Preface

The breadth and importance of aluminum in modern society continues to grow, even with over 130 years of development since the independent discovery of electrochemical reduction of alumina in 1886 by Paul Louis Toussaint Héroult (1863–1914) in France and Charles Martin Hall (1863–1914) in the United States. The extent of aluminum technology and applications is too vast for any single volume, but the intent of this volume is to give readers a foundation on aluminum technology and practical details and insights on the processes, capabilities, and variables in producing and fabricating aluminum products. Partially patterned from the three-volume set Aluminum edited by Kent R. Van Horn (American Society for Metals, 1967), this volume is intended to replace the ASM Specialty Handbook: Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys (1993) with major updates and additions by leading innovators and practitioners in aluminum technology. The extent of coverage also necessitated an additional publication, ASM Handbook, Volume 2B, Properties and Selection of Aluminum Alloys for release in 2019.

This Volume represents the collected efforts of scores of authors and reviewers. The editors wish to extend their heartfelt thanks to all who participated in this volume development and for the insightful and extensive contributions provided for the wider engineering community.