This article describes the types of steels, including high-strength structural carbon steels and high-strength low-alloy steels (HSLA), available in all standard wrought forms such as sheet, strip, plate, structural shapes, bars, bar-size shapes. It discusses the special sections that are characterized by higher yield strengths than those of plain carbon structural steels. The article tabulates the typical chemical compositions, tensile properties, heat treatment, product sizes, plate thickness and intended uses of high-strength steels. Further, it presents a short note on heat treated structural low-alloy grades.

Carbon and low-alloy steels are considered resistant only to very mild corrosives, while the various high-alloy grades are applicable for varying situations from mild to severe services, depending on the particular conditions involved. This article describes the factors that must be considered, by alloy casting users, in material selection. It presents compositions of cast steels tested in atmospheric corrosion in a tabular form. The rate of corrosion of a material in an environment can generally be estimated with confidence only from long-term tests. The article graphically presents the results of a research program that compared the corrosion resistance of nine cast steels in marine and industrial atmospheres. It illustrates the comparison of corrosion rates of cast steels, malleable cast iron, and wrought steel after 3 years of exposure in two atmospheres and provides the conclusions drawn from these tests.

Titanium and its alloys are used in various applications owing to its high strength, stiffness, good toughness, low density, and good corrosion resistance. This article discusses the applications of titanium and titanium alloys in gas turbine engine components, aerospace pressure vessels, optic-system support structures, prosthetic devices, and applications requiring corrosion resistance and high strength. It explains the effects of alloying elements in titanium alloys as they play an important role in controlling the microstructure and properties and describes the secondary phases and martensitic transformations formed in titanium alloy systems. Information on commercial and semicommercial grades and alloys of titanium is tabulated. The article also discusses the different grades of titanium alloys such as alpha, near-alpha alloys, alpha-beta alloys, beta alloys, and advanced titanium alloys (titanium-matrix composites and titanium aluminides).

This article discusses the properties, primary and secondary production, product forms and applications of various grades of lead and lead-base alloys with the aid of several tables and illustrations. It lists the Unified Numbering System (UNS) designations for various pure lead grades and lead-base alloys grouped according to nominal chemical composition. The properties of lead that make it useful in a wide variety of applications are also discussed. The largest use of lead is in lead-acid storage batteries. Other applications include ammunition, cable sheathing, cast products such as type metals, terneplate, foils, and building construction materials. Lead is also used as an alloying element in steel and in copper alloys to improve machinability. The article concludes with information on the principles of lead corrosion, corrosion resistance of lead in water, atmospheres, underground ducts, soil and chemicals.

This article introduces the different types, distinctions, and grades of commercially pure titanium and titanium alloys. It describes three types of alloying elements: alpha stabilizers, beta stabilizers, and neutral additions. The article discusses the basic categories of titanium alloys, namely, alpha and near-alpha titanium alloys, beta and near-beta titanium alloys, and alpha-beta titanium alloys. It also describes the general microstructural features of titanium alloys.

This article discusses different heat treating techniques, including quenching, homogenizing, annealing, stress relieving, stress equalizing, quench hardening, strain hardening, tempering, solution heat treating, and precipitation heat treating (age hardening) for different grades of aluminum alloys, copper alloys, magnesium alloys, nickel and nickel alloys, and titanium and titanium alloys and its product forms.

Steel castings produced from carbon and alloy steels in any of the various types of molds and wrought steel of equivalent chemical composition respond similarly to heat treatment. They have the same weldability, and similar physical, mechanical, and corrosion properties. This article lists the specification requirements given in ASTM standards and in SAE J435c. Steel castings are classified according to their carbon or alloy composition into four general groups. Carbon steel castings account for three of these groups: low-carbon steel castings with less than 0.20″ carbon, medium-carbon castings with 0.20 to 0.50″ carbon, and high-carbon castings with more than 0.50″ carbon. The fourth group, low-alloy steel castings, is generally limited to grades with a total alloy content of less than 8″. The article presents graphical representations of the mechanical properties of cast carbon steels as a function of carbon content for different heat treatments.

This article is a comprehensive collection of properties, compositions, and applications of standard grades of titanium and selected titanium alloys. It provides data regarding the common names, Unified Number System numbers, composition limits, typical uses with service temperatures, precautions in use, and general corrosion behavior of each. The applications of titanium alloys include aerospace, gas turbine engines and prostheses. Further, the article graphically presents a comparative study of fatigue, creep and tensile properties of various titanium alloys.

Selection of appropriate grades of steel will enable the steel to perform for very long times with minimal corrosion, but an inadequate grade can corrode and perforate more rapidly than a plain carbon steel will fail by uniform corrosion. This article describes the effect of chemical composition, heat treatment, welding, and surface condition on corrosion resistance of stainless steels. It discusses the various forms of corrosion and the important factors to be considered when selecting suitable stainless steel for application in specific corrosive environments.

This article outlines some of the selection criteria for choosing an implant material for biomedical devices in orthopedic, dental, soft-tissue, and cardiovascular applications. It details the development of implants based on materials, such as metallic implants, ceramic implants, and polymeric implants. The article discusses the specific problems associated with implant manufacturing processes and the consequent compromises in properties of functionally graded implants. It describes the manufacturing of the functionally-graded hip implant by using the LENS process. It reviews the four different types of tissue responses to the biomaterial. The article discusses the testing of implant failure, such as in vitro and in vivo assessment of tissue compatibility.

This article discusses the general characteristics, primary and secondary fabrication methods, product forms, and corrosion resistance of zirconium and hafnium. It describes the physical metallurgy of zirconium and its alloys, providing details on allotropic transformation and anisotropy that profoundly influences the engineering properties of zirconium and its alloys. Tables listing the values for chemical composition and tensile properties for nuclear and nonnuclear grades of zirconium are also provided.

The Atlas of Fractographs contains more than 1,300 fractographs, corresponding to 30 materials, including common grades of iron and steel, nonferrous metals and alloys, composites, and polymers. This article serves as the table of contents, describing how the information in the Atlas is organized and how the fractographs are laid out. It also provides a summary of the various causes or modes of fracture, including cleavage, dimple rupture, fatigue fracture, and decohesion.

Selecting the proper cutting tool material for a specific machining application can provide substantial advantages, including increased productivity, improved quality, and reduced costs. This article begins with a description of the factors affecting the selection of a cutting tool material. This is followed by a schematic representation of their relative application ranges in terms of machining speeds and feed rates. The article provides a detailed account of chemical compositions of various tool materials, including high-speed tool steels, cobalt-base alloys, cemented carbides, cermets, ceramics, cubic boron nitride, and polycrystalline diamond. It compares the toughness, and wear resistance for these cutting tool materials. Finally, the article explains the steps for selecting tool material grades for specific application.

Hydrogen damage is a term used to designate a number of processes in metals by which the load-carrying capacity of the metal is reduced due to the presence of hydrogen. This article introduces the general forms of hydrogen damage and provides an overview of the different types of hydrogen damage in all the major commercial alloy systems. It covers the broader topic of hydrogen damage, which can be quite complex and technical in nature. The article focuses on failure analysis where hydrogen embrittlement of a steel component is suspected. It provides practical advice for the failure analysis practitioner or for someone who is contemplating procurement of a cost-effective failure analysis of commodity-grade components suspected of hydrogen embrittlement. Some prevention strategies for design and manufacturing problem-induced hydrogen embrittlement are also provided.

This article discusses the melting and poring practices, heat treatment, and applications of different types of high-alloy graphitic iron, namely, high-silicon gray irons, high-silicon ductile irons, nickel-alloyed austenitic irons, austenitic gray irons, austenitic ductile irons, and aluminum-alloyed irons.

This article describes typical foundry practices used to commercially produce zirconium castings. The foundry practices are divided into two sections, namely, melting and casting. The article discusses various melting processes, such as vacuum arc skull melting, induction skull melting, and vacuum induction melting, and various casting processes, such as rammed graphite casting, static and centrifugal casting, and investment casting. It explains the evaluation and testing of the process. The article provides information on the mechanical and chemical properties of zirconium castings.

This article provides an overview of the different classification and designation systems of wrought carbon steel and alloy steel product forms with total alloying element contents not exceeding 5″. It lists the quality descriptors, chemical compositions, cast or heat composition ranges, and product analysis tolerances of carbon and alloy steels. The major designation systems discussed include the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)-American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) designations, Unified Numbering System (UNS) designations, American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) designations, Aerospace Material Specification (AMS), and other international designations and specifications.

Nickel-base alloy castings are widely used in corrosive-media and high-temperature applications. This article begins with a discussion on the compositions of corrosion-resistant nickel-base casting alloys and heat-resistant nickel-base casting alloys. It describes the effects of aluminum and titanium on the structure and properties of nickel-base alloys. The article provides information on the melting, foundry, and pouring practices for nickel-base alloys. It describes the welding and heat treatment of the nickel-base casting alloys. The article concludes with information on the numerous applications of cast heat-resistant nickel-base alloys.

Low-alloy steels are used in a broad spectrum of applications. In some cases, corrosion resistance is a major factor in alloy selection; in other applications, it is only a minor consideration. This article reviews the applications of alloy steel products in four major industries, namely, oil and gas production, energy conversion systems, marine applications, and chemical processing. Emphasis is placed on the corrosion characteristics of the products, which are used in various applications of each industry.

This article discusses the physical metallurgy of cast cobalt alloys with emphasis on crystallography, compositions, phases and microstructure, and properties. Cobalt alloys are cast by several different foundry methods. The article describes the argon-oxygen decarburization and continuous casting process. It provides information on castability and quality of the casted alloys. The article details postcasting treatment, including heat treatment, hot isostatic pressing, and coatings. It summarizes the applications of cast cobalt alloys.