Metal Matrix Composites

MR40CH10-Mortensen ARI 24 May 2010 15:28
Metal Matrix Composites

Andreas Mortensen
1
and Javier Llorca
2
1
Institute of Materials, Ecole Polytechnique F ed erale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015,
Lausanne, Switzerland; email: andreas.mortensen@ep.ch
2
Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies of Materials (IMDEA-Materials) and Department of
Materials Science, Polytechnic University of Madrid, E-28040, Madrid, Spain;
email: javier.llorca@imdea.org
Annu. Rev. Mater. Res. 2010. 40:24370
First published online as a Review in Advance on
March 26, 2010
The Annual Review of Materials Research is online at
matsci.annualreviews.org
This articles doi:
10.1146/annurev-matsci-070909-104511
Copyright c 2010 by Annual Reviews.
All rights reserved
1531-7331/10/0804-0243$20.00
Key Words
ber-reinforced composites, particle-reinforced composites, layered
materials, strength, ductility, stiffness
Abstract
In metal matrix composites, a metal is combined with another, often non-
metallic, phase to produce a novel material having attractive engineering
attributes of its own. A subject of much research in the 1980s and 1990s, this
class of materials has, in the past decade, increased signicantly in variety.
Copper matrix composites, layered composites, high-conductivity compos-
ites, nanoscale composites, microcellular metals, and bio-derived composites
have been added to a palette that, ten years ago, mostly comprised ceramic
ber or particle-reinforcedlight metals together withsome well-established
engineering materials, such as WC-Co cermets. At the same time, research
on composites such as particle-reinforced aluminum, aided by novel tech-
niques such as large-cell 3-D nite element simulation or computed X-ray
microtomography, has served as a potent vehicle for the elucidation of the
mechanics of high-contrast two-phase elastoplastic materials, with implica-
tions that range well beyond metal matrix composites.
243
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ANNUAL
REVIEWS
MMC: metal matrix
composite
INTRODUCTION
Metals and alloys are generally produced and shaped in bulk form but can also be intimately com-
bined with another material that serves to improve their performance: The resulting material is a
metal matrix composite (MMC). This class of composites encompasses many different materials
that can be distinguished according to their base metal (e.g., aluminum, copper, titanium); ac-
cording to the other, reinforcement, phase (e.g., bers, particles, whiskers); or according to their
manufacturing process (e.g., powder metallurgy, diffusion bonding, inltration, stir casting).
Bulk metals and alloys are economical high-performance materials. Why, then, combine these
withanother phase, as doing so will always add cost and cause complications (inrecycling, notably)?
Among the stronger drivers of MMC technology are the following basic facts.
The rst is that the composite approach to materials design makes it possible to go beyond
boundaries drawn in property space by basic attributes of the main materials classes. A classical
example is the specic modulus of metals, dened as elastic modulus E divided by density :
(E/). This parameter is a measure of the performance, in weight-critical deformation-limited
structural applications, of linear elastic components subjected to uniaxial stress. Now, the main
engineering metals and alloys have roughly the same (E/) 26 MJ kg
1
. So essentially the only
way to exceed this limit in a metallic material is to replace a signicant fraction of the metal atoms
with a phase made of atoms that are (a) situated in the top rows of Mendeleevs periodic table and
(b) strongly bonded to one another. Examples are ceramics such as Al
2
O
3
, B
4
C, or SiC and certain
variants of carbon (e.g., high-modulus carbon bers or diamond). Figure 1 shows another example
of property boundary transgression made possible by MMC technology.
The second reason why MMCs are interesting has to do with processing: Making a composite
is the only approach by which a signicant volume fraction of oxide or carbide can be introduced
into some important metals. Iron is very frequentlyand easilyreinforced with a wide array
of carbides, nitrides, or (more rarely) oxides because carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are soluble
in this molten metal. Liquid aluminum, magnesium, and copper, in contrast, have essentially
no solubility for carbon. Therefore, the only way to introduce a carbide into these metals is by
making a composite; the same holds for aluminum with oxides or nitrides. In other words, MMC
technology holds the key, for aluminum, magnesium, or copper, to much of the wide spectrum of
microstructures and properties available with iron.
A third reason for interest in MMCs has little to do with metals: Some phases, ceramics in
particular, have far better properties in nely divided form. Notably, micrometer-sized ceramic
bers or ceramic particles can be much stronger than bulk ceramics. Additionally, small, single-
crystalline ceramic particles can be excellent conductors of heat. Carbon, too, can in nely divided
form be very strong, stiff, and a good conductor of heat (as diamond, for example). Taking advan-
tage of this in macroscopic materials therefore calls for the incorporation of such nely divided
nonmetallic phases (as bers, platelets, lms, or particles) within a composite material, the ma-
trix of which can advantageously be made of metal. Indeed, metals conduct better, are stronger,
tougher, and more environmentally resistant than polymersand of course are much tougher
than ceramics.
These basic considerations have driven sustained research on MMCs, initiated several decades
ago by pioneering research such as the important contributions of Anthony Kelly and coworkers
(e.g., 6). Research on the subject reached a high level of intensity in the late 1980s and early 1990s
and continues today, albeit in a wider array of more distinct directions and hence less visibly.
MMCs have also entered the real world of engineering applications, in several forms ranging
from a few well-established engineering materials (such as WC-Co hard metal) to newer niche
materials; References 13 give recent surveys.
244 Mortensen
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0
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0 5 10 15 20 25
Coefcient of thermal expansion at room temperature (ppm K
1
)
T
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(
W

c
m
1

K
1
)
0.2 mm
Cu Ag
Al
cBN cB
Diamond
SiC
Al-SiC and Cu-Mo
Area of interest
Si GaAs
Metals
Ceramics
Diamond composites (Cu matrix, Al matrix, and Ag matrix)
Figure 1
Electronic substrates hold electronic circuits in place and keep them cool. Electronic substrate materials
must therefore conduct heat well and have a coefcient of thermal expansion (CTE) close to that of
semiconductors used in electronic circuitry, in the range from roughly 3 ppm K
1
to 7 ppm K
1
. Some
metals (e.g., copper or silver) and some ceramics (e.g., SiC or selected forms of carbon) are good conductors
of heat; however, their CTE falls on either side of the desired range. Because the CTE of metals tends to be
too high and that of ceramics too low, a mixture of the two provides the ideal material for this application
one of the success stories of MMC technology (14). Aluminum/SiC composites produced by inltration are
now well-established high-performance composites for electronic substrate applications; their property
range is indicated in the gure. Carbon materials, however, offer far higher conductivities than does SiC.
Over the past decade the price of synthetic diamond, an excellent conductor of heat, has decreased to levels
that make diamond particles viable engineering materials. A new generation of MMCs combining
aluminum, copper, or silver matrices with diamond particles and featuring an engineered interface has thus
emerged, with appropriate CTE values and thermal conductivities approaching 1000 W m
1
K
1
, i.e., 2.5
times that of pure copper. Figure adapted from recent work by L. Weber and R. Tavangar at EPFL
(Lausanne, Switzerland) (5).
Thus, the topic of MMCs is wide-ranging; recent reviews of the subject are in References 2 and
7. If we look at progress accomplished during this early twenty-rst century, what rst strikes the
eye is that the subject has defocused signicantly to become both broader and less visible as a
subtopic in materials science and engineering. There are fewer conferences specically devoted to
MMCs, but a rapid look at data from bibliometric search engines indicates that the yearly number
of articles published on the subject has remained roughly steady during this past decade.
The subject has diversied in two directions. The rst direction is driven by the invention of
interesting new MMCs; microcellular metals (composites too) and bulk metallic glass composites
www.annualreviews.org Metal Matrix Composites 245
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are examples. The other direction has grown out of the realization that these materials serve as
wonderful vehicles for the exploration of the physics or the micromechanics of nonlinear multi-
phase materials in general. MMCs have thus been the subject of much recent research that has
viewed these as near-ideal model materials, a role that MMCs have served well for many years
[going back to one of the earliest papers on the subject (8)].
We give in what follows a glimpse at some selected areas of recent progress in both of these two
directions. The next section describes new materials and advances in processing, whereas recent
progress in micromechanics driven by MMC research is presented in the section entitled Mech-
anisms of Deformation and Fracture. Discussion of MMC research can also be found elsewhere
in this volume (9).
PROCESSING AND MATERIALS
The past ten years have seen a signicant enlargement in the palette of reinforcements that are
combined with metal. New particles have appeared, starting with ne-scale submicrometer (or
nano-) particles. These tend to be intrinsically strong while also bringing Orowan hardening
or grain renement to the metallic matrix. The difculty with nanosized reinforcements is in
processing: Nanoparticles are much harder to incorporate or to distribute uniformly within metal.
Capillary forces, oftenimportant inMMCprocessing, are muchhigher withnanoparticles (because
these forces scale with the inverse of the reinforcement size) (10). The same holds for carbon
nanobers or carbonnanotubes, another newer reinforcement withpotential for the reinforcement
of metals.
Despite the challenges posed in processing, some laboratories and companies have managed to
successfully incorporate nanoparticles or nanobers into metal and to produce engineering-quality
(i.e., nonporous) MMCs with attractive properties by pressure inltration (11, 12), by stir casting
(13), by electrodeposition (14), or by powder metallurgy (15). Another, relatively well-established,
pathway to the production of nanoscale MMC structures is by attrition, generally involving ball
milling followed by consolidation. Reference 16 notably reports a cryomilled aluminum-based
MMC having a partly nanoscale microstructure that exhibits, after extrusion and annealing, a
compressive yield stress above 1 GPa along the extrusion direction. Other methods that have
been recently developed to this end are more chemical in nature; these are in situ methods,
exemplied by internal oxidation (17). Here, nanoscale reinforcements are created by internal
reaction between precursor materials that are nely combined within the composite; Reference
18 gives a recent review of in situ MMC processing.
A few laboratories have explored variations in the intrinsic microstructural quality, rather than
the scale, of the reinforcement, questioning the wisdom of using low-cost crushed (comminuted)
abrasive grade ceramics for the reinforcement of metals, as is generally done. Comminutedparticles
contain many internal defects, including cracks or sharp corners along their surfaces. Angularity
produces sites of elevated stress concentration within the composite when it is stressed, causing
in turn an acceleration of damage accumulation within the material, which sharply reduces its
ductility. Rounding comminuted particles to eliminate such sites of stress concentration has led to
signicant improvements in composite ductility (19, 20). Spectacular improvements in composite
properties can be further obtained if one uses particles produced by other methods, with few
internal defects and no sharp angles; a (rare) example of this is Sumitomos Sumicorundum
TM
particles (http://www.sumitomochem.co.jp/english/research/develop_basic.html).
The wisdom of keeping the volume fractions of ceramic particles below roughly 30%, as
is usually done to minimize their deleterious inuence on composite ductility, has also been
questioned. Indeed, the benet of adding ceramic to metal is, for many properties, nonlinear:
246 Mortensen
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6
m
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100 m
Figure 2
Combining metal and ceramic need not produce a brittle material, provided that the ingredients and the
processing are of high quality. This is illustrated with a four-point bend bar of a composite combining
roughly 50% alumina with 50% aluminum. From current research at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland) by
A. Hauert, A. Rossoll, and A. Mortensen (21).
IPC: interpenetrating
phase composite
Adding 25% alumina particles to aluminum will raise the modulus by 50%, from 70 GPa to
100 GPa, whereas 60% alumina will yield a 2.5-fold increase to 180 GPa in an isotropic material
having a density near that of aluminum. Defect-free composites of this class can be relatively
ductile despite a high (50%) ceramic content (see Figure 2). If, in addition, high-quality alumina
particles are used, both the ultimate tensile strength and the fracture toughness can reach values
matching those of engineering aluminumalloys (2225). These results, together with their analysis
(see next section), show that the potential held by strong ceramic particles for the reinforcement
of metal remains essentially untapped.
Much innovative recent work has also focused on ceramic reinforcements having three-
dimensionally percolating architectures. This is an area that has grown signicantly over the
past decade, largely under the impulse of a parallel thrust in microcellular ceramics research (26).
Once inltrated with metal, open-pore microcellular ceramics become interpenetrating phase
composites (IPCs), dened as composites in which both phases (metal and ceramic in the present
instance) are three-dimensionally percolating (27). As a result of these advances, IPC-MMCs
are now much more frequently produced and explored than they were ten years ago. Note-
worthy in this regard are the unique structures that are produced by inltration with metal of
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Growing ice crystals become,
after inltration, the (light) metal phase in the composite
x x
y
y
1 mm
Suspension of ceramic particles in water becomes, after drying
and sintering, the (dark) ceramic in the composite
Figure 3
Metal matrix composites from freeze-cast ceramic preforms. (Left) Ice crystals are made to grow directionally
in a slurry of water containing a high volume fraction of ne ceramic particles. Particle pushing by the
growing ice crystals concentrates the ceramic into thin walls. After freeze drying and sintering, a porous
ceramic preform is obtained; the domain distribution and the spacing of lamellae are functions of slurry
solidication parameters. (Right) A cross section through a freeze-cast aluminareinforced Al-12Si composite
produced by squeeze casting the metal into pores of the ceramic preform, viewed perpendicular to the
freezing direction in one single domain of a polydomain sample. Micrograph kindly provided by S. Roy and
A. Wanner of the University of Karlsruhe, Germany (29).
PCM: phase change
material
freeze-cast ceramics (Figure 3) (28, 29), biomorphic ceramics obtained from pyrolized wood
(Figure 4) (3032), or ceramic preforms produced by three-dimensional printing (33).
Together with the exploration of radically new reinforcement architectures, the past decade
has seen a greater emphasis on the exploration of MMCs for functional applications. Experience
has shown that many applications of MMCs are motivated by their ability to conduct electricity
or heat: Electronic substrates, electrical contactors, and brushes are examples of applications in
which MMCs excel. Such properties have motivated the exploration of new MMCs for functional
applications, such as novel carbon-reinforced metals for high thermal conductivity (Figure 1) or
novel composite superconductors (Figure 5) (34).
New functional MMCs have also emerged from the current drive toward greater energy ef-
ciency. A notable example is that of solid-oxide fuel cell anode materials, most frequently a porous
composite combining nickel with yttria-stabilized zirconia (3537). These are generally produced
by blending, densifying, and coring mixtures of NiO and zirconia, followed by reduction of
the NiO; the ensuing (25%) shrinkage of NiO creates the pore network. Cell performance is
highly dependent on the microstructure, and hence on the processing, of these complex anode
metal/ceramic/gas composites. One can thus expect these to remain a focus of intense research
activity in the years to come.
The current drive toward energy research should motivate the exploration of new MMCs; a
somewhat exotic example is phase change materials (PCMs). These materials can serve in ther-
mal management by absorbing or releasing heat as they melt or solidify, respectively (38). A
classical PCM is parafn, the melting point of which is near ambient temperature (the melting-
point temperature varies with the precise parafn formulation). The efciency of PCMs is often
248 Mortensen
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Figure 4
Computed X-ray microtomography composite view of three orthogonal sections of an Al/SiC composite
produced by pressure inltration with an Al-13Si-9Mg alloy of a three-dimensional SiC honeycomb-like
structure made by reaction with Si of pyrolized beech wood. The bounding box measures approximately
750 m per side; the voxel size is 1.46 m. In the (X-ray attenuationbased) color scale used, the Al-lled
pores appear blue, the SiC appears yellow or black, and residual porosity appears red or black. Image kindly
provided by T.E. Wilkes and K.T. Faber of Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois; for details consult
Reference 30.
restricted by their capacity to transport heat to/from the melting/solidication front, that is, by
their low heat conductivity. As a result, some of the best PCMs are composites combining the
phase-changing material (say, parafn) with another, more conductive phase (generally a metal).
The resulting MMC-PCM can be made by inltrating pores of an open-cell microcellular metal
with the molten PCM.
Microcellular metals, often called metal foams, are also MMCs. Research on highly porous
metals has grown in recent years to become a major thrust in metallurgy, covered by dedicated
conferences and books (and is now too broad to be covered in any detail within the present article)
(39, 40; http://www.metfoam2009.sav.sk/index.php?ID=1859&pg=13).
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aa
c
b
50 m
100 m
Figure 5
Cross-polarized light micrograph of a composite consisting of MgB
2
continuous bers within a Mg matrix
(a). The 190-m-diameter MgB
2
bers are created by a reaction of 140-m B bers with liquid Mg under
thermal cycling conditions (ten 600900
C cycles over 3 h). The inset shows a higher-magnication view of

a similarly reacted ber (eleven 650900
C cycles over 4.5 h) highlighting (b) the MgB

2
grains and (c) the
W-B core of the ber. Image kindly provided by J.D. DeFouw and D.C. Dunand of Northwestern
University, Evanston, Illinois (34).
BMG: bulk metallic
glass
MMC research has also expanded in recent years by incorporation of the approach into other
current areas of metallurgical research: Many major innovations in metallurgical research have
branched into novel MMC research. Bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) are inherently very brittle
materials; the MMC approach has proven to be a potent pathway toward addressing this limita-
tion. Siegrist & L ofer (41), for example, have shown recently that if soft particles are combined
with a BMG matrix, signicant improvements in BMG (compressive) ductility can be achieved
at minimal loss in yield stress. In related work, novel metals available in powder form, such as
aluminum-based BMG (42) or quasicrystals (43), have been explored as reinforcements for alu-
minum. Novel metallurgical processes, such as severe plastic deformation or friction stir welding,
have also been adapted toward the processing of MMCs, notably as methods toward improving
the spatial uniformity of reinforcement distribution (4447).
Current interest in layered structures has motivated research on MMC multilayers at both the
micro- and nanoscale. Figure 6 shows a metal/metal microlaminate material combining ductile
austenitic and brittle martensitic steel grades. In such composites, the more ductile metal stabilizes
the more brittle metal against tensile failure. As a result, as-quenched martensite can be coached
to deform by more than 20% in tension without breaking. Through use of this approach, with
appropriately strong interfaces, sufciently small layer thicknesses, and optimized heat treatment,
a steel sheet having an ultimate tensile strength of 1.35 GPa with a tensile fracture elongation of
28% was demonstrated at the University of Tokyo (48). Nanoscale laminates (Figure 7) can also
exhibit interesting properties; these materials serve notably as vehicles for research on plasticity
size effects or the role of interfaces in the deformation and fracture of ne-scale materials more
generally (49, 50).
As for ber-reinforced metals, recent engineering progress has been in large part driven
by 3Ms innovations in high-quality ceramic bers suitable for the reinforcement of metals.
Work during the past decade has notably introduced a continuous wire of aluminum rein-
forced by Nextel 610
TM
alumina bers designed for the overhead transmission of electrical
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200 m
Figure 6
Multilayered steel composite combining strongly bonded sheets of austenitic SS304 (0.04C-0.53Si-0.92Mn-
8.07Ni-18.19Cr; lighter phase in the micrograph) and martensitic SS420J2 (0.34C-0.49Si-0.57Mn-0.12Ni-
13.21Cr) steel. The composite is produced by stacking 25 layers of 1-mm-thick surface-ground steel sheets,
sealing the stack by welding, preheating in inert gas, and hot rolling to a nal thickness of approximately 3
mm. After annealing and air cooling, the laminate is further thinned by cold rolling to a thickness of 1.0 mm.
This particular composite exhibits a yield stress of 450 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength of 1250 MPa, and
20% elongation at fracture. Micrograph kindly provided by S. Nambu and T. Koseki of the University of
Tokyo, Japan (48).
power (shown in Figure 8) (http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Energy-
Advanced/Materials/Industry_Solutions/MMC/).
The past decade has seen progress in our understanding of the fundamentals that underlie
MMC processing. Noteworthy are advances in our understanding of in situ processes (18), of the
wetting of ceramics by metals (good overviews of this topic can be found in References 51 and
52), of transport phenomena that intervene in processes such as inltration (53, 54), and of the
link between deformation processing and particle clustering in solid-state MMC processing (see
next section).
Finally, we have seen impressive and far-reaching advances in microstructural characterization.
These developments have proven particularly well suited for MMCs because of the high contrast
(both physical and mechanical) that can exist between phases in these materials. Advances in X-ray
and neutron diffraction characterization of materials have thus largely beneted MMC research
(55, 56), as has the advent of methods for the characterization of material microstructures in
three dimensions, including computed X-ray microtomography (Figures 4 and 9) (30, 5759)
and automated serial sectioning (Figure 10) (60).
MECHANISMS OF DEFORMATION AND FRACTURE
From the structural viewpoint, a main limitation to the industrial application of MMCs has been
the embrittlement associatedwiththe addition, tothe metal, of brittle ceramic reinforcements. The
physical phenomena that control this behavior occur at the micrometer scale and above in MMCs.
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+5.000e+02
+4.167e+02
+3.333e+02
+2.500e+02
+1.667e+02
+8.333e+01
+1.526e05
8.333e+01
1.667e+02
2.500e+02
3.333e+02
4.167e+02
5.000e+02
Maximum princi-
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+2.000e+02
+1.833e+02
+1.667e+02
+1.500e+02
+1.333e+02
+1.167e+02
+1.000e+02
+8.333e+01
+6.667e+01
+5.000e+01
+3.333e+01
+1.667e+01
+0.000e+00
S22 (MPa)
Multilayers/
Si interface
1
2
a
b
2
500 nm
1
500 nm
Si substrate
Pt
Al/SiC multilayers
1 m
2
1
Figure 7
(a) Nanolayered composite of aluminum and SiC produced by magnetron sputtering onto a silicon substrate,
tested by nanoindentation. The nominal thickness of each of the alternating Al and SiC layers is 50 nm. The
Al layers are polycrystalline with a columnar grain structure, and the SiC material is amorphous. The picture
on the left shows a scanning electron microscope image of a cross section of the postindented composite
prepared by the focused ion beam technique. A part of the Berkovich indentation mark behind the sectioned
surface is visible. One can see that a symmetric pattern of damage was caused by the indentation, comprising
shear fracture of (1) the SiC layers and (2) mid-level voids. Further below, cracking near the multilayers/
substrate interface has also occurred. (b) The color contour plots show the results from a nite element
analysis of nanoindentation on the multilayered structure. The model features axial symmetry about the left
vertical boundary. The material system is identical to that used in the experiment. The left gure shows the
distribution of normal stress along the vertical (indentation) direction. Directly underneath the indentation,
the stress eld is predominately compressive. The contour legend was adjusted to bring out the fact that
there is a region, below and slightly outside the indentation edge, that is under signicant tensile stress. This
region largely corresponds to the damage zone observed in the experiment as highlighted. The right contour
plot of maximum principal stress further indicates a particularly highly stressed region near the interface
between the Al/SiC multilayers and the Si substrate, which can also explain the observation of interface
cracks. Adapted from gure kindly provided by N. Chawla of Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, and
Y.L. Shen of the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico (50).
252 Mortensen
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3M aluminum fber core
Figure 8
3Ms unidirectional Nextel 610
TM
nanocrystalline alumina berreinforced pure-aluminum composite has,
along the ber direction, roughly one-third the conductivity of copper in combination with a tensile strength
of roughly 1.5 GPa and a density near 3 g cm
3
(http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/
Energy-Advanced/Materials/Industry_Solutions/MMC/). When used instead of steel as the
high-strength core of electrical power transmission cables (inset), the composite provides an attractive
solution to power transmission, for example, in environmentally sensitive river crossings such as that
depicted in this gure. The composite features low sag and improved conductance and allows new tower
construction to be avoided while boosting transmission capacity. Photographs courtesy of 3M Corporate
Communications, St. Paul, Minnesota.
DD: discrete
dislocation
FE: nite element
As mentioned above, these phenomena can now be observed and quantied accurately using
novel three-dimensional microstructural characterization techniques. In addition, deformation
and failure processes within MMCs can now be simulated using several novel tools and methods,
including discrete dislocation (DD) dynamics, large-scale nite element (FE) simulation, and
nonlinear homogenization theory. Driven by this combination of strong engineering motivation
and novel methods, research on the nonlinear deformation and fracture of MMCs has led to
signicant advances in this general area during the past decade.
Particle-Reinforced Composites
The dispersion of stiff ceramic particles or bers within a ductile metallic matrix leads to an in-
crease in ow stress of the metal by load transfer across a strong interface from the matrix to the
reinforcement. Constraint imposed by the ceramic reinforcements on matrix plastic deformation
induces large tensile hydrostatic stresses in the matrix. This enhances the load carried by the rein-
forcements and hence the composite owstress but also triggers the early development of internal
damage in the form of particle fracture, interface decohesion, and/or matrix void growth (6164).
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0.3 mm
Pure-aluminum matrix Harder aluminum alloy matrix
Lower strain
level
Higher strain
level
Figure 9
X-ray microtomographic in-situ observation of the evolution of damage at different strain levels in a model
composite material made of aluminum-based matrices reinforced with 4 vol% of ZrO
2
/SiO
2
. The gure
shows tomographic slices extracted parallel to the tensile axis (vertical), at various levels of stress, increasing
from top to bottom. (Left column) Damage in the model composite material made of a pure-aluminum matrix
is mainly by decohesion along the particle/matrix interface. (Right column) The same material as in the left
column, but with a harder aluminum alloy matrix. The damage mechanism changes to particle fracture. In
both cases, initiation, growth, and coalescence of damage can be captured. Images kindly provided by
E. Maire and V. Carmona, MATEIS Laboratory, INSA Lyon, France (57).
254 Mortensen
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Figure 10
Three-dimensional nite element model corresponding to a region 200 140 60 m wide based on the
actual microstructure of a composite of 6061 reinforced by 27 vol% SiC particles. The model contains
approximately 1000 SiC particles. The three-dimensional microstructure of this powder metallurgy
processed material was generated via automated (robotic) serial sectioning and optical imaging, using the
Robo-Met.3D
TM
device (60). The red feature is an extended region of higher-than-average equivalent
plastic strain generated by applying a 2.5% tensile strain parallel to the long dimension, showing that the
macroscopic deformation band is modied by the presence of the local heterogeneities in the spatial
arrangements of the particles. Image kindly provided by J. Spowart of the Air Force Research Laboratory,
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
RVE: representative
volume element
The challenge to nd how the microstructure of these materials can be tailored to improve their
ductility and toughness has been addressed through a combination of simulation and experiment.
Realistic quantitative predictions of the mechanical response of particle-reinforced compos-
ites can be obtained via computational micromechanics. The composite behavior is analyzed
through the FE simulation of a three-dimensional representative volume element (RVE) of the
microstructure. The RVE size has to exceed a critical value to ensure that the simulation results
are independent of both the RVE size and the spatial distribution of the reinforcements within
the RVE. This strategy has been widely used to explore the effect of reinforcement volume frac-
tion, spatial distribution, and shape on deformation and damage mechanisms of such composites
(6572). This approach is illustrated in Figure 11a, which shows a cubic RVE containing a non-
homogeneous distribution of ceramic spheres dispersed in an aluminum matrix. Upon tensile
deformation, the ceramic particles constrain matrix plastic deformation within the cluster, which
increases hydrostatic stresses in both the matrix and the particles (Figure 11b). These large stresses
in turn promote interface decohesion (Figure 11c) as well as particle fracture (66) and/or matrix
ductile failure by void growth (67).
Such damage mechanisms reduce the strain hardening capacity of the material. This reduction
in turn precipitates the onset of plastic instability, which often controls the tensile ductility of
these materials (73, 74), to low strain values (<4%). Numerical predictions of the effect of particle
clustering on the tensile properties of these materials have been corroborated by experimental
results, which show signicant improvements in ductility if the particle distribution is homoge-
nized through friction stir processing, high-pressure torsion, or equal-channel angular pressing
(4447). In addition, techniques such as automated serial section and X-ray microtomography
provide detailed information on the relationship between the nucleation or growth of damage and
specic features of the three-dimensional microstructure (5760, 7579). In particular, the whole
process of damage nucleation by either particle fracture or interface decohesion, followed by void
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a b
GPa
1.0
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0.2
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c
Figure 11
Three-dimensional nite element simulation of the effect of particle clustering on the deformation and
damage micromechanisms in a model composite made of 15 vol% of ceramics spheres embedded in an
aluminum matrix (71). (a) Sphere spatial distribution within the cubic representative volume element (RVE)
of the microstructure. Notice that the microstructure is periodic and that spheres are truncated where they
intersect the cube faces and reappear on the opposite sides of the cube. The spheres are grouped in clusters
having a higher local volume fraction of reinforcements (one of these is highlighted in dark blue). (b) Contour
plot of the maximum principal stress in the ceramic particles when the composite has been subjected to a
tensile strain of 5%. Very large tensile stresses develop in particles within the clusters. (c) Development of
damage by interface decohesion (marked with black arrows on a two-dimensional cut through a large RVE).
Decohesion is localized between particles situated very close to each other within the clusters and oriented
along the loading direction. Interfacial fracture relieved large stress concentrations generated at the interface
by this particle spatial distribution. The blue arrows in panels b and c indicate the direction of tensile loading.
From research at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain, by J. Segurado, C. Gonz alez, and J. Llorca.
growth and coalescence through the matrix, can now be followed directly within the material
(see Figure 9).
These advances in experimental characterization have been accompanied by newdevelopments
in linear and nonlinear homogenization models. Linear homogenization is a proven methodology
to determine the effective properties of composite materials as a function of the phase properties
and their spatial distribution. For instance, accurate approximations to the elastic constants of
256 Mortensen
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particle-reinforced isotropic composites were obtained by Torquato (80) by truncating after third-
order terms an exact expansion series for the effective stiffness tensor, the rst few terms of
the series being given as a function of statistical correlation parameters that describe the phase
arrangement (81). Extension to the plastic regime was not, however, immediate, and the accuracy
of the predictions was limited by the localization of strain during plastic deformation and by the
limitations of the incremental methods (either tangent or secant) used to linearize the nonlinear
problem (8284). Large stress and strain gradients develop during the elastoplastic deformation
of composites, especially with elastic particles embedded in a soft matrix. The plastic behavior of
the matrix is determined by a reference equivalent stress computed in the classic homogenization
models from the volumetric average of the matrix stress tensor. The appropriate equivalent stress
is, however, signicantly lower than the phase average of the equivalent stress, and hence the
composite yield and ow stresses are overestimated using the classic homogenization approach.
This problem has since been overcome by the so-called modied secant approximation, shown to
be equivalent to a variational estimate by Ponte Casta neda (85, 86) and amenable to simplication
into relatively user-friendly expressions (87). In this approach, the reference equivalent stress
in the matrix is determined from the volumetric average of the second-order moment of the
stress tensor in this phase instead of the usual rst-order moment (or average), an approximation
that takes into account the effect of the eld uctuations (strain localization). The accuracy of
this new homogenization model was demonstrated by comparisons with quasi-exact numerical
results obtained through computational micromechanics (88, 89), and new versions of the tangent
approach also yielded good results (90, 91) (Figure 12).
These nonlinear homogenization approaches have served to develop physically based phe-
nomenological models that include the effect of damage nucleation and growth (by either particle
fracture or interface decohesion), addressing damage percolation as well (83, 92, 93, 96). These
0
50
100
150
200
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
0
50
100
150
200
250
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
Tensile strain
T
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(
M
P
a
)
Tensile
Shear
Spherical
particles
Matrix
Tensile/shear strain
T
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(
M
P
a
)
a b
Matrix
Ellipsoidal
particles
Figure 12
Predicted stress-strain curve for an aluminum matrix composite reinforced with 25 vol% stiff ceramic
particles. (a) Tensile ( purple) and shear ( green) deformation of a composite reinforced with spherical
particles. (b) Tensile deformation parallel (black) and perpendicular (blue) to the ellipsoidal reinforcements in
a composite with aligned ellipsoidal reinforcements with an aspect ratio of 3. The solid circles correspond to
quasi-exact numerical results obtained from computational micromechanics by averaging the results
obtained in 12 different particle realizations. The continuous lines denote the homogenization results
provided by improved secant (spheres) and incremental (ellipsoids) methods (89, 91).
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models can be divided in two groups. The rst is applicable to composites having a low particle
volume fraction (<30%) or having soft and ductile matrices, whose tensile ductility is controlled
by the onset of plastic instability. In these composites the Considere criterion predicts the tensile
failure strain well. Simulations of the tensile deformation of such composites take into account
the progressive reduction of the composite strain hardening rate due to damage and include the
effect of stress redistribution among the particles due to damage, using hypotheses consistent with
homogenization approaches that support the model (22, 73, 74, 83, 9294). A different case is
that of composites with high particle volume fraction (40%) and hard matrices: Fracture is then
often triggered before the onset of plastic instability by an abrupt percolation of damage across the
material. This phenomenon starts from a cluster of broken particles, which grows unstably above
a certain stress. Treating both of these failure modes leads to the prediction of a ductile-to-brittle
[100]
[010]
a b
0.4 m
5%
20%
45%
5%
20%
45%
(MPa)
80
60
40
20
0
11
()
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
c
d
10
4
x/b
0.05
0.00
0.05
0.10
0 1 2 3 4
/
Al
d
ef
258 Mortensen
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transition in tensile failure mode as the reinforcement volume fraction and/or the matrix strength
increase, which has been reported experimentally (24, 93, 95) and is captured by a recent model
(96).
The analyses presented above predict an effect of the particle size on the tensile strength and
the ductility because smaller particles tend to be stronger. This in turn diminishes the extent
of particle fracture during composite deformation and increases the hardening rate in tension.
Prior to the onset of particle fracture, however, for a given elastoplastic matrix, predictions of
the composite initial ow stress and hardening rate are insensitive to particle size, if all else is
constant. These predictions differ from experimental ndings (97100), which show an increase
in the yield stress and hardening rate as the particle size decreases, particularly for interparticle
distances below 10 m.
This plasticity size effect has been rationalized in terms of the strain gradients that appear
in the matrix as a result of deformation incompatibility between the plastic matrix and the stiff
ceramic particles. For a given geometry of plastic ow, ner microstructures (shorter interparticle
spacing) lead to greater strain gradients in the matrix, both during composite deformation and,
before this, due to differential matrix/reinforcement thermal contraction during cooldown from
processing temperatures. Higher gradients in turn produce a greater density of geometrically
necessary dislocations, which harden the metal. The effect has been known for some time (100);
however, its analysis has progressed signicantly in recent years. Detailed models of the effect of
interparticle distance of the ow stress of composites have been carried out using DD simulations
(101103). Figure 13 gives results from a fully three-dimensional coupled DD-FE simulation
of dislocation ow between narrowly spaced parallel ceramic bers. The increase in ow stress
and work hardening rate as the interparticle distance decreases essentially takes, in the ne-scale
structures of this simulation, the form of a classical Orowan bowing mechanism. In addition,
the accumulation of dislocations at the particle interface during plastic ow creates an internal
stress larger than the resolved applied stress and of opposite sign near the interface, reducing the
effective interparticle distance for matrix plastic owfromd to d
eff
(Figure 13c). This phenomenon
causes further hardening by what is, in effect, a source-shortening mechanism. In recent years
Figure 13
Coupled dislocation dynamicsnite element (DD-FE) simulations of the effect of interparticle distance on
the ow stress of a continuously reinforced Al-Al
2
O
3
composite deformed perpendicularly to the bers.
(a) Simulated dislocation microstructure projected on the (001) plane of the aluminum matrix, which is
perpendicular to the axis of the bers. The volume fraction of bers is 45%. Longitudinal strain
33
=
0.16% applied along the vertical direction in the gure ([010] direction for the aluminum). Note the
accumulation of dislocations at the interfaces and in the channels with smallest width. (b) Size effect in
transverse stress-strain curves for different reinforcement volume fractions (5%, 10%, and 45%); straining is
along the same direction as in panel a. The elementary simulation cells have the same size and contain the
same initial dislocation density. The solid red lines show the size effect predicted by the coupled discrete-
continuum model. The dashed blue lines represent continuum FE predictions using, for the aluminum
matrix, a stress-strain response tted to a coupled DD-FE simulation of the single crystal. (c) Resolved shear
stress prole (, normalized by the shear modulus of aluminum,
Al
) across the aluminum matrix in the
composite with the highest reinforcement volume fraction (45%) and the smallest spacing between bers (in
units of x/b, where b is the Burgers vector) for the most active slip system in the matrix. The deformation
conditions are the same as in panel a. The dashed black line is a prole extracted from simulation data, and
the solid black line is the corresponding regression curve. The accumulation of dislocations at the interfaces
induces a resistive internal stress larger than the resolved applied stress, which reduces the channel width d to
an effective value d
eff
. Figure kindly provided by L. Kubin of the CNRS-ONERA, Chatillon, France, and
adapted with permission from Elsevier Science; full publication of this work is in Reference 102.
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2
MPa
With particle fracture
No particle fracture
a b
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No particle
fracture
Particles have
fractured
1250
1100
950
800
600
450
300
150
1
0.3
Antishielding
No particle fracture
Shielding
With particle fracture
1.2
1.1
1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
k
I
(
A
I
S
i
C
)

/

k
I
(
c
p
)
Projected crack length, a (m)
Applied stress
of 7 MPa
Applied stress
of 14 MPa
0 40 80 120 160
Figure 14
Two-dimensional nite element simulation of crack growth in a microstructure produced on the basis of micrographs of a SiC
particlereinforced aluminum composite. (a) Color contours of the stress state in a two-dimensional image of a microstructure (top
panel: without particle fracture; bottom panel: with particle fracture). Several particles have cracked away from the crack tip. (b) The
predicted crack proles. As has been observed experimentally, when the particles crack, the crack prole is quite linear, with the crack
propagating through the particles. When the particles do not crack, crack deection is more pronounced. The bottom plot of panel b
shows the local stress intensity factor calculated at various points in the microstructure. This is plotted as a ratio of the mode I stress
intensity for the actual microstructure, k
I
(AlSiC), normalized by that of a homogeneous model with circular particles (with the crack
not interacting with the particles), k
I
(cp). Thus, a value of less than 1 indicates crack shielding (a decrease in the driving force for crack
growth), whereas a value greater than 1 indicates antishielding (an increase in the driving force for crack growth). Drawn from gure
kindly provided by N. Chawla of Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (108).
investigators have tackledplasticity size effects, usingapproaches basedonhigher-order continuum
micromechanics formulations incorporating one or more length scales to account for the role of
strain gradients or compliant interfaces on the matrix ow behavior (104, 105).
Fracture mechanisms have also been the subject of continued investigation. The inuence of
the particle distribution has been quantied and modeled in three dimensions, showing a strong
inuence on damage accumulation within these materials (Figure 10) (60, 106, 107). Micromech-
anisms governing the fracture toughness of these materials have also received attention in recent
years in simulation (Figure 14) (108) and also in experiment, where progress has notably been
driven by the advent of quantitative fractographic analysis tools (109, 110). High fracture tough-
nesses have been demonstrated in gas-inltrated Al-Al
2
O
3
composites containing a high volume
fraction (approximately 50%) of ceramic particles. When reinforced with strong polygonal Al
2
O
3
particles, these composites present strength/toughness combinations that rival those of engineer-
ing aluminum alloys. The surprisingly high toughness of these composites comes about by the
synergistic contribution to the fracture energy of several factors, namely, the increase in elastic
modulus (which is 2.5 times that of the unreinforced alloy), the formation of a large plastic zone
around the crack tip, and high bridging stresses between crack surfaces carried by the metal liga-
ments as a result of the small interparticle distance and highlocal stress triaxiality (2325, 110, 111).
260 Mortensen
Llorca
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GLS: global load
sharing
LLS: local load
sharing
SCF: stress
concentration factor
Finally, current interest in Cu-C composites as heat sinks in microelectronics has led to new
analytical and numerical models to predict their thermal conductivity. New developments include
the inuence of the polyhedral reinforcement geometry and spatial distribution as well as the
inuence of the crystalline orientation and of the electron/phonon interfacial conduction barrier
(112114).
Fiber-Reinforced Composites
In continuous parallel ber-reinforced composites, progressive ber fracture controls the longi-
tudinal tensile strength. Two extreme situations can be found. Under global load sharing (GLS)
conditions, the effect of the local stress concentration around the broken bers is negligible: Load
shed by fractured bers is redistributed equally among the intact bers in the remaining cross-
sectional area of the composite at that location. The stress-strain curve then exhibits a smooth
maximum, which arises from the competition between (a) hardening induced by matrix and ber
deformation and (b) softening caused by ber fragmentation. Under these assumptions, elegant
analytical solutions (115118) and numerical models (119) have been developed to predict the
composite strength, accounting for matrix/ber load transfer and ber fracture statistics.
GLS, however, represents an idealization because it ignores damage localization. Evidence of
damage localizationinMMCs is providedby insitumonitoring of damage using X-ray synchrotron
radiation in a Ti/SiCcomposite tested in tension (120): Fiber fracture is localized near the fracture
surface, whereas most of the sample remains free of damage. In addition, GLS predicts failure
when the tangent modulus reaches zero and does not account for size effects; both predictions are
opposed to available experimental results in most ber-reinforced MMCs (121123).
Experimental evidence indicates that local stress concentrations around broken bers tend to
localize damage, leading to fracture at lower strengths by the unstable expansion of a cluster of
broken reinforcements (120123). This behavior can be captured by local load sharing (LLS)
models, which rely on a stress concentration function (SCF) describing the redistribution of
load around a broken ber, which governs the neighboring ber fracture probability (124127).
Although elegant solution approaches exist, LLS models tend to be more complex and often rely
on numerical simulations to compute the composite strength. Model predictions are sensitive to
the precise values of the SCF, which in turn depends on the actual ber arrangement as well as
the interface and matrix properties. Accurate values for the SCF were obtained in specic MMC
systems using detailed FE simulations of the stress eld around a broken ber. These ndings
were in turn used in rigorous experimental validations of LLS predictors of MMC strength (122,
124, 128, 129).
From the modeling viewpoint, a more complex problem is to determine the strength of ber-
reinforced MMCs in the presence of a hole or a sharp notch. Two main failure mechanisms have
been reported, depending on matrix and interface properties and on thermal residual stresses
(130132). With a ductile matrix having a high ow stress and good ber/matrix bonding, failure
takes place by the propagation of a mode I crack from the notch root perpendicular to the bers
at moderate toughness levels. Composites with a weak, brittle matrix and/or a poor ber/matrix
bond exhibit a strong tendency toward mode II crack propagation along the ber direction. Such
splitting initiates and propagates at relatively high values of the applied stress intensity factor,
leading to a low notch sensitivity for this class of composites.
Simulation of the behavior of notched specimens was initially carried out for SiC
monolamentreinforced titanium within the framework of cohesive crack models, as matrix
plastic deformation is localized in a thin strip in front of the notch. There, bers fracture and
are eventually pulled out from the matrix (131, 132). More recently, novel multiscale simulation
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M
D a
0
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y
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x
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P/2 P/2
L
D
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a
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h
P
M
Q Q
Homogenized material
Fibers
Matrix
h
CMOD (m)
Simulation
Experiments
3
P
L
/
2

B
D
2

(
M
P
a
)
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
0
200
400
600
800
a
0
/D = 0.35
25
o
C
a b
c
d
0.10
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0.00
GPa
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
1.0
Figure 15
Multiscale modeling of fracture in SiC berreinforced Ti.6A-4V matrix composites. (a) Schematic of the three-point bend test
comprising a notched beam showing the central region of length h used in the numerical simulations, together with the detailed
microstructure in the central region of the notched beam ( planar view and lateral view). Matrix, bers, and homogenized material are
shown in different shades of gray. (b) Comparison of simulated and experimental P-CMOD (loadcrack mouth opening displacement)
curves for the notched beam tested at 20
C. The initial notch length a

0
was given by a
0
/D = 0.35, where D = beam height. The load
P on the ordinate of the plot was normalized by the beam dimensions (L = beam length between outer load application points, B =
beam width, and D = beam height). (c) Contour plot of the accumulated plastic strain in the matrix at maximum load in the composite
beam tested at 20
C. The black line shows the initial notch tip. (d) Idem for the longitudinal stress in the bers. From research at the
Polytechnic University of Madrid and IMDEA-Materials by C. Gonz alez & J. Llorca (135).
262 Mortensen
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strategies based on embedded cell models in three dimensions were used to predict the toughness
and notch sensitivity of ber-reinforced MMCs (133). The representation of the material in front
of the notch tipwhere damage is concentrated-includes the actual ber/matrix topology in
the composite, whereas the rest of the solid is modeled as a linear thermoelastic, transversally
isotropic homogeneous solid (Figure 15a). Damage and fracture micromechanisms that control
fracture (namely, plastic deformation of the matrix, brittle ber fracture, and ber/matrix fric-
tional sliding) are all included in the simulation. Fiber fracture is modeled by introducing interface
elements randomly placed along the bers and with random strengths to simulate ber fracture
realistically. It is assumed that the interface strength is negligible and that the ber/matrix in-
teraction is controlled by friction. Micromechanical parameters governing the behavior of bers,
matrix, and interfaces are independently measured. The mechanical response of the test beams in
three-point bending is then computed using the FE method, leading to results that are in good
agreement with experimental data, at both the microscopic level and the macroscopic level and
fromroomtemperature up to 400
C(Figure 15b,c) (134, 135). These results demonstrate the po-

tential of coupled multiscale three-dimensional simulation for predicting the fracture behavior of
MMCs.
Other than ber-reinforced titanium composites, recent research has addressed alumina ber
reinforced aluminium. Damage micromechanisms in tension (136) and fatigue (137), matrix hard-
ening mechanisms (138), and the properties of complex composite architectures (139, 140) have
been investigated.
CONCLUSION
Thus, a highly diverse picture of MMCs emerges from this brief overview of current research
on this materials class. First, the materials are more numerous than was the case ten years ago
(although the same probably cannot be said of processes). Second, the toolkit available to the ma-
terials scientist for the elucidation of structure/property relations in these interesting high-phase
contrast materials has expanded signicantly in both experimental and analytical tools together
with underlying theory. Third, the range of explored properties has also expanded to include, for
example, a greater focus on thermal conductivity, a property for which MMCs are now among
the top-performing bulk materials.
We expect this trend toward breadth and diversity to continue. Many new, interesting materials
are bound to be composites that combine a metal with another phase. As one example, MMCs,
full of metal/dielectric interfaces as these materials are, may one day enter the eld of optical
materials research. PCMs, mentioned above, are another class of emerging materials likely to be
composites with a metallic matrix. MMCs are a class of materials with a rich, albeit complicated,
future.
SUMMARY POINTS
1. MMC research has branched into many new directions, and the range of materials it
encompasses has expanded signicantly.
2. Several new classes of MMCs have gained importance and have been studied in detail
in the past ten years, including interpenetrating phase composites, biomorphic ceramic-
reinforced metals, bulk metallic glass composites, nanoscale composites, layered metals,
and microcellular metals.
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3. Research on MMCs for structural applications has progressed along two main direc-
tions: (a) the exploration of new composites expanding the property range of MMCs and
(b) the elucidation of structure/property relations in particulate and ber MMCs.
4. Research on MMCs for functional applications has seen signicant progress on materials
designed for thermal management.
5. MMCresearch has been, and remains, an important vehicle in nonlinear micromechanics
and three-dimensional microstructural characterization.
6. Our understanding of damage and fracture mechanisms in ceramic-reinforced metals,
both brous and particulate, now enables the accurate prediction of their performance
and the denition of strategies for their optimization.
7. The potential offered by strong ceramic particles for the reinforcement of metals is very
high and remains untapped.
FUTURE ISSUES
1. With an increased drive toward energy saving, research on MMCs for structural appli-
cations will surely gain new momentum, given the weight savings these materials offer
in several critical applications. The accuracy of the modeling tools in establishing the
connection between microstructure and properties will be very useful in developing new
materials with optimal properties.
2. For the same reason, many new composites combining a metal with another phase, often
one of ceramic, will likely emerge for applications in the management, storage, and
generation of energy as well as in novel functional applications.
3. A revitalization of research on the fundamentals of MMC processing, over and above the
invention of new systems, would be opportune.
DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
The authors are not aware of any afliations, memberships, funding, or nancial holdings that
might be perceived as affecting the objectivity of this review.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A.M. gratefully acknowledges support of his research on the subject at EPFLfromcore laboratory
funding and from the Swiss National Science Foundation (project number 200020-107556), at
MIT from the Ofce of Naval Research and the U.S. National Science Foundation, and in both
institutions from several industrial sponsors. J.L. acknowledges support from the Comunidad
de Madrid (program ESTRUMAT), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (project
MAT2009-14396), and several industrial sponsors.
264 Mortensen
Llorca
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AR416-FM ARI 3 June 2010 22:44
Annual Review of
Materials Research
Volume 40, 2010
Contents
New Developments in Composite Materials
Biological Composites
John W.C. Dunlop and Peter Fratzl p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 1
On the Mechanistic Origins of Toughness in Bone
Maximilien E. Launey, Markus J. Buehler, and Robert O. Ritchie p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 25
Teeth: Among Natures Most Durable Biocomposites
Brian R. Lawn, James J.-W. Lee, and Herzl Chai p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 55
Mechanical Principles of Biological Nanocomposites
Baohua Ji and Huajian Gao p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 77
Optimal Design of Heterogeneous Materials
S. Torquato p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 101
Physical Properties of Composites Near Percolation
C.-W. Nan, Y. Shen, and Jing Ma p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 131
Magnetoelectric Composites
G. Srinivasan p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 153
Self-Healing Polymers and Composites
B.J. Blaiszik, S.L.B. Kramer, S.C. Olugebefola, J.S. Moore, N.R. Sottos,
and S.R. White p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 179
Steel-Based Composites: Driving Forces and Classications
David Embury and Olivier Bouaziz p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 213
Metal Matrix Composites
Andreas Mortensen and Javier Llorca p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 243
Current Interest
The Indentation Size Effect: A Critical Examination of Experimental
Observations and Mechanistic Interpretations
George M. Pharr, Erik G. Herbert, and Yanfei Gao p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 271
vii
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AR416-FM ARI 3 June 2010 22:44
Plasticity in Conned Dimensions
Oliver Kraft, Patric A. Gruber, Reiner M onig, and Daniel Weygand p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 293
Saturation of Fragmentation During Severe Plastic Deformation
R. Pippan, S. Scheriau, A. Taylor, M. Hafok, A. Hohenwarter, and A. Bachmaier p p p p p 319
Ultrasonic Fabrication of Metallic Nanomaterials and Nanoalloys
Dmitry G. Shchukin, Darya Radziuk, and Helmuth M ohwald p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 345
Oxide Thermoelectric Materials: A Nanostructuring Approach
Kunihito Koumoto, Yifeng Wang, Ruizhi Zhang, Atsuko Kosuga,
and Ryoji Funahashi p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 363
Inkjet Printing of Functional and Structural Materials: Fluid Property
Requirements, Feature Stability, and Resolution
Brian Derby p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 395
Microuidic Synthesis of Polymer and Inorganic Particulate Materials
Jai Il Park, Amir Saffari, Sandeep Kumar, Axel G unther,
and Eugenia Kumacheva p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 415
Current-Activated, Pressure-Assisted Densication of Materials
J.E. Garay p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 445
Heterogeneous Integration of Compound Semiconductors
Oussama Moutanabbir and Ulrich G osele p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 469
Electrochemically Driven Phase Transitions in Insertion Electrodes
for Lithium-Ion Batteries: Examples in Lithium Metal
Phosphate Olivines
Ming Tang, W. Craig Carter, and Yet-Ming Chiang p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 501
Electromigration and Thermomigration in Pb-Free Flip-Chip
Solder Joints
Chih Chen, H.M. Tong, and K.N. Tu p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 531
The Structure of Grain Boundaries in Strontium Titanate:
Theory, Simulation, and Electron Microscopy
Sebastian von Alfthan, Nicole A. Benedek, Lin Chen, Alvin Chua, David Cockayne,
Karleen J. Dudeck, Christian Els asser, Michael W. Finnis, Christoph T. Koch,
Behnaz Rahmati, Manfred R uhle, Shao-Ju Shih, and Adrian P. Sutton p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 557
Index
Cumulative Index of Contributing Authors, Volumes 3640 p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 601
Errata
An online log of corrections to Annual Review of Materials Research articles may be
found at http://matsci.annualreviews.org/errata.shtml
viii Contents
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Metal Matrix Composites

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MR40CH10-Mortensen ARI 24 May 2010 15:28

Metal Matrix Composites

C cycles over 3 h). The inset shows a higher-magnication view of

C cycles over 4.5 h) highlighting (b) the MgB

C. The initial notch length a

C(Figure 15b,c) (134, 135). These results demonstrate the po-

C. Metall. Mater. Trans. 38A:16979

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