Ebook: Materials Characterisation IV: Computational Methods and Experiments (Wit Transactions on Engineering Sciences)

Contains the proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Computational Methods in Materials Characterisation, held in tHE New Forest, UK, June 17-19, 2009.Until recently, engineering materials could be characterized successfullyusing relatively simple testing procedures. As materials technologyadvances, interest is growing in materials possessing complex meso-, micro- and nano-structures, which to a large extent determine their physical properties and behaviour. The purposes of materials modelling are many: optimization, investigation of failure, simulation of production processes, to name but a few. Modelling and characterisation are closely intertwined, increasingly so as the complexity of the material increases. Characterisation, in essence, is the connection between the abstract material model and the real-world behaviour of the material in question. Characterisation of complex materials therefore may require a combination of experimental techniques and computation.The papers in the book cover the following topics: Advances in Composites; Ceramics and Advanced Materials; Alloys; Cements; Biomaterials; Thin Films and Coatings; Imaging and Image Analysis; Thermal Analysis; New Methods; Surface Chemistry; Nano Materials; Damage Mechanics; Fatigue and Fracture; Innovative Computational Techniques; Computational Models and Experiments, Mechanical Characterisation and Testing.