Metal Matrix Composites

In the last few years, a significant increase in applications of MMCs has taken place, particularly in the areas of automotive, aerospace, electronics, and recreation. These include continuous fiber reinforced MMCs for cables in power transmission, high temperature superconducting wires, particulate MMCs in civilian aircraft and automotive applications, and high volume fraction, high thermal conductivity substrates for electronic packaging. Nevertheless, as with any novel material systems, there is a lack of fundamental understanding on the part of practicing engineers and designers. This book addresses these issues, in a thorough and cohesive manner. It is aimed to provide students and scientists with a basic understanding of MMCs. The main theme of this book is the synergistic relationships among processing, structure, and properties of metal matrix composites. The book has a wealth figures, micrographs, and references to bring home to the reader the salient aspects of MMCs.