The Diploma Thesis “Determination of fracture toughness of Metal Matrix Composites by using lock-in thermography” was presented by Mrs. Eugenia Spiropoulou (currently employed at ELKEME’s Surface Science and Coatings Department) on April 2nd 2014 at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering of the University of Ioannina.

Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) are rapidly becoming strong candidate materials in demanding applications as in aerospace and automotive industries. The field of applied fracture mechanics of MMCs remains under investigation. The study uses lock-in thermography as an innovative, accurate method for the determination of the critical property of fracture toughness of MMCs. The required experiments were fulfilled at the Engineering, Intelligent Sensor and Non-Destructive Evaluation of Materials laboratory of the department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Ioannina.