Both surface finish and surface integrity must be defined, measured, and maintained within specified limits in the processing of any product. Surface texture is defined in terms of roughness, waviness, lay, and flaws. This article illustrates some of the designations of surface roughness and the symbols for defining lay and its direction. In addition, it describes the applications of surface integrity, typical surface integrity problems created in metal removal operations, and principal causes of surface alterations produced by machining processes. The article tabulates the effect of some machining methods on fatigue strength, and low-stress grinding procedures for steels, nickel-base high-temperature alloys, and titanium alloys.

Thermal phenomena play a key role in the mechanics of surface finishing processes. This article provides information on the analysis and measurement of temperatures and associated thermal damage generated by finishing processes that are essential to the production of engineered components with controlled surface properties. Emphasis is placed on kinematically simple configurations of finishing processes, such as surface grinding, flat surface polishing, and lapping.

Examination of a damaged component involves a chain of activities that, first and foremost, requires good observation and documentation. Following receipt and documentation, the features of damage can be recorded and their cause(s) investigated, as this article briefly describes, for typical types of damage experienced for metallic components. This article discusses the processes involved in visual or macroscopic examination of damaged material; the interpretation of fracture features, corrosion, and wear damage features; and the analysis of base material composition. It covers the processes involved in the selection of metallurgical samples, the preparation and examination of metallographic specimens in failure analysis, and the analysis and interpretation of microstructures. Examination and evaluation of polymers and ceramic materials in failure analysis are also briefly discussed.

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.

The principal task of a failure analyst during a physical-cause investigation is to identify the sequence of events involved in the failure. Technical skills and tools are required for such identification, but the analyst also needs a mental organizational framework that helps evaluate the significance of observations. This article discusses the processes involved in the characterization and identification of damage and damage mechanisms. It describes the relationships between damage causes, mechanisms, and modes with examples. In addition, some of the more prevalent and encompassing characterization approaches and categorization methods of damage mechanism are also covered.

This article is a pictorial guide to forms of corrosion that draws attention to common pitfalls or situations that have caused premature corrosion, sometimes with expensive consequences. The examples used are not exhaustive; they highlight the necessity to fully examine materials, conditions, and specific circumstances that together can reduce the anticipated service life of a component or plant. The color images in this article are categorized according to the type of corrosion following the general order that is adopted in Volume 13A of ASM Handbook. The first table of the article provides a categorization of the forms of corrosion. It also provides a reference to articles or sections of articles in Volume 13A that detail the particular corrosion form or mechanism. The second table is a guide listing the figures in this article by material and by the corrosion form or mechanism illustrated.

Ceramics usually require some form of machining prior to use to meet dimensional and surface quality standards. This article focuses on abrasive machining, particularly grinding, and addresses common methods and critical process factors. It covers cylindrical, centerless, and disk grinding and provides information on tooling, wheel selection, work material, and operational factors. It also discusses precision slicing and slotting, lapping, honing, and polishing as well as abrasive waterjet, electrical discharge, laser, and ultrasonic machining.

This article provides an overview of plasma surface treatments for plastics. It covers the equipment and methods used in plasma processing, providing detailed explanations of the plasma discharge reactions and how they affect surface state and topography. It also provides information on contamination removal, plasma surface modification, plasma-induced grafting, and plasma film deposition.

Metal surfaces must often be cleaned before subsequent operations to remove unwanted substances such as pigmented drawing compounds, unpigmented oil and grease, chips and cutting fluids, polishing and buffing compounds, rust and scale, and miscellaneous contaminants. The article describes common cleaning processes, including alkaline, electrolytic, solvent, emulsion, molten salt bath, ultrasonic and acid cleaning as well as pickling and abrasive blasting. It also explains how to select the appropriate process for a given soil type and surface composition.

Surface treatments are applied to magnesium parts primarily to improve their appearance and corrosion resistance. Mechanical and chemical cleaning methods are used singly or in combination, depending on the specific application and product involved to ensure repetitive reliability. This article focuses on mechanical finishing methods, namely, barrel tumbling, polishing, buffing, vibratory finishing, fiber brushing, and shot blasting. It provides useful information on process control and difficulties with chemical and anodic treatments of magnesium alloys. The use and applications of plating and organic finishing of magnesium alloys are also reviewed. The article concludes with a description of health and safety precautions to be followed during the surface treatment process.