium Aluminide and TiAl matrix composites reinforced with alumina fibers (PRD166) were fabricated by powder metallurgy. During isothermal oxidation at 950 and 1070 OC, composites containing PRD166 fibers exhibited larger weight gains than monolithic TiAI; the composites showed evidence of oxidation along the perimeter of the fibers. A fiber reaction, which was observed after oxidation in ai...