The 20th International Symposium on the Processing and Fabrication of Advanced Materials (PFAMXX) was organized by Hong Kong Polytechnic University, during the 15-17th December 2011, in Hong Kong. The main purpose of this interdisciplinary symposium was to bring together state-of-the-art developments regarding all aspects of the processing and fabrication of advanced materials, spanning the entire gamut of metallic, intermetallic, ceramic, ceramic-matrix composites, metal-matrix composites, intermetallic-matrix composites, advanced polymers and polymer-matrix composites; together with surface and high-temperature coatings. The symposium provided an attractive forum for the presentation of the latest advances, in materials processing and fabrication, by researchers and engineers from industry, research laboratories and academia. The proceedings cover the areas of: Advanced Composite Materials (Polymer, Metal and Ceramics); Natural Fibres (Plant- or Animal-Based) Composites; Nanostructural Materials; Properties of Materials; Failure Analysis; Computational Analysis and Simulations; Advanced Manufacturing Processes; Bio-materials and Bio-composites; Materials Characterizations. The result is an excellent and timely overview of the subject.The 77 papers and 10 keynote lectures in this volume were presented during the 20th International Symposium on Processing and Fabrication of Advanced Materials held in Hong Kong in December 2011. The topics of the conference were: advanced composite materials (polymer, metal, and ceramics), natural fiber (plant or animal based) composites, nano-structural materials, materials properties, failure analysis, computational analysis and simulations, advanced manufacturing processes, bio-materials and bio-composites, and materials characterizations. Editors are Bhattacharyya (U. of Auckland, New Zealand), Lau and Ho (Hong Kong Polytechnic U.), Srivatsan (U. of Akron), and Zhang (Zhongshan U., China).

The 20th International Symposium on the Processing and Fabrication of Advanced Materials (PFAMXX) was organized by Hong Kong Polytechnic University, during the 15-17th December 2011, in Hong Kong. The main purpose of this interdisciplinary symposium was to bring together state-of-the-art developments regarding all aspects of the processing and fabrication of advanced materials, spanning the entire gamut of metallic, intermetallic, ceramic, ceramic-matrix composites, metal-matrix composites, intermetallic-matrix composites, advanced polymers and polymer-matrix composites; together with surface and high-temperature coatings. The symposium provided an attractive forum for the presentation of the latest advances, in materials processing and fabrication, by researchers and engineers from industry, research laboratories and academia. The proceedings cover the areas of: Advanced Composite Materials (Polymer, Metal and Ceramics); Natural Fibres (Plant- or Animal-Based) Composites; Nanostructural Materials; Properties of Materials; Failure Analysis; Computational Analysis and Simulations; Advanced Manufacturing Processes; Bio-materials and Bio-composites; Materials Characterizations. The result is an excellent and timely overview of the subject.The 77 papers and 10 keynote lectures in this volume were presented during the 20th International Symposium on Processing and Fabrication of Advanced Materials held in Hong Kong in December 2011. The topics of the conference were: advanced composite materials (polymer, metal, and ceramics), natural fiber (plant or animal based) composites, nano-structural materials, materials properties, failure analysis, computational analysis and simulations, advanced manufacturing processes, bio-materials and bio-composites, and materials characterizations. Editors are Bhattacharyya (U. of Auckland, New Zealand), Lau and Ho (Hong Kong Polytechnic U.), Srivatsan (U. of Akron), and Zhang (Zhongshan U., China).