Foreword

Abstract

ForewordThe Advanced Materials Initiative (AMI) was established by the three science councils working in metallurgy and materials science, viz. Mintek, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation Ltd. (Necsa). It is supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to facilitate research, development and innovation across the materials value chain. The goal is to target significant export income and new industries for South Africa by 2020 through the country becoming a world leader in sustainable materials production and manufacturing via technological competence and optimal, sustainable local manufacturing of value-added products while reducing environmental impact.The key objectives of the programme are to create new industries, support existing industries, and localise technology. The AMI takes an integrated (vertical and lateral) approach across the entire value chain from resource development to materials production and the manufacture of end-products, to achieve its goal.The AMI consists of various technology networks, each focussing on different commodities that are of strategic importance to South Africa. The AMI promotes collaborative research between the science councils, tertiary education institutions and industry, both local and internationally. Human resource development is critical for the networks to expand the country’s technical capacity, develop the use of materials in new applications and more diverse industries, and develop industrial localisation.The Conference of the South African Advanced Materials Initiative (CoSAAMI’18) is the culmination of the annual peer review mechanism of the AMI. It particularly encourages the interaction of students and developing academics with the more established academic community and industry in an informal setting to present and discuss new and current work.The organising committee received 93 papers covering about 10 topics. Based on over 141 reviews from the technical committee and external reviewers, 50 papers appear in this proceedings. Each paper received at least 3 reviews. These proceedings will furnish scientists and engineers in the field of materials science with an excellent reference book and furthermore be an impetus to stimulate further study and research in these areas.The success of the AMI depends completely on the effort, talent and energy of researchers in the field of materials science who have written and submitted papers on various topics, as well as the reviewers who have invested significant time in analysing and assessing multiple papers to maintain a high standard of quality for this conference. We thank all authors and participants for their contributions.