| Scope |
Metal matrix composites (MMCs) are at the forefront of advanced materials development, offering unique combinations of mechanical strength, thermal stability, and functional performance by integrating metallic matrices with ceramic or carbon-based reinforcements. While established routes such as powder metallurgy, casting, and infiltration continue to deliver high-performance components, new opportunities are being unlocked through additive manufacturing, which enables customized architectures, tailored reinforcement distributions, and improved design flexibility. Together, these advances are bridging fundamental research with industrial application, positioning MMCs as enabling materials for aerospace, automotive, energy, and defense sectors where lightweighting, durability, and multifunctionality are essential.
Focus Areas
• Innovations in processing routes: powder metallurgy, casting, infiltration, and additive manufacturing approaches for MMCs
• Reinforcement strategies across length scales (nano to macro), including hybrid and in situ reinforcement methods
• Interface engineering and microstructural control to optimize performance and reliability
• Structure–property–processing relationships supported by advanced characterization and modeling tools
• Additive manufacturing of MMCs: feedstock design, process–structure–property integration, and scalability
• Industrial applications in aerospace, automotive, energy, and defense, with emphasis on performance in extreme environments
• Cross-cutting challenges: cost-effectiveness, repair/joining methods, sustainability, joining and repair technologies, and pathways to large-scale adoption
• High-throughput and data-driven approaches: integration of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and digital twins for accelerated MMC design and optimization.
• Metal matrix composite solidification: solidification mechanisms, microstructure evolution, defect formation, and process control in cast and additive manufactured MMCs. |