Engineering Materials and Processes – serie

Fusion bonding is one of the three methods available for joining composite and dissimilar materials. While the other two, mechanical fastening and adhesion bonding, have been the subject of wide coverage both in textbooks and monographs, fusion bonding is covered here substantially for the first time. Fusion bonding offers a number of advantages over traditional joining techniques and it is anticipated that its use will increase dramatically in the future because of the rise in the use of thermoplastic matrix composites and the growing necessity for recyclability of engineering assemblies. Fusion Bonding of Polymer Composites provides an in-depth understanding of the physical mechanisms involved in the fusion bonding process, covering such topics as:- heat transfer in fusion bonding;- modelling thermal degradation;- consolidation mechanisms;- crystallisation kinetics;- processing-microstructure-property relationship;- full-scale fusion bonding;- fusion bonding of thermosetting composite/thermoplastic composite and metal/thermoplastic joints.The book focuses on one practical case study using the resistance welding process. This example exposes the reader to the development of processing windows for a novel manufacturing process including the use of experimental test programmes and modelling strategies.

Metal Oxide Nanoparticles in Organic Solvents discusses recent advances in the chemistry involved for the controlled synthesis and assembly of metal oxide nanoparticles, the characterizations required by such nanoobjects, and their size and shape depending properties.In the last few years, a valuable alternative to the well-known aqueous sol-gel processes was developed in the form of nonaqueous solution routes. Metal Oxide Nanoparticles in Organic Solvents reviews and compares surfactant- and solvent-controlled routes, as well as providing an overview of techniques for the characterization of metal oxide nanoparticles, crystallization pathways, the physical properties of metal oxide nanoparticles, their applications in diverse fields of technology, and their assembly into larger nano- and mesostructures.Researchers and postgraduates in the fields of nanomaterials and sol-gel chemistry will appreciate this book’s informative approach to chemical formation mechanisms in relation to metal oxides.

The ?eld of composite materials has progressed greatly over the last few decades, as shown by the widespread use of ?brous composite - terials for airframes, sporting goods and other lightweight structures. Enabling this technological progress is scienti?c understanding of the design and mechanics of composite materials that involve continuous ?bers as the reinforcement. Current challenges in the ?eld of composite materials are associated with the extension of the ?eld of composite materials from structural composites to functional and multifunctional composites, the dev- opment of composite materials for electrical, thermal and other fu- tional applications that are relevant to current technological needs, and the improvement of composite materials through processing. Ex- ples of functions are joining (e. g. , brazing), repair, sensing, actuation, deicing (as needed for aircraft and bridges), energy conversion (as needed to generate clean energy), electrochemical electrodes, el- trical connection, thermal contact improvement and heat dissipation (i. e. , cooling, as needed for microelectronics and aircraft).Processing includes the use of additives (which may be introduced as liquids or solids), the combined use of ?llers (including discontinuous ones) at the micrometer and nanometer scales, the formation of hybrids (such as organic-inorganic hybrids), the modi?cation of the interfaces in a composite, and control over the microstructure. In other words, the development of composite materials for current technological needs must be application driven and process oriented. This is in contrast to the conventional composites engineering approach, which focuses on mechanics and purely structural applications.

"Chemical Vapour Deposition: An Integrated Engineering Design for Advanced Materials" focuses on the application of this technology to engineering coatings and, in particular, to the manufacture of high performance materials, such as fibre reinforced ceramic composite materials, for structural applications at high temperatures. This book aims to provide a thorough exploration of the design and applications of advanced materials, and their manufacture in engineering. From physical fundamentals and principles, to optimization of processing parameters and other current practices, this book is designed to guide readers through the development of both high performance materials and the design of CVD systems to manufacture such materials."Chemical Vapour Deposition: An Integrated Engineering Design for Advanced Materials" introduces integrated design and manufacture of advanced materials to researchers, industrial practitioners, postgraduates and senior undergraduate students.

Micromechanisms of Fracture and Fatigue forms the culmination of 20 years of research in the field of fatigue and fracture. It discusses a range of topics and comments on the state of the art for each.The first part is devoted to models of deformation and fracture of perfect crystals. Using various atomistic methods, the theoretical strength of solids under simple and complex loading is calculated for a wide range of elements and compounds, and compared with experimental data. The connection between the onset of local plasticity in nanoindentation tests and the ideal shear strength is analysed using a multi-scale approach. Moreover, the nature of intrinsic brittleness or ductility of perfect crystal lattices is demonstrated by the coupling of atomistic and mesoscopic approaches, and compared with brittle/ductile behaviour of engineering materials. The second part addresses extrinsic sources of fracture toughness of engineering materials, related to their microstructure and microstructurally-induced crack tortuosity. Micromechanisms of ductile fracture are also described, in relation to the fracture strain of materials. Results of multilevel modelling, including statistical aspects of microstructure, are used to explain remarkable phenomena discovered in experiments.In the third part of the book, basic micromechanisms of fatigue cracks propagation under uniaxial and multiaxial loading are discussed on the basis of the unified mesoscopic model of crack tip shielding and closure, taking both microstructure and statistical effects into account. Applications to failure analysis are also outlined, and an attempt is made to distinguish intrinsic and extrinsic sources of materials resistance to fracture.Micromechanisms of Fracture and Fatigue provides scientists, researchers and postgraduate students with not only a deep insight into basic micromechanisms of fracture behaviour of materials, but also a number of engineering applications.

Porous Semiconductors: Optical Properties and Applications provides an examination of porous semiconductor materials. Beginning with a description of the basic electrochemistry of porous semiconductors and the different kinds of porous semiconductor materials that can be fabricated, the book moves on to describe the fabrication processes used in the production of porous semiconductor optical components. Concluding the text, a number of optical components based on porous semiconductor materials are discussed in depth.Porous Semiconductors: Optical Properties and Applications provides a thorough grounding in the design, fabrication and theory behind the optical applications of porous semiconductor materials for graduate and undergraduate students interested in optics, photonics, MEMS, and material science. The book is also a valuable reference for scientists, researchers, and engineers in the field of optics and materials science.

Fatigue has long been recognized as a mechanism that can provoke catastrophic material failure in structural applications and researchers are now turning to the development of prediction tools in order to reduce the cost of determining design criteria for any new material. Fatigue of Fiber-reinforced Composites explains these highly scientific subjects in a simple yet thorough way.Fatigue behavior of fiber-reinforced composite materials and structural components is described through the presentation of numerous experimental results. Many examples help the reader to visualize the failure modes of laminated composite materials and structural adhesively bonded joints. Theoretical models, based on these experimental data, are demonstrated and their capacity for fatigue life modeling and prediction is thoroughly assessed.Fatigue of Fiber-reinforced Composites gives the reader the opportunity to learn about methods for modeling the fatigue behavior of fiber-reinforced composites, about statistical analysis of experimental data, and about theories for life prediction under loading patterns that produce multiaxial fatigue stress states. The authors combine these theories to establish a complete design process that is able to predict fatigue life of fiber-reinforced composites under multiaxial, variable amplitude stress states. A classic design methodology is presented for demonstration and theoretical predictions are compared to experimental data from typical material systems used in the wind turbine rotor blade industry.Fatigue of Fiber-reinforced Composites also presents novel computational methods for modeling fatigue behavior of composite materials, such as artificial neural networks and genetic programming, as a promising alternative to the conventional methods. It is an ideal source of information for researchers and graduate students in mechanical engineering, civil engineering and materials science.

Corrosion is generally described as "an attack on a metallic material by reaction with it’s environment". The corrosion of metallic materials causes large economic losses and is a high risk for accidents. The cost of corrosion is great but it is possible to reduce this cost by a better employment of existing knowledge. Providing a thorough contribution to knowledge distribution, Bardal combines a description of practical corrosion processes and problems with a theoretical explanation of the various types and forms of corrosion, with particular attention to the interaction between description and theory. A well thought-out introduction to corrosion science, with excellent examples and useful tables of data. Exremley well illustrated with 167 diagrams and photographs. Contains extensive reference material utilising the latest international standards. Vital emphasis is placed on the connections between practical problems and basic scientific principles. Corrosion and Protection is an essential guide for engineering students, particularly those with a limited background in chemistry, such as mechanical, marine and civil engineering students and also provides a valuable reference source for practicing engineers.

To handle many standards and ever increasing bandwidth requirements, large number of filters and switches are used in transceivers of modern wireless communications systems. It makes the cost, performance, form factor, and power consumption of these systems, including cellular phones, critical issues. At present, the fixed frequency filter banks based on Film Bulk Acoustic Resonators (FBAR) are regarded as one of the most promising technologies to address performance -form factor-cost issues. Even though the FBARs improve the overall performances the complexity of these systems remains high.  Attempts are being made to exclude some of the filters by bringing the digital signal processing (including channel selection) as close to the antennas as possible. However handling the increased interference levels is unrealistic for low-cost battery operated radios. Replacing fixed frequency filter banks by one tuneable filter is the most desired and widely considered scenario. As an example, development of the software based cognitive radios is largely hindered by the lack of adequate agile components, first of all tuneable filters. In this sense the electrically switchable and tuneable FBARs are the most promising components to address the complex cost-performance issues in agile microwave transceivers, smart wireless sensor networks etc.Tuneable Film Bulk Acoustic Wave Resonators discusses FBAR need, physics, designs, modelling, fabrication and applications. Tuning of the resonant frequency of the FBARs is considered. Switchable and tuneable FBARs based on electric field induced piezoelectric effect in paraelectric phase ferroelectrics are covered. The resonance of these resonators may be electrically switched on and off and tuned without hysteresis.The book is aimed at microwave and sensor specialists in theindustry and graduate students. Readers will learn about principles of operation and possibilities of the switchable and tuneable FBARs, and will be given general guidelines for designing, fabrication and applications of these devices.

To handle many standards and ever increasing bandwidth requirements, large number of filters and switches are used in transceivers of modern wireless communications systems. It makes the cost, performance, form factor, and power consumption of these systems, including cellular phones, critical issues. At present, the fixed frequency filter banks based on Film Bulk Acoustic Resonators (FBAR) are regarded as one of the most promising technologies to address performance -form factor-cost issues. Even though the FBARs improve the overall performances the complexity of these systems remains high.  Attempts are being made to exclude some of the filters by bringing the digital signal processing (including channel selection) as close to the antennas as possible. However handling the increased interference levels is unrealistic for low-cost battery operated radios. Replacing fixed frequency filter banks by one tuneable filter is the most desired and widely considered scenario. As an example, development of the software based cognitive radios is largely hindered by the lack of adequate agile components, first of all tuneable filters. In this sense the electrically switchable and tuneable FBARs are the most promising components to address the complex cost-performance issues in agile microwave transceivers, smart wireless sensor networks etc.Tuneable Film Bulk Acoustic Wave Resonators discusses FBAR need, physics, designs, modelling, fabrication and applications. Tuning of the resonant frequency of the FBARs is considered. Switchable and tuneable FBARs based on electric field induced piezoelectric effect in paraelectric phase ferroelectrics are covered. The resonance of these resonators may be electrically switched on and off and tuned without hysteresis.The book is aimed at microwave and sensor specialists in theindustry and graduate students. Readers will learn about principles of operation and possibilities of the switchable and tuneable FBARs, and will be given general guidelines for designing, fabrication and applications of these devices.

Diamond has a unique combination of properties, such as the highest hardness and thermal conductivity among any known material, high electrical resistivity, a large optical band gap and a high transmission, good resistance to chemical erosion, low adhesion and friction, and extremely low thermal expansion coefficient. As such, diamond has been a desirable material in a wide range of applications in mechanical, chemical, optical, thermal and electrical engineering. In many of the cases, the surface of a diamond component or element must have a superior finish, often down to a surface roughness of nanometers. Nevertheless, due to its extreme hardness and chemical inertness, the polishing of diamond and its composites has been a sophisticated process. Polishing of Diamond Materials will provide a state-of-the-art analysis, both theoretically and experimentally, of the most commonly used polishing techniques for mono/poly-crystalline diamond and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond films, including mechanical, chemo-mechanical, thermo-chemical, high energy beam, dynamic friction and other polishing techniques. The in-depth discussions will be on the polishing mechanisms, possible modelling, material removal rate and the quality control of these techniques. A comparison of their advantages and drawbacks will be carried out to provide the reader with a useful guideline for the selection and implementation of these polishing techniques.Polishing of Diamond Materials will be of interest to researchers and engineers in hard materials and precision manufacturing, industry diamond suppliers, diamond jewellery suppliers and postgraduate students in the area of precision manufacturing.

This book is the result of 40 years of the combined authors’ experience in mechanical and fluid dynamics engineering. It gives an overview of product and process development from the analytical standpoint. This book has not been intended to revolutionize the casting industry. The principals of fluid dynamics and static mechanics were largely developed in the nineteenth century, but process development still largely remains a trial and error method. This book is intended to underline the principals of strength of materials and fluid dynamics that are the foundation of the casting product and process development. This book has been written as a resource and design tool for product and process engineers and designers who work with aluminium castings. It combines many aspects of product and process development, which include the basic principals of static mechanics and fluid dynamics as well as completely developed applications allowing solving problems at every stage of the development process. This book has five main parts: (1) overview of casting processes, (2) fluid dynamics, (3) strength of materials, (4) sand casting, permanent mould, and die casting process development, and (5) quality control.

Providing a comprehensive and invaluable overview of the basics of crystallographic textures and their industrial applications, this book covers a broad range of both structural and functional materials. It introduces the existing methods of representation in an accessible manner and presents a thorough overview of existing knowledge on texture of metallic materials. Texture analysis has widespread use in many industries, and provides crucial input towards the development of new materials and products. There has been rapid growth in the science and art of  texture analysis in the last few decades. Other topics addressed within this book include recent research on texture in thin films and non-metals, and the dependence of material properties on texture, and texture control in some engineering materials.This book constitutes an invaluable reference text for researchers and professionals working on texture analysis in metallurgy, materials science and engineering, physics and geology. By using content selectively, it is also highly accessible to undergraduate students.

This book provides a comprehensive and concise description of most important aspects of experimental and theoretical investigations of porous materials and powders, with the use and application of these materials in different fields of science, technology, national economy and environment. It allows the reader to understand the basic regularities of heat and mass transfer and adsorption occurring in qualitatively different porous materials and products, and allows the reader to optimize the functional properties of porous and powdered products and materials. Written in an straightforward and transparent manner, this book is accessible to both experts and those without specialist knowledge, and it is further elucidated by drawings, schemes and photographs.Porous materials and powders with different pore sizes are used in many areas of industry, geology, agriculture and science. These areas include (i) a variety of devices and supplies; (ii) thermal insulation and building materials; (iii) oil-bearing geological, gas-bearing and water-bearing rocks; and (iv) biological objects. Structural Properties of Porous Materials and Powders Used in Different Fields of Science and Technology is intended for a wide-ranging audience specializing in different fields of science and engineering including engineers, geologists, geophysicists, oil and gas producers, agronomists, physiologists, pharmacists, researchers, teachers and students.

This highlights ongoing research efforts on different aspectsof polymer nanocomposites and explores their potentials to exhibitmulti-functional properties. Inthis context, it addresses both fundamental and advanced concepts, whiledelineating the parameters and mechanisms responsible for these potentials. Aspects considered includeembrittlement/toughness; wear/scratchbehaviour; thermalstability and flame retardancy;barrier, electrical and thermal conductivity; andoptical and magnetic properties. Further, the book was writtenas a coherent unit rather than a collection of chapters on differenttopics. As such, theresults, analyses and discussions presented herein provide a guide for thedevelopment of a new class of multi-functional nanocomposites. Offering aninvaluable resource for materials researchers and postgraduate students in thepolymer composites field, theywill also greatly benefit materials

Providing a comprehensive and invaluable overview of the basics of crystallographic textures and their industrial applications, this book covers a broad range of both structural and functional materials. It introduces the existing methods of representation in an accessible manner and presents a thorough overview of existing knowledge on texture of metallic materials. Texture analysis has widespread use in many industries, and provides crucial input towards the development of new materials and products. There has been rapid growth in the science and art of  texture analysis in the last few decades. Other topics addressed within this book include recent research on texture in thin films and non-metals, and the dependence of material properties on texture, and texture control in some engineering materials.This book constitutes an invaluable reference text for researchers and professionals working on texture analysis in metallurgy, materials science and engineering, physics and geology. By using content selectively, it is also highly accessible to undergraduate students.

This book provides a comprehensive and concise description of most important aspects of experimental and theoretical investigations of porous materials and powders, with the use and application of these materials in different fields of science, technology, national economy and environment. It allows the reader to understand the basic regularities of heat and mass transfer and adsorption occurring in qualitatively different porous materials and products, and allows the reader to optimize the functional properties of porous and powdered products and materials. Written in an straightforward and transparent manner, this book is accessible to both experts and those without specialist knowledge, and it is further elucidated by drawings, schemes and photographs.Porous materials and powders with different pore sizes are used in many areas of industry, geology, agriculture and science. These areas include (i) a variety of devices and supplies; (ii) thermal insulation and building materials; (iii) oil-bearing geological, gas-bearing and water-bearing rocks; and (iv) biological objects. Structural Properties of Porous Materials and Powders Used in Different Fields of Science and Technology is intended for a wide-ranging audience specializing in different fields of science and engineering including engineers, geologists, geophysicists, oil and gas producers, agronomists, physiologists, pharmacists, researchers, teachers and students.

This book provides a simple and unified approach to the mechanics of discontinuous-fibre reinforced composites, and introduces readers as generally as possible to the key concepts regarding the mechanics of elastic stress transfer, intermediate modes of stress transfer, plastic stress transfer, fibre pull-out, fibre fragmentation and matrix rupture. These concepts are subsequently applied to progressive stages of the loading process, through to the composite fractures.  The book offers a valuable guide for advanced undergraduate and graduate students attending lecture courses on fibre composites. It is also intended for beginning researchers who wish to develop deeper insights into how discontinuous fibre provides reinforcement to composites, and for engineers, particularly those who wish to apply the concepts presented here to design and develop discontinuous-fibre reinforced composites.

This highlights ongoing research efforts on different aspectsof polymer nanocomposites and explores their potentials to exhibitmulti-functional properties. Inthis context, it addresses both fundamental and advanced concepts, whiledelineating the parameters and mechanisms responsible for these potentials. Aspects considered includeembrittlement/toughness; wear/scratchbehaviour; thermalstability and flame retardancy;barrier, electrical and thermal conductivity; andoptical and magnetic properties. Further, the book was writtenas a coherent unit rather than a collection of chapters on differenttopics. As such, theresults, analyses and discussions presented herein provide a guide for thedevelopment of a new class of multi-functional nanocomposites. Offering aninvaluable resource for materials researchers and postgraduate students in thepolymer composites field, theywill also greatly benefit materials

This book provides a simple and unified approach to the mechanics of discontinuous-fibre reinforced composites, and introduces readers as generally as possible to the key concepts regarding the mechanics of elastic stress transfer, intermediate modes of stress transfer, plastic stress transfer, fibre pull-out, fibre fragmentation and matrix rupture. These concepts are subsequently applied to progressive stages of the loading process, through to the composite fractures.  The book offers a valuable guide for advanced undergraduate and graduate students attending lecture courses on fibre composites. It is also intended for beginning researchers who wish to develop deeper insights into how discontinuous fibre provides reinforcement to composites, and for engineers, particularly those who wish to apply the concepts presented here to design and develop discontinuous-fibre reinforced composites.

Manufacture of components from powders often requires a compaction step; as in powder metallurgy, ceramic, hardmetal, magnet, pharmaceutical, refractory and other sectors to make anything from complex gears for cars to pills to dishwasher tablets. Development of the tooling to manufacture a component can be a long process with several iterations. A complementary approach is to use a model of the compaction process to predict the way that powder behaves during compaction and thus the loads needed to achieve compaction and quality of the compacted part.Modelling of the process of die compaction has been the subject of recent collaborative research from leading experts in Europe and this book presents a summary of the state of the art, taking examples from recent world-class research. Case studies are presented, providing a reference for the testing and validation of these compaction models.The reader will learn about the: Industry requirements for models of die compaction; Techniques to generate the material data required for input to these models; Production and assessment of compacts for comparison with model predictions; Range of compaction models and results from exercises comparing these models with real powder compacts; The range of potential uses of these models in industry.

Thermoelectricity describes the physics of energy conversion, from heat to electric power, and from electric power to heat or cooling power in solids.The working fluid consists of the conduction electrons. Despite a long and distinguished history, recent developments in nanotechnologies have revolutionized the field. It was recognised in the 1990s that low-dimensional systems should result in materials with much better efficiencies than bulk materials, through low-dimensional effects on both charge carriers and lattice waves. This has been experimentally demonstrated in the early 2000s.This book aims to be the first monograph to comprehensively describe low-dimensional thermoelectricity in a systematic manner. Following the classic format of monographs in this area, it is written so that low-dimensional effects follow naturally from the transport equations. It is aimed at professional researchers in academia and industry, and graduate students in materials engineering, applied physics and chemistry.

Sintering is a manufacturing technique that has existed for centuries to make bricks, china and pottery and is now used to produce high-tech materials and products. The process forms ceramic and metallic solids from powders and is used to manufacture automotive parts, valves & pumps, magnets, bio-ceramics and materials for nanotechnology. Modern modelling techniques are now employed to improve the efficiency of sintering.

This book covers modern techniques in sintering and bridges the gap between the mathematical nature of some modelling techniques and the practical needs of industry. Sintering models are shown to be applied at three length scales. Sintering is viewed as a multi-scale process and the mathematical techniques linking the models at the three scales are discussed. Powder compaction models are outlined and programming and numerical issues discussed. Two computer programmes used for modelling sintering are provided on the CD.

This book will interest researchers, engineers and postgraduates.

This book is the result of 40 years of the combined authors’ experience in mechanical and fluid dynamics engineering. It gives an overview of product and process development from the analytical standpoint. This book has not been intended to revolutionize the casting industry. The principals of fluid dynamics and static mechanics were largely developed in the nineteenth century, but process development still largely remains a trial and error method. This book is intended to underline the principals of strength of materials and fluid dynamics that are the foundation of the casting product and process development. This book has been written as a resource and design tool for product and process engineers and designers who work with aluminium castings. It combines many aspects of product and process development, which include the basic principals of static mechanics and fluid dynamics as well as completely developed applications allowing solving problems at every stage of the development process. This book has five main parts: (1) overview of casting processes, (2) fluid dynamics, (3) strength of materials, (4) sand casting, permanent mould, and die casting process development, and (5) quality control.

Forcenturies,composersandmusicianssuccessfullycomplementedeachother. Composers provided humanity with superb compositions, and musicians have been making attempts to vivify the mysterious staves. Great performances, thosethatmanagedtocreatetheexpectedorsometimesunexpectedemotions, always captivated the audience and broke fresh ground for new artworks. The present work belongs to the world of “instrumentalists” and ventures upon creating new perspectives within the ?eld of electronic structure of solid materials. We also have our own great “composers”, such as Walter Kohn and Ole Krogh Andersen. Kohn established the Density Functional theory, the most elegant and useful formulation of the many electron problem, and for that he deservedly won the highest award within the scienti?c world. - dersen created e?cient tools to solve the basic Density Functional equations for solids. Today, his theories are widely used in computational materials science. In January 1997, Andersen, looking for experts within the ?eld, c- tacted Hans Lomholt Skriver’s group in Lyngby, and asked then to vivify his latest tool belonging to the third generation mu?n-tin methods. Since then, many new incarnations of these methods have come to light. This monograph revealsanimplementationofoneoftheoriginalapproaches,namelytheExact Mu?n-Tin Orbitals (EMTO) method. Today theoretical condensed matter physics, besides its fundamental m- sion to facilitate the understanding of the properties of solid materials at the atomic level, also strives to predict useful quantitative and qualitative data for the development of high-performance materials. Computational quantum mechanics brings an increasing demand for new techniques, which make t- oretical investigations more handleable bytoday’s computers.

Silver has the lowest resistivity of all metals, which makes it an attractive interconnect material for higher current densities and faster switching speeds in integrated circuits. Over the past ten years, extensive research has been conducted to address the thermal and electrical stability, as well as processing issues which, to date, have prevented the implementation of silver as an interconnect metal. Silver Metallization: Stability and Reliability is the first book to discuss current knowledge of silver metallization and its potential as a favorable candidate for implementation as a future interconnect material for integrated circuit technology.Silver Metallization: Stability and Reliability provides detailed information on a wide range of experimental, characterization and analysis techniques. It also presents the novel approaches used to overcome the thermal and electrical stability issues associated with silver metallization. Readers will learn about the: - preparation and characterization of elemental silver thin films and silver-metal alloys; - formation of diffusion barriers and adhesion promoters; - evaluation of the thermal stability of silver under different annealing conditions; - evaluation of the electrical properties of silver thin films under various processing conditions; - methods of dry etching of silver lines and the integration of silver with low-k dielectric materials. As a valuable resource in this emerging field; Silver Metallization: Stability and Reliability will be very useful to students, scientists, engineers and technologists in the fields of integrated circuits and microelectronics research and development.

The use of computational techniques is increasing day by day in the manufacturing sector. Process modeling and optimization with the help of computers can reduce expensive and time consuming experiments for manufacturing good quality products. Metal forming and machining are two prominent manufacturing processes. Both of these processes involve large deformation of elasto-plastic materials due to applied loads. In metal forming, the material is plastically deformed without causing fracture. On the other hand, in machining, the material is deformed till fracture, in order to remove material in the form of chips. To understand the physics of metal forming and machining processes, one needs to understand the kinematics of large deformation (dependence of deformation and its rate on displacement) as well as the constitutive behavior of elasto-plastic materials (dependence of internal forces on deformation and its rate). Once the physics is understood, these phenomena have to be converted to mathematical relations in the form of differential equations. The interaction of the work-piece with the tools/dies and other surroundings also needs to be expressed in a mathematical form (known as the boundary and initial conditions). In this book, the first four chapters essentially discuss the physics of metal forming and machining processes. The physical behavior of the work-piece during the processes is modeled in the form of differential equations and boundary and initial conditions.

Developments in the use of electrospun fibrous materials, for application in tissue engineering and in carbon fibrous materials in fuel cells, has generated new interest in the dependence of the properties and structure of these materials on those of their constituent fibres. “Modelling Stochastic Fibrous Materials with Mathematica” provides an overview of the structure of stochastic fibrous materials, and the use of Mathematica® to develop models describing their structure and performance. The book introduces the techniques of statistical geometry and probabilistic modelling for non-mathematicians, and assumes no previous experience of Mathematica®. Using accessible notation and by providing examples of Mathematica® code, expressions are derived for the structural characteristics of stochastic fibrous materials providing insights into the ways these depend upon each other and the extent to which they can be modified in the laboratory or in a manufacturing environment.

“Electromechanical Properties in Composites Based on Ferroelectrics” investigates the problem of prediction and non-monotonicity of the effective electromechanical (piezoelectric, dielectric and elastic) properties in two- and three-component composites based on ferroelectric ceramics and relaxor-ferroelectric single crystals. The book analyzes the interrelations between the electromechanical constants of the components, and describes the different analytical schemes for averaging the properties of these materials with different connectivity and microgeometrical characteristics. The book highlights the advantages of different methods for predicting the electromechanical properties and choosing the optimum components, and demonstrates the non-trivial behavior of specific composite architectures and the parameters of value for engineering applications. The book is of benefit to all specialists looking to understand the detailed behavior and electromechanical response of advanced composite materials.