Foreword

Abstract

The Advanced Materials Initiative (AMI) programme was established in 2003 by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI)( formerly the Department of Science and Technology (DST)) and Science Councils that contribute towards research and development on materials science, namely, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Council for Mineral Technology (MINTEK) and South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA).The objective of establishing this initiative was to research, develop and innovate across the advanced materials value chain. In this context, the advanced materials are defined as all materials that provide opportunities for creating new products and utilising advanced properties through the application of new technologies. From the DSI‘s strategic consideration, the AMI‘s key objectives are: to foster the creation of new industries, to improve the competitiveness of old and existing industries, and to promote technology localisation.The significance of the AMI programme through high-end beneficiation of South Africa’s mineral wealth is to position the science councils and universities to contribute towards the provision of solutions to the priority needs of our country, especially South Africa’s urgent need to create jobs and assist in the alleviation of our beloved country’s Triple Challenge of Poverty, Unemployment and Inequality. This is also part of the government’s nine-point plan - adding value to our mineral wealth by advancing beneficiation and support to the engineering and metals value chain.The Conference of the South African Advanced Materials Initiative (CoSAAMI), is an evolution of the Advanced Materials Initiative (AMI) series of conferences which offered a platform for local and international researchers and students, to present their work on topics related to the themes of the conference. The thematic areas of the conference are: powder metallurgy, materials for extreme environment, smart materials, corrosion, light weighting, computational materials science (modelling and simulation), political economy of materials science, advanced manufacturing, alloy development, polymers, ceramics, composites, nanomaterials and novel energy materials.All papers submitted to the CoSAAMI 2019 were peer-reviewed by a panel of expert referees in accordance with the IOP Peer Review Guidelines. A total of 95 manuscripts were received and through a rigorous review process where each paper received three reviews, only 50 were selected for publishing in a conference proceedings. The papers that were not accepted for publication were offered an option for presentation as a poster.The support of our panel of reviewers is tremendously appreciated and this conference proceedings would not be possible if it were not for their tireless and committed effort. The CoSAAMI 2019 team thanks you.