In recent year's aluminium and aluminium alloys are widely used in automotive industries. These are light (density of about 2.7 g/cm3), having good malleability and formability, high corrosion resistance and high electrical and thermal conductivity. Metal matrix composites (MMCs) are being employed in industrial applications since they have high specific strength, stiffness, and good wear properties. Due to their favourable properties, composite materials with reinforcements are used in many industries. With the aim to additionally improve some of their properties, especially their tribological properties, several solid lubricants are used in the process of composite production. This paper gives an overview of investigations and possibilities of solid lubricant particles (such as graphite) applying as complementary material, mainly for aluminium base composites that are nowadays common in use in automotive and aeronautics industry.

The paper presents some aspects concerning the use of infrared thermography (IRT) in the evaluation of composite pipes integrity. Composite pipelines made up of glass fibres reinforced epoxy resins are increasingly used, especially in oil and gas industry, for their good mechanical properties, combined with reduced weight and excellent behaviour under hostile environment conditions. Taking into account that high reliability is required for such pipe networks, it is mandatory to choose reliable non-destructive inspection (NDI) methods to achieve efficient structural health monitoring. The main advantages of the IRT inspection are: non-contact and non-dangerous examination. In order to characterize the integrity of composites pipes, first of all the researches were interested in obtaining a set of reference images and then to examine the samples before and after the impact stress test. The conclusions point out the schemes and the optimal parameters of evaluation as well as the application limits of thermographic inspection

The paper presents some aspects regarding the wetting conditions in aluminium – graphite composite. The wettability depends on several factors like the presence of the oxide skin at the melt surface, formation Al4C3 at the interface between Al and particles, temperature, pressure etc. In this paper, the conditions of perfect wettability of carbon by molten Al achieved under MCl–K2TiF6 molten salts (fluxes), alloying of the melt with surface active elements, heat treatment of reinforcement material and coating of the particles with a metallic thin layer.

The paper is a synthesis of essential data regarding the wetting conditions in aluminium – silicon carbide mixtures. Non wetting conditions between the reinforcing element and the matrix turns difficult the incorporation of particles in the aluminium melt. The wettability depends on several elements, like the presence of the oxide layer at the melt surface, temperature, pressure or shape of the complementary material. To improve wetting conditions, several measures are necessary: alloying of the melt with surface active elements, overheating of the melt; coating of the particles with a metallic thin layer. Also, by using existing data reported in the field, some parameters were calculated and interpreted.

Composite materials are large used today in various industrial fields such as: aeronautics, military equipment, pipelines for oil transport; frequently must meet serious requirements about the quality. This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the possibilities and limits of flaws detection and measurement in composite materials by infrared thermography. In a research contract developed in our university were designed and processed samples with artificial defects in composite materials: CFRP, GRFP and Dyneema. The main aim of experimental research was to assess size of flaws positioned at different depths related to the examination area. The samples were investigated by infrared thermography and then the results were verified by different ultrasonic methods.