The purpose of my dissertation is to understand the structural and magnetic properties of the newly discovered FeAs-based superconductors and the interconnection between superconductivity, antiferromagnetism, and structure. X-ray and neutron scattering techniques are powerful tools to directly observe the structure and magnetism in this system. I used both xray and neutron scattering techniques on di#11;erent transition substituted BaFe2As2 compounds in order to investigate the substitution dependence of structural and magnetic transitions and try to understand the connections between them.

Various metal matrix composites (MMCs) are widely used in the automotive, aerospace and electrical industries due to their capability and flexibility in improving the mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of a component. However, current manufacturing technologies may suffer from insufficient process stability and reliability and inadequate economic efficiency and may not be able to satisfy the increasing demands placed on MMCs. Semi-solid powder processing (SPP), a technology that combines traditional powder metallurgy and semi-solid forming methods, has potential to produce MMCs with low cost and high efficiency. In this work, the analytical study and experimental investigation of SPP on the fabrication of MMCs were explored. An analytical model was developed to understand the deformation mechanism of the powder compact in the semi-solid state. The densification behavior of the Al6061 and SiC powder mixtures was investigated with different liquid fractions and SiC volume fractions. The limits of SPP were analyzed in terms of reinforcement phase loading and its impact on the composite microstructure. To explore adoption of new materials, carbon nanotube (CNT) was investigated as a reinforcing material in aluminum matrix using SPP. The process was successfully modeled for the mono-phase powder (Al6061) compaction and the density and density distribution were …