A CCT diagram for Cr-Mo prealloyed sintered steels suitable for sinter hardening was established by combining dilatometry data, microstructural studies and microhardness measurements of the material. CCT diagrams deepen the understanding of material properties after sinter hardening and support the design of materials on an industrial scale by providing information about required cooling rates for successful sinter hardening of these materials.

The present work studies the influence of high-energy milling (HEM) and sintering cycle of Ti and Al powders on the obtainment of TiAl. This study shows that HEM modifies the diffusion processes during the sintering stage. The samples were obtained by cold uniaxial and isostatic pressing, pre-sintered at different temperatures, and heated up to the sintering temperature. This study also shows the effect of powder additions processed by HEM on the sintering behavior of elemental Ti and Al powders.

Silicon carbide whiskers (SiCw) having the diameter in the range of 20-80 nm were synthesised from coconut fibres through sol-gel process. The coconut fibres were impregnated with tetraethoxysilane and methyltriethoxysilane derived sol and pyrolyzed at 1400℃ in argon. X-ray of the pyrolyzed samples showed the formation of β-SiC.

We analyze the extinction law towards several B1V stars-members of our Galaxy, searching for possible discrepancies from the galactic average extinction curve. Our photometric data allow to build extinction curves in a very broad range: from extreme UV till infrared. Two-colour diagrams, based on the collected photometric data from the ANS UV satellite, published UBV measurements and on the infrared 2MASS data of the selected stars, are constructed. Slopes of the fitted straight lines are used to build the average extinction curve and to search for discrepant objects. The selected stars have also been observed spectroscopically from the Terskol and ESO Observatories; these spectra allow to check their Sp/L's. The spectra of only about 30% of the initially selected objects resemble closely that of HD144470, considered as the standard of B1 V type. Other spectra either show some emission features or belong clearly to another spectral types. They are not used to build the extinction curve. Two-colour diagrams, constructed for the selected B1 V stars, showing no emission stellar features, prove that the interstellar extinction law is homogeneous in the Galaxy. Both the shape of the curve and the total-to-selective extinction ratio do not differ from the galactic average and the canonical value(3.1) respectively. The circumstellar emissions usually cause some discrepancies from the average interstellar extinction law; the discrepancies observed in the extraterrestrial ultraviolet, usually follow some misclassifications.

We report on the mechanical and structural properties of nanocrystalline 8% and 10% mol yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) obtained using mechanical alloying (MA). The as-milled powders show a body-centered cubic structure with grain sizes in the nanometer scale. After uniaxial pressing and sintering the compacts exhibit good mechanical properties. We discuss the correlation of these enhanced properties with the microstructural changes induced by heat treatment.

In contrast with the Finite Element Method, the Discrete Element Method (DEM) takes explicitly into account the particulate nature of powders. DEM exhibits some drawbacks and many advantages. Simulations can be computationally expensive and they are only able to represent a volume element. However, these simulations have the great advantage of providing a wealth of information at the microstructural level. Here we demonstrate that the method is well suited for modelling, in coordination with FEM, the compaction of ceramic particles that have been aggregated. Aggregates of individual ceramic crystallites that are strongly bonded together are represented by porous spheres.