Foreword

Throughout the history of Metals Handbook, the amount of coverage accorded nonferrous alloys, special-purpose materials, and pure metals has steadily, if not dramatically, increased. That this trend has continued into the current 10th Edition is easily justified when one considers the significant developments that have occurred in the past decade. For example, metal-matrix composites, superconducting materials, and intermetallic alloys—materials described in detail in the present volume—were either laboratory curiosities or, in the case of high-temperature superconductors, not yet discovered when the 9th Edition Volume on this topic was published 10 years ago. Today, such materials are the focus of intensive research efforts and are considered commercially viable for a wide range of applications. In fact, the development of these new materials, combined with refinements and improvements in existing alloy systems, will ensure the competitive status of the metals industry for many years to come.

Publication of this Volume is also significant in that it marks the completion of a two-volume set on properties and selection of metals that serves as the foundation for the remainder of the 10th Edition. Exhaustive in scope, yet practical in approach, these companion volumes provide engineers with a reliable and authoritative reference that should prove a useful resource during critical materials selection decision-making.

On behalf of ASM International, we would like to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to the authors, reviewers, and other contributors who so generously donated their time and efforts to this Handbook project. Thanks are also due to the ASM Handbook Committee for their guidance and unfailing support and to the Handbook editorial staff for their dedication and professionalism. This unique pool of talent is to be credited with continuing the tradition of quality long associated with Metals Handbook.