Search Results for age hardening

Metals pioneer Paul Dyer Merica and his associates at the National Bureau of Standards discovered the principles that governed the age hardening of duralumin. The resulting developments opened the door to a new range of high-strength, lightweight alloys for engineering and transportation applications.

Aluminum-silicon (Al-Si) alloys have good castability in combination with high corrosion resistance, thermal conductivity, and specific strength, making them a strong candidate for many automotive applications. This article describes the processes used in the production of die-cast AlSi9Mg engine brackets for Volvo trucks, the effects of solution treatment temperature on Si particle size, and the benefits of Mg additions on yield strength and heat treatability.

Three types of thermal treating processes are commonly applied to magnesium alloys, including annealing, solution heat treatment, and precipitation, or aging.

A look at Monel after decades of exposure to the environment shows more work is needed to address the lack of scientific research and information in the conservation literature. Three case studies are presented related to the analysis of Monel artifacts.

In the early 1950s, European carmakers faced stringent fuel economy targets that their American counterparts would only confront 20 years later. This article reviews developments in Europe from the post-war period to the 1970s.

As the American car companies moved toward the use of aluminum auto body sheet in the early 1970s, they brought with them a mindset very different from that of the aerospace industry.

In North America, renewable power sources and gas turbines are often in the news, but globally, steam turbines generate the largest portion of electricity, and they will remain a predominant power-generation technology for many decades. Because steam turbines represent a preponderance of our power-generation base, it is essential to continue to drive turbine technology development. Until now, the main technical barrier limiting large efficiency improvements was the temperature constraint imposed by available materials. Today, the game is changing. Due to advancements in materials, we now have a chance to make unprecedented improvements in steam turbine power plant efficiency by raising the inlet temperature hundreds of degrees through the use of new tailored superalloys.

Alcoa’s aluminum monopoly continued throughout the 1920s and 1930s—a serious problem when World War II demands far exceeded production capacity. This articles reviews advances in aluminum technology during the war and the postwar period.

When the first aluminum hood launched in 1977, the mills were delivering rectangular blanks separated by paper to protect the delicate outer surfaces. This article reviews important advances in aluminum forming and heat treating in the latter part of the twentieth century.

Newly developed nickel-titanium (NiTi) alloys are well suited for bearings and gears in demanding applications.

The U.S. Naval Academy is expanding awareness about corrosion-related material degradation, its effects on force readiness, and efforts to manage it. One of the goals of the Naval Academy’s corrosion education efforts and corrosion-related STEM activities is to teach students to understand materials degradation processes and prevention methods for aging defense systems.

High-strength, corrosion-resistant steel is proposed as a cost-effective alternative to titanium alloys due to its high specific strength, high fatigue strength, good toughness, and corrosion resistance.

When the Big Three automakers started thinking about replacing steel sheet with aluminum, they found an industry vastly different from the Alcoa-dominated world of the pre-war era. This article describes developments from the period after World War II thorough the early 1970s.

Ahead of formal certification, many advanced metals have been qualified for 3D printing, allowing for the creation of previously impossible aerospace parts including for the hypersonic environment.

Plasma nitriding is very effective in removing the passive layer of chromium oxide formed naturally on the surface of stainless steel, but controlling the kinetics is key for optimal results.

High strength, corrosion-resistant Ferrium C64 is the culmination of a rigorous design process that bypassed extensive physical experimentation—delivering a carburizable steel with unmatched capability.

Throughout metal making history, nothing has exceeded the technical importance, scientific complexity, and human curiosity involved in the hardening of steel. After the bustling 1890s, with its exciting and productive discoveries around steel metallography, a period of quiet consolidation occurred in the early 20th century. This article describes the breakthroughs in steel metallurgy that occurred after this period by such pioneers as William Chandler Roberts-Austen, Adolf Martens, Henry Marion Howe, and Edgar C. Bain.

Simple tools were first devised for hunting purposes, followed by more complex ones for agriculture and construction, and always included efforts to make better weapons for war. Finally, with the Industrial Revolution, humans began to invent mass-produced machine tools. this article describes the early development of the tool steel industry in the United States.

Automotive designers and heat treaters have many choices when it comes to the materials and processes that will meet their overall needs. This article reviews some of the major trends affecting automotive heat treating.

This article is a brief update on work by the Center for Heat Treating Excellence at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts to study the best way to heat treat additively manufactured parts for optimum performance. A particular focus of the CHTE research is on titanium and titanium alloys, cobalt alloys, and stainless steels for biomedical applications.