This article focuses on approximate closed-form analytical methods, such as slab and upper bound methods, used for forward and inverse design of metal forming problems. Selected examples of application of these methods to metal forming processes are also discussed.

This article discusses physical analysis, including slab method and upper-bound method and slip-line field analysis, for calculating stress states in plastic deformation processes. It presents various validation standards and models for evaluating the criterion of fracture for use in finite-element analyses of deformation processing. The article reviews the Cockcroft-Latham criterion of fracture and its reformulated extension for analysing the fracture locus for compression. It concludes with information on fundamental fracture models.

Estimation of process parameters for selective heating and heat treating of simple- and complex-shaped workpieces in induction hardening can be accurately carried out using numerical simulation techniques such as the finite-element analysis and the finite-different method. Along with the significant benefits of modern numerical simulations, it is important to be able to use rough estimation techniques to develop a general understanding of the critical parameters of a particular induction heating system. This article discusses such numerical techniques for estimating the critical parameters: workpiece power estimation; estimation of electrical and thermal efficiency of the coil; and frequency selection for heating solid cylinders, tubes, pipes, slabs, plates, strips, and rectangular workpieces.

The primary objectives of the rolling process are to reduce the cross section of the incoming material while improving its properties and to obtain the desired section at the exit from the rolls. This article illustrates a rolling sequence for the fabrication of bars, shapes, and flat products from blooms, billets, and slabs. It describes two methods for shapes or sections: universal rolling and caliber rolling. The article provides information on two-high mills and three-high mills. Specialty mills for thin sheets, namely, the Sendzimir mill and planetary mill, are discussed. The article analyzes the components of a computer controlled system for high-speed mills. Steels and nonferrous materials are also discussed. The article concludes with information on the defects in flat, bar, or shaped products due to heating and rolling practices.

This article summarizes some issues and approaches in performing computational analyses of mechanical behavior, distortion, and hot tearing during solidification. It presents the governing equations and describes the methods used to solve them. The article reviews the finite element formulation, multidomain approaches, and arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian method in solidification modeling. It illustrates the sand casting of braking disks and continuous casting of steel slabs.

Ingot casting is the vital conduit between molten metal provided by primary production and recycling and the manufacture of aluminum and aluminum alloy products. A number of ingot casting processes have been developed to ensure the soundness, integrity, and homogeneity required by downstream manufacturing processes. This article starts with a review of the different forms of ingot and the molten-metal processing techniques involved in ingot casting. It then describes the open-mold casting and direct chill (DC) ingot casting processes. The process variations and solidification in the DC process are summarized. The article explains continuous processes, namely, twin-roll strip casting, slab casting, and wheel-belt processes. It concludes with information on postsolidification processes, including stress relief and scalping, and a discussion of safety practices for ingot casting.

Composites, particularly fiber-reinforced polymer materials, are increasingly being adopted or considered as alternatives to conventional materials for civil infrastructure applications, such as bridges, buildings, waterfront structures, waste treatment facilities, and facilities for transmission and transport of utilities. This article provides information on seismic retrofit applications and discusses the repair and strengthening of components, such as beams, slabs, large-diameter pipes, and bridge decks.

This article presents the fundamentals of stray-current corrosion caused by electric rail transit systems. It describes the various corrosion-control design elements for the electric rail system. These design elements include substation spacing and grounding, track and track slab design, and construction acceptance criteria. The impacts of the electric rail construction in underground utilities are discussed. Direct physical interferences, maintenance access encroachments, stray-current effects, and utility relocation design considerations, are discussed. The article also reviews construction issues such as funding, sequencing, and working clearances. It concludes with information on the post-construction monitoring and maintenance for stray-current corrosion control.

In order to model macrosegregation, one must consider convection and the partitioning of segregating elements at the dendritic length scale. This article describes microsegregation with diffusion in the solid. It presents a continuum model of macrosegregation and illustrates the simulation of macrosegregation and microsegregation.

Any model that describes the early stage of cavitation must therefore address experimental observations of continuous nucleation, cracklike interface cavities, cavity growth from nanometer-scale sizes, and debonding at particle interfaces and formation of large-faceted cavities. This article summarizes the microstructural details of the early stages of cavitation in metals for understanding the interface-constrained plasticity cavitation model. It discusses formulation, predictions and implications, involved in analysis of cavitation under constrained conditions.

Compression tests are used for subscale testing and characterizing the mechanical behavior of anisotropic materials. This article discusses the characteristics of deformation during axial compression testing, including deformation modes, compressive properties, and compression-test deformation mechanics. It describes the procedures for the use of compression testing for the measurement of the deformation and fracture properties of materials. The article provides a detailed discussion on the technique involved in determining the stress-strain behavior of metallic materials based on the ASTM E 9, "Compression Testing of Metallic Materials at Room Temperature." It also reviews the factors that influence the generation of test data for tests conducted in accordance with the ASTM E 9 and the capabilities of conventional universal testing machines for compression testing.

Ingot casting is the vital conduit between molten metal provided by primary production and recycling, and the manufacture of aluminum and aluminum alloy products. This article discusses various ingot forms, such as remelt ingot, billets, ingots for rolling, fabricating ingot, and particle ingot and powder. It describes the molten metal processing and ingot casting process in terms of open-mold casting and direct chill process. The article examines the continuous processes that provide commercial alternatives to conventional ingot casting. It reviews the postsolidification processes in terms of stress relief, homogenization, and scalping. The article concludes with a discussion on safety limited to ingot casting.

This article describes ironmaking and steelmaking practices (melt or liquid processing, including hot metal desulfurization) and discusses the evolution of these processes and their effects on steel properties. The physical chemistry of steelmaking may appear deceptively simple for integrated steel mill operations where ore from the ground is converted into steel. The various refining steps that occur in steelmaking are reviewed. The article also describes solid processing of steel, with emphasis on hot and cold rolling, thermomechanical processing, and annealing of flat steel products.

Coextrusion is defined as the simultaneous extrusion of two or more metals to form an integral product that can be carried out using conventional extrusion or drawing equipment at a temperature appropriate to the metal system being formed. This article discusses the applications, billet configurations, and metal flow modes of coextrusion. It presents the analytical studies of coextrusion: deformation energy methods, lower-bound (slab) analyses, upper-bound analyses, and finite-element analyses. These studies are used to identify the regime of material properties and process variables for which sound extrusions can be obtained. The article concludes with a discussion on the state-of-the-art of coextrusion that assists in developing process models, which accurately describe both the macroscopic and microscopic aspects of a process.

This article addresses classifications and designations for carbon and low-alloy steel sheet and strip product forms based on composition, quality descriptors, mechanical properties, and other factors. Carbon steel sheet and strip are available as hot-rolled and as cold-rolled products. Low-alloy steel sheet and strip are used primarily for applications that require the mechanical properties normally obtained by heat treatment. The descriptors of quality used for hot-rolled plain carbon steel sheet and strip and cold-rolled plain carbon steel sheet include structural quality, commercial quality, drawing quality, and drawing quality, special killed. The surface texture of low-carbon cold-rolled steel sheet and strip can be varied between rather wide limits. The modified low-carbon steel grades discussed in the article are designed to provide sheet and strip products having increased strength, formability, and/or corrosion resistance. The article also summarizes the key operations involved in the three alternative direct casting processes: thin slab, thin strip, and spray casting.

This article focuses on the concepts involved in heat-transfer modeling, thermomechanical modeling, and microsegregation modeling of hot tearing. It discusses the modeling of solidification defects, namely, inclusion entrapment, segregation, shrinkage cavities, gas porosity, mold-wall erosion, and hot-tear cracks.

Rehabilitation is the process of repairing or modifying reinforced concrete structures to a desired useful condition. This article describes the operational steps for the structural assessment of reinforced concrete structures. It discusses the classification of composite materials reinforcing systems for strengthening reinforced concrete structures, such as shop-manufactured and field-manufactured structures. The article reviews the materials property requirements for designing reinforcing systems to strengthen the reinforced concrete structures. It discusses the fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP)-reinforced concrete behavior that depends on flexural, shear, or axial failures. Surface preparation procedures for rehabilitation techniques of reinforced concrete structures using bonded FRP materials are also discussed. The article provides information on the applications of rehabilitation of concrete structures. It explains data recording and acceptance criteria for rehabilitation of concrete structures with composite materials.

Macroetching is a procedure for revealing the large-scale structure of a metallic specimen, that is, the structure visible with the unaided eye, by etching an appropriately prepared surface. This article provides information on the basic procedures for macroetching as well as the apparatus used. It discusses selected etchants for efficient macroetching of various metals and their alloys, including iron, steel, high-alloy steels, stainless steels, high-temperature alloys, titanium, titanium alloys, aluminum, aluminum alloys, copper, and copper alloys. The article also describes various conditions that are revealed by the macroetching of aluminum.

The most popular metal hot working processes for which induction heating is applied are forging, forming, extrusion, and rolling. This article focuses on estimation techniques to determine basic induction heating process parameters, including coil power, length of heating line, and frequency selection. It discusses three modes of heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation, in induction heating. The article describes the factors affected by a distortion of the magnetic field at the coil end through a schematic illustration of distribution of three magnetic force components experienced by the turns of the coil. It concludes with information on some case studies of numerical simulation.

For most nondestructive evaluation (NDE) applications, the term thermography actually refers to surface-excited thermography (SET) that involves thermal mapping of surface temperature as heat flows from, to, or through a test object in response to excitation applied to the sample surface. This article discusses the strategies for implementing thermography for NDE, including the steady-state/whole-body approach and transient heat conduction. It describes the most common signal-processing methods, such as thermographic signal reconstruction, lock-in thermography, and pulsed-phase thermography. The article concludes with a discussion on the use of thermal methods for thermal diffusivity measurement and characterization of multilayer structures.