The electroplating technique is used for producing thin sheets of copp
er- or nickel-based composites containing different volume fractions o
f alpha-alumina dispersions. The microhardness and tensile behaviour o
f such composites, in both the as-deposited and the annealed state, ar
e characterized. The strengthening mechanism of electroplated composit
es is found to be a combination of Orowan-type strengthening and the H
all-Petch effect. (C) 1998 Chapman & Hall.