New trends in the development of mechanical engineering materials

New or improved materials are presently evolving faster than at any other time and the huge number of already existing materials is growing rapidly. Moreover, the improvement of the characteristics of materials with time is nearly exponential. Engineers cannot ignore this tendency, because the materials used today will be supplanted by new materials in a very few years time. The joint stimulation of market pressure and science pressure is generating the development of new classes of materials (e.g. new composites, nanostructured materials, functionally gradient materials) and of new synthesis or processing procedures (e.g. rapid solidification of alloys, mechanical alloying, hot isostatic pressing). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.