Zintl phase Mg3Sb2 is a promising thermoelectric material in medium to high temperature range due to its low band gap energy and characteristic electron-crystal phonon-glass behavior. P-type Mg3Sb2 has conventionally exhibited lower thermoelectric properties compared to its n-type counterparts, which have poor electrical conductivity. To address these problems, a small amount of Sn doping was considered in this alloy system. P-type Mg3Sb2 was synthesized by controlled melting, pulverizing, and subsequent vacuum hot pressing (VHP) method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to investigate phases and microstructure development during the process. Single phase Mg3Sb2 was successfully formed when 16 at.% of Mg was excessively added to the system. Nominal compositions of Mg3.8Sb2-xSnx (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.008) were considered in this study. Thermoelectric properties were evaluated in terms of Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity. A peak ZT value ≈ 0.32 was found for the specimen Mg3.8Sb1.994Sn0.006 at 873 K, showing an improved ZT value compared to intrinsic one. Transport properties were also evaluated and discussed.

Half-heusler phase ZrNiSn is one of the potential thermoelectric materials for high temperature application. In an attempt to investigate the effect of Sb doping on thermoelectric properties, half-heusler phase () was synthesized by mechanical alloying of stoichiometric elemental powder compositions, and consolidated by vacuum hot pressing. Phase transformations during mechanical alloying and hot consolidation were investigated using XRD. Sb doped ZrNiSn was successfully produced in all doping ranges by vacuum hot pressing using as-milled powders without subsequent annealing. Thermoelectric properties as functions of temperature and Sb contents were evaluated for the hot pressed specimens. Sb doping up to x=0.04 in was shown to be effective on thermoelectric properties and the figure of merit (ZT) was shown to reach to the maximum at x=0.02 in this study.

Fabrication of matrix in-situ composite, reinforced by a FeAl phase, was studied by using the powder metallurgical processing route. Especially, in order to disperse the second phase more finely, we chose the mechanical alloying process. We investigated the microstructural and mechanical properties of the consolidated material. After consolidation by vacuum hot pressing, the compact showed almost full density and consisted of a matrix and FeAl second phase (average particle size was less than 1m). The compact showed HV746, which was higher than that of the arc melted monolithic material, HV603.

Vacuum Hot Pressing을 이용하여 제조한 TiNi형상기억섬유 강화 6061 AI기지 복합재료를 제조하고 미세조직 및 기계적 특성 등을 연구하였다. 제조된 복합재의 항복응력은 예비변형량, 섬유체적율 및 열처리에 따라 증가하였다. 복합재의 지적특성은 예비변형이 가하여진 후 재가열되었을 때 기지 내 TiNi 섬유의 형상기억효과에 의한 압축잔류응력 발생에 기인된다. 미세조직 관찰 섬유와 기지 사이에는 AI3Ti및 AI3Ni의 금속간화합물층이 관찰되었다. 또한 시험온도 증가와 더불어 TiNi섬유강화된 복합재의 유동강도는 높은 값을 나타내었다.

The variation of the microstructures and the mechanical properties with varying vacuum hot pressing temperature and pressure was investigated in PyM processed 20 vol%) SiCw/ 2124Al composites. As increasing the vacuum hot pressing temperature, the aspect ratio of whiskers and density of composites increased due to the softening of 2124Al matrix with the increased amount of liquid phase. The tensile strength of composite increased with increasing vacuum hot pressing temperature up to and became saturated above , To attain the high densification of composites above 99%, the vacuum hot pressing pressure was needed to be above 70 MPa. However, the higher vacuum hot pressing pressure above 70 MPa was not effective to increase the tensile strength due to the reduced aspect ratio of SiC whiskers from damage of whiskers during vacuum hot pressing. A phenomenological equation to predict the tensile strength of /2124AI composite was proposed as a function including two microstructural parameters, i.e. density of composites and aspect ratio of whiskers. The tensile strength of /2124AI were found more sensitive to the porosity than other P/M materials due to the higher stress concentration and reduced load transfer efficiency by the pores locating at whisker/matrix interfaces.