A new fusion cladding process that uses high-intensity arc lamps can produce pinhole free, smooth, uniform coatings as thick as 15 mm from various feedstock materials. This article briefly describes the process and the corrosion, wear, and high-temperature behavior of fusion claddings designed for oil and gas pipelines and related components.

This article describes the investigation conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board following an explosion triggered by a natural gas pipeline rupture. In addition to determining the likely cause of the rupture, the NTSB issued safety recommendations calling for hydrostatic pressure testing of similar gas lines and making them more amenable to inline inspection methods.

An advanced, patented probe sensor provides early detection of water infrastructure problems caused by corrosion and harsh atmospheric conditions. Designed to detect graphitization in active pipelines, it identifies areas at risk of major failures early on. By using indirect methods like GIS mapping, in-situ soil resistivity testing, and structure-to-soil potential measurements, high-risk zones can be pinpointed. Once these areas are identified, the probe assesses the severity and depth of graphitization, providing a comprehensive evaluation of the pipeline’s condition. This allows for the implementation of effective corrosion management strategies, including cathodic protection systems, to prevent critical failures. This article describes the sensor system and provides a case study of its use. The technology received the 2024 Engineering Materials Achievement Award from ASM International.

In recognition of ASM International's 100-year anniversary, AM&P highlights historic events and technological advancements that occurred over the course of those years. This issue extends the timeline from 1974 to 1983, which includes the completion of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the development of a mechanical alloying process to create new alloys of metals and metal oxides, the debut of the stainless steel body DeLorean automobile, and the initial launch of Space Shuttle Columbia.

For US industry to remain competitive, materials science and engineering fields must develop strategies for attracting, retaining, educating, and graduating a broader population of undergraduate and graduate students. This article proposes ways to build the STEM pipeline and establish a more resilient and diverse workforce to meet future demands.

Difficulty in clearly and quantitatively answering questions concerning a component or product failure can lead to courtroom debates, arguments, and battles. The case studies in this article identify and describe technical procedures to assist with explaining complex situations and thereby assist in solving failure analysis problems and resolving legal disputes.

This article demonstrates the application of machine learning to the classification and segmentation of bainitic microstructures and compares three approaches for assigning the ground truth: correlative microscopy using EBSD as an additional information source, comparison with images obtained from specially produced reference samples, and unsupervised learning.

This article identifies several factors that are not fully addressed in most fracture toughness test standards and explains how they may influence calculated values obtained from ferritic steels. Of particular consequence are test temperatures within the ductile-to-brittle transition regime and test specimen geometries when measuring the toughness of weld metal and heat-affected zones.

Corrosion is commonly defined as the deterioration of a material or its properties because of a reaction with its environment. It is a natural process due to a high energy state induced in metals and alloys during refining, processing, and manufacturing. Modern methods for preventing and controlling corrosion can reduce or eliminate its impact on public safety, the economy, and the environment. New technologies push materials to withstand increasingly demanding conditions as a result of higher temperatures and pressures, and environments with greater corrosivity. Therefore, the risks of new types of corrosion failures need to be considered along with methods to avoid them, as described in this article.

This article provides an overview of nondestructive test methods and their application in the study of material properties and structures. It covers the most widely used NDT technologies, including optical examination, radiography, acoustic emission, and ultrasonic testing, and discusses the impact of recent advancements.

This article briefly describes a new carbon nanocoating that provides corrosion protection through a two-coat system that is applied like paint, acts like plating, and relies on a much lower zinc content than existing three-coat solutions. Lost conductivity resulting from reduced zinc content is offset by highly conductive carbon nanotubes in the base layer.

Nondestructive evaluation comprises a large family of specific test disciplines including visual inspection, dimensional metrology, ultrasound, radiography, penetrant tests, magnetic particle tests, leak tests, eddy current tests, potential drop tests, flash and vibrothermography, shearography, acoustic emissions, and many other methods. This article offers an overview of NDE science and discusses some key considerations for choosing specific techniques.

The 15th World Conference on Titanium included papers on titanium alloy development, efforts to reduce Ti powder costs, additive manufacturing, and computational materials modeling tools. This article reviews some of the key advances reported at the conference.

Samuel Leslie Hoyt was one of the earliest metallurgists to receive his advanced training in Europe. He was involved in many of the key metallurgical developments in the middle part of the 20th century and also wrote about the achievements of his peers in the book Men of Metals.

The beginning of the big integrated steel industry began with the formation of the United States steel corporation in 1901. This article describes the growth of the U.S. steel industry in the first half of the twentieth century.

Heat treaters are discovering new opportunities in the rapidly expanding field of additive manufacturing. This article describes some of the opportunities and challenges for heat treaters in this technology area.

News about ASM members, chapters, events, awards, conferences, affiliates, and other society activities. Topics include: ASM Eisenman garden refurbished; launch of the ASM Sustainable Materials Engineering Committee; Ji-Cheng Zhao named 2023 recipient of the J. Willard Gibbs Phase Equilibria Award; Harry Bhadeshia named 2022 Henry Clifton Sorby awardee; volunteer profile for Blake Whitley.

News about ASM members, chapters, events, awards, conferences, affiliates, and other society activities. Topics include: ASM committee and council chairs appointed for 2019-2020; ASM Connect platform for member engagement rolls out; ASM Materials Genome Toolkit Program supported by the NIST-funded Center for Hierarchical Materials Design (CHiMaD); new equipment added to the ASM training laboratories; contributor spotlight for Erik Mueller; professional profile for Janet Gbur.

Stress corrosion cracking is an insidious form of damage that can occur when a susceptible metal is subjected to a tensile stress in a specific environment. To relieve tensile stresses at welded joints, postweld heat treatment can be helpful in reducing the susceptibility of carbon steel fabrications to SCC. When planning to use stainless steels in chloride-containing environments, it is advisable to select alloys that have been specifically developed to resist stress chloride cracking such as ferritic-austenitic (duplex) alloys, low-carbon ferritic alloys, and 6% Mo austenitic alloys or to select high-nickel alloys.

A new welding process known as hybrid induction arc welding (HIAW) or high deposition arc welding (HiDep) uses a hybrid approach to reduce—or even eliminate—weld distortion and greatly increase productivity. Operating directly in front of the arc welding torch, a portable induction coil heats the surfaces of the weld to, or near, the melting point. Heat generated by the welding arc is primarily used to melt the welding wire. This novel process operates at speeds two to four times faster than conventional arc welding and substantially reduces weld distortion.