Metal and ceramic matrix composites used in missiles, aircraft, automobile engines and other high-temperature, high-stress situations may one day be available for use in indestructible products such as washing machines, golf clubs and tennis rackets.

A branch of material and process engineering now associated with exotic military and commercial applications may one day offer much more down-to-earth solutions to consumers, said Applied Research Lab research associate Ram Bhagat.

Bhagat organized an international conference at the annual meeting of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society held last month in Anaheim, Calif.

"There were people there from every continent," Bhagat said. "It was truly an international conference."

Matrix composites are man-made materials designed to increase product strength, performance and durability, he said.

Composites are combinations of bulk, material and reinforcement, or fiber-like material, Bhagat said. Some examples of bulk or matrix materials include metals such as aluminum and magnesium, or ceramics such as zirconia and mullite. Reinforcement materials are ceramics such as graphite, silicon nitride and alumnia, which contribute added durability to the metals.

The high cost of these materials prevent them from now being attractive to the average consumer, he added.

The conference was mainly concerned with the performance of composite materials at high temperatures, Bhagat said.

The conference proceedings consisted of 60 papers submitted by materials researchers organized into seven categories, and were published by TMS in a book with the same title as the conference, Bhagat said.

The topics at the conference included manufacture, modeling, development and testing of matrix composites, Bhagat said.

"Anyone who sat through the conference will have up-to-date information in what is essentially the major work being done in the U.S. and Europe today," said ARL Senior Research Associate Ram Kossowski, who attended the conference.

About 4000 professionals attended the TMS meeting.

Two other University process engineering professors, M. F. Amateau and M. Pechersky attended the Anaheim conference organized by Bhagat.