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 would seek to address these issues, in a thorough and cohesive manner, as well as to provide students and scientists with a basic understanding of MMCs. This book will emphasize the synergistic relationships among processing, structure, and properties of metal matrix composites.

• cement
• fatigue
• mechanics
• metal
• packaging

From the reviews:

From ADVANCED ENGINEERING MATERIALS 2006, 8, No. 6

This book is a textbook on Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) and addresses beginning students as well as researchers and professionals who want to deepen their knowledge or catch up with new developments in this field. The book summarizes the extensive work which has been done in the last five decades. And it gives a number of examples of successful applications of MMCs in different areas of use. The interest of the authors centers around the relationship among processing, microstructure, and properties of metal matrix composites....

A comprehensive list of references is given at the end of each chapter, which is valuable for researchers who would like to get more detailed information on a specific topic. The structure of the book is very systematic, which makes it easy to follow. The text is supported by numerous figures. Experimental results are provided as well as data from modeling and simulation. As a result, the book will be interesting for newcomers as well as for practicing scientists or engineers. University teachers will find interesting information and material, which can be used for graduate courses.

"Books specifically devoted to metal-matrix composites … have been a minority. … this book … has successfully filled the gap. … The authors did a good job in presenting a rich body of up-to-date … information. … Throughout the book, the reader will find extensive use of illustrations to supplement the text. The illustrations are generally of good quality. … is a valuable contribution and needed addition to the composite materials literature. It will prove very useful for students, researchers, and engineering professionals … ." (Yu-Lin Shen, JOM – Online, December, 2005)

• Arizona State University, Tempe, USA

  Nikhilesh Chawla

• University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA

  Krishan K. Chawla

Nikhilesh Chawla is Associate Professor of Materials Engineering at Arizona State University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. Prior to ASU, he was a postdoctoral fellow jointly at Ford Motor Company and the University of Michigan, and a senior development engineer at Hoeganaes Corporation. His research interests encompass the mechanical behavior and modeling of advanced materials at bulk and small length scales. Professor Chawla is the recipient of the National Science Foundation Early Career Development Award and the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award. He’s also the recipient of the 2004 Bradley Stoughton Award for Young Teachers, given by ASM International. During 2004-05, he was Chair of the Composite Materials Committee of The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society, and serves on the Editorial Board of Review for Metallurgical and Materials Transactions.

Krishan Chawla is Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research interests encompass processing, microstructure, and mechanical behavior of materials. He has taught and/or done research at several universities around the world. Professor Chawla has served as a Program Director for metals and ceramics in the Division of Materials Research, National Science Foundation. He is a fellow of ASM international, received the Distinguished Reseach Award at New Mexico Tech and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Banaras Hindu University in 2000. Professor Chawla is the author or coauthor of various textbooks in the area of materials and serves on the editorial boards of number of journals.

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