I would firstly like to thank Prof. Mingxing Zhang for allowing me the opportunity to undertake this thesis project. Ming's guidance and mentoring has immensely helped me to complete this thesis. I also would like to thank Mr. Jeffery Chang for his assistance and mentoring. Jeff's help and expertise in the field was crucial to my understanding of the subject matter. I would also like to thank Jeff for preparing the castings and getting the samples ready for us that were used in our experimental procedures.