Dispersion Strengthening of Metals

This review consists of a brief assessment of the developments in dispersion strengthening of 21 metals and their alloys on both a commercial and experimental level with a special emphasis on the last 10 years. For purposes of this report, dispersion strengthening is defined as the process of strengthening a metal or alloy by incorporating a fine insoluble phase dispersed uniformly throughout the matrix of the parent metal. Precipitation hardening is not covered in this report although it is a form of dispersion strengthening in which the precipitated particles usually redissolve in the matrix at high temperatures. Because this has been a very active field of research and development, properties obtained recently primarily within the past 10 years, or from difficult-to-obtain sources, have been given preference along with work not covered in previous reviews. This report also identifies the most recent reviews which have been prepared for each of these metals. Each section has its own reference list to assist the reader interested only in particular metals. For copper and nickel which are two of the largest chapters, a bibliography of added references, not cited in the overview, has been provided as an additional information source.