In the present work, hot workability of particulate-reinforced Al6061-20%SiC composite produced by direct hot extrusion technique was studied. Uniaxial hot compression test at various temperatures and strain rates was used and the workability behavior was evaluated from the flow curves and the attendant microstructures. It was shown that the presence of SiC particles in the soft Al6061 matrix deteriorates the hot workability. Bulging of the specimens and flow lines were observed, which indicate the plastic instability during hot working. Microstructure of the composites after hot deformation was found to be heterogeneous, i.e. the reinforcement clusters were observed at the flow lines. The mechanism of deformation was found to be controlled primarily by dynamic recrystallization.

The fabrication of complex-shaped parts out of Co-Cr-Mo alloy and 316L stainless steel by three-dimensional printing (3DP) was studied using two grades of each alloy with average particle size of 20 and , respectively. To produce sound specimens, the proper 3DP processing parameters were determined. The sintering behavior of the powders was characterized by dilatometric analysis and by batch sintering in argon atmosphere at for 2h. The 3DP process has successfully produced complex-shaped biomedical parts with total porosity of 12-25% and homogenous pore structure, which could be suitable for tissue growth into the pores.

It is known that powder characteristics including particle size and distribution, particle shape, and chemical composition are important parameters which influence direct laser sintering of metal powders. In this paper, we introduce a first order kinetics model for densification of steel powders during laser sintering. A densification coefficient (K) is defined which express the potential of different powders to be laser-sintered to a high density dependent on their particle characteristics.

Tin oxide nanoparticles (n-SnO and ) were synthesized by the inert gas condensation (IGC) method under dynamic gas flow of oxygen and argon at various conditions. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) method were used to analysis the size, shape and crystal structure of the produced powders. The synthesized particles were mostly amorphous and their size increased with increasing the partial pressure of oxygen in the processing chamber. The particles also became broader in size when higher oxygen pressures were applied. Low temperature annealing at in air resulted to crystallization of the amorphous n-SnO particles to .