Vienna (TU). - Material scientists are developing composites which are made of dissimilar materials in order to be able to offer new customised application profiles. Researchers at the Vienna University of Technology (TU) have examined promising metal-matrix composites, which are very good conductors of heat and are able to withstand mechanical loads at elevated temperatures of up to 550 degrees and expand only very little with increasing temperature. These material combinations may be used in the ITER nuclear reactor, which is currently being constructed at Cadarache, France, and where they are intended to be used in cooling the first wall of the experimental reactor. Enhanced heat removal is playing an increasingly important role in the field of power electronics for engines and computers. Unless excess heat can be dissipated, the power of computers can no longer be increased. Last but not least, metal matrix composites can be used as cooling materials in rocket engines.

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