The organizations that are most active in the development of standards for powder metallurgy (PM) are the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF), and International Standards Organization (ISO). This article presents the test method standards, materials standards, and material designation codes for PM materials. It provides information on the codes for structural parts, PM soft magnetic materials, PM self-lubricating bearings, metal injection molded materials, and powder forged materials.

Powder metallurgy (PM) techniques are effective in making magnetically soft components for use in magnetic part applications. This article provides an account of the factors affecting magnetism, permeability, and hysteresis losses. It includes information on the magnetic properties of PM materials that are used in the magnetic part applications, namely, pure iron, phosphorus irons, ferritic stainless steels, 50 nickel-50 iron, and silicon irons. The article describes the factors that affect and optimize magnetic properties. It contains a table that lists the magnetic properties possible in metal injection molding parts. The article also discusses ferromagnetic cores used in alternating current applications and some permanent magnets, such as rare earth-cobalt magnets and neodymium-iron-boron (neo) magnets.

Microstructural analysis of specialized types of magnetic materials is centered on the examination of optical, electron, and scanning probe metallographic techniques unique to magnetic materials. This article provides a comprehensive overview of magnetic materials, their characteristics and sample preparation procedures. It reviews the methods pertaining to the microstructural examination of bulk magnetic materials, including microscopy techniques specified to magnetic materials characterization, with specific examples. The techniques used in the study of magnetic domain structures (microstructure) include the magneto-optical Kerr method, the Faraday method, the Bitter technique, scanning electron microscopy (magnetic contrast Types I and II), scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis, Lorentz transmission electron microscopy, and magnetic force microscopy. The article also illustrates the microstructure of different types of soft magnetic material and permanent magnets.

This article discusses the ferromagnetic properties of soft magnetic materials, explaining the effects of impurities, alloying elements, heat treatment, grain size, and grain orientation on soft magnetic materials. It describes the types of soft magnetic materials, which include high-purity iron, low-carbon irons, silicon (electrical) steels, nickel-iron alloys, iron-cobalt alloys, ferritic stainless steels, amorphous metals, and ferrites (ceramics). Finally, the article provides a short note on alloys for magnetic temperature compensation.

Low-expansion alloys are characterized by their dimensional stability, suiting them for applications such as geodetic tape, bimetal strip, glass-to-metal seals, and electronic components. This article describes the composition of such alloys along with related properties and behaviors. It explains how humidity and other factors, such as heat treating and cold drawing, influence thermal expansion rates. It also provides machining information on some of the more common low-expansion alloys, and reviews special alloy types including iron-cobalt-chromium alloys, hardenable alloys, and high-strength controlled-expansion alloys.

Magnetically soft materials are characterized by their low coercivity, an essential requirement for irons and steels selected for any application involving electromagnetic induction cycling. This article provides information on ferromagnetic material properties and how they are affected by impurities, alloying additions, heat treatment, residual stress, and grain size. It also describes classification and testing methods for magnetically soft materials such as high-purity iron, low-carbon steels, silicon steels, iron-aluminum alloys, nickel-iron alloys, iron-cobalt alloys, ferrites, and stainless steels. The article also addresses corrosion resistance and provides insights on the selection of alloys for power generation applications, including motors, generators, and transformers. A short note on the design and fabrication of magnetic cores is also included.

This article is an atlas of fractographs that helps in understanding the causes and mechanisms of fracture of austenitic stainless steels and in identifying and interpreting the morphology of fracture surfaces. The fractographs illustrate the following: fatigue-crack fracture, rock candy fracture, cleavage fracture, brittle fracture, high-cycle fatigue fracture, fatigue striations, hydrogen-embrittlement failure, creep crack propagation, fatigue crack nucleation, intergranular creep fracture, torsional overload fracture, stress-corrosion cracking, and grain-boundary damage of these steels. The austenitic stainless steel components include spring wires, preheater-reactor slurry transfer lines and gas lines of coal-liquefaction pilot plants, oil feed tubes and suction couch rolls of paper machines, cortical screws and compression hip screws of orthopedic implants, and Jewett nails.