This book describes spark plasma sintering (SPS) in depth. It addresses fundamentals and material-specific considerations, techniques, and applications across a broad spectrum of materials. The book highlights methods used to consolidate metallic or ceramic particles in very short times. It highlights the production of complex alloys and metal matrix composites with enhanced mechanical and wear properties. Emphasis is placed on the speed of the sintering processes, uniformity in product microstructure and properties, reduced grain growth, the compaction and sintering of materials in one processing step, various materials processing, and high energy efficiency. Current and potential applications in space science and aeronautics, automation, mechanical engineering, and biomedicine are addressed throughout the book.

Professor Pasquale Cavaliere, from the Department of Innovation Engineering of the University of Salento, received his PhD in 1999-2002 in Materials Engineering, from the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”. Following completion of his Ph.D., Dr. Cavaliere was the Marie Curie Fellow at Materials Science and Engineering Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA. He is the author of over 250 papers in international journals and conferences, with an h-Index of 27 and over 2000 citations. He is the editor of two edited books: Ironmaking and Steelmaking Processes and Cold-Spray Coatings, both published by Springer.