Foreword

Improving the performance, extending the life, and enhancing the appearance of materials used for engineering components are fundamental—and increasingly important—concerns of ASM members. As the performance demands placed on materials in engineering applications have increased, the importance of surface engineering (cleaning, finishing, and coating) technologies have increased along with them.

Evidence of the growing interest in (and complexity of) surface engineering processes can be found in the expansion of their coverage in ASM handbooks through the years. The classic 1948 Edition of Metals Handbook featured a total of 39 pages in three separate sections on surface treating and coating. In the 8th Edition, surface technologies shared a volume with heat treating, and the number of pages jumped to over 350. The 9th Edition of Metals Handbook saw even further expansion, with a separate 715-page volume devoted to cleaning, finishing, and coating.

Surface Engineering, the completely revised and expanded Volume 5 of ASM Handbook, builds on the proud history of its predecessors, and it also reflects the latest technological advancements and issues. It includes new coverage of testing and analysis of surfaces and coatings, environmental regulation and compliance, surface engineering of nonmetallic materials, and many other topics.

The creation of this Volume would not have been possible without the early leadership of Volume Chairperson Fred A. Smidt, who passed away during the editorial development of the handbook. Two of his colleagues at the Naval Research Laboratory, Catherine M. Cotell and James A. Sprague, stepped in to see the project through to completion, and they have done an excellent job of shaping the content of the book and helping to ensure that it adheres to high technical and editorial standards. Special thanks are also due to the Section Chairpersons, to the members of the ASM Handbook Committee, and to the ASM editorial and production staffs. Of course, we are especially grateful to the hundreds of authors and reviewers who have contributed their time and expertise to create this outstanding information resource.