Metal-ceramic composites via in-situ methods

To overcome some of the inherent problems that are associated with conventional processes, several in situ methods have been developed to obtain metal/ceramic composite materials. In this paper recently developed processes have been reviewed with a greater emphasis on directed melt oxidation and nitridation. These methods offer microstructures with varying metal/ceramic combinations. In some processes, metal matrix composites dispersed with controlled quantities of ceramic phase(s) are possible whereas in other ceramic composites with isolated/interconnected metallic dispersions are obtained. They could be varied by controlling the processing variables, i.e. temperature, time, reactant phases and filler materials. The properties of in situ processed materials primarily depend on the matrix and the volume fraction of the constituent phase. The mechanical properties, toughening mechanisms and potential applications are briefly reviewed.