This article provides a detailed discussion on the functions, applications, types, and selection criteria of exterior and interior rail coatings. It includes a discussion on the corrosivity, inspection/maintenance, and qualification of applicators/inspectors/facilities.

Alloy 5254 is a higher-purity Al-Mg-Cr alloy used in heat exchangers, steam-jacketed kettles, and pumps. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and fabrication characteristics of this 5xxx series alloy.

The selection of materials for welded construction applications involves a number of considerations, including design codes and specifications. Mobile structures have quite different materials requirements for weight, durability, and safety than stationary structures, which are built to last for many years. This article provides an overview of the service conditions. It offers guidance for material selection applications, including bridges and buildings, pressure vessels and piping, shipbuilding and offshore structures, aerospace systems, machinery and equipment, automobiles, railroad systems, and sheet metal. Material properties and welding processes that may be significant in meeting design goals are also described.

This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, fabrication characteristics, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and applications of Al-3.5Mg alloys 5154 and 5154A.

Acoustic-emission inspection detects and analyzes minute acoustic-emission signals generated by discontinuities in materials under applied stress. This article discusses the types of acoustic emissions (continuous-type emissions and burst-type emissions) and applications, including laboratory testing, production testing, and structural testing. The article includes a section in which the characteristics of acoustic emission inspection are compared with other nondestructive testing methods. Further, it briefly reviews the key elements of the acoustic-emission instrumentation, which includes the acoustic-emission resonant sensor.

The moderate-strength weldable alloy 5086 provides higher strength than alloy 5052 while maintaining good corrosion resistance in a marine environment. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, processing effects on physical and tensile properties, product specifications, and fabrication characteristics of this 5xxx series alloy.

Aluminum, the second most plentiful metallic element, is an economic competitor in various applications owing to its appearance, light weight, fabricability, physical properties, mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance. This article discusses the primary and secondary production of aluminum and classification system for cast and wrought aluminum alloys. It talks about various manufactured forms of aluminum and its alloys, which are classified into standardized products such as sheet, plate, foil, rod, bar, wire, tube, pipe, and structural forms, and engineered products such as extruded shapes, forgings, impacts, castings, stampings, powder metallurgy parts, machined parts, and metal-matrix composites. The article also reviews important fabrication characteristics in the machining, forming, forging, and joining of aluminum alloys. It concludes with a description of the major industrial applications of aluminum, including building and construction, transportation, consumer durables, electrical, machinery and equipment, containers and packaging, and other applications.

Acoustic emission is the generation of stress waves by sudden movement in stressed materials. This article begins with a comparison of acoustic emission from most other nondestructive testing (NDT) methods, and discusses the range of applicability of acoustic emission. It describes the instrumentation principles of acoustic emission and reviews the role of acoustic emission in materials studies. The article illustrates the testing of metal-matrix composites (MMCs) using acoustic emission and the use of acoustic emission inspection in production quality control. It concludes with information on the structural test applications of acoustic emission inspection to find defects and to assess or ensure structural integrity.

Hydrochloric acid (HCl) may contain traces of impurities that will change the aggressiveness of the solution. This article discusses the effects of impurities such as fluorides, ferric salts, cupric salts, chlorine, and organic solvents, in HCl. It describes the corrosion resistance of various metals and alloys in HCl, including carbon and alloy steels, austenitic stainless steels, standard ferritic stainless steels, nickel and nickel alloys, copper and copper alloys, corrosion-resistant cast iron, zirconium, titanium and titanium alloys, tantalum and its alloys, and noble metals. The article illustrates the effect of HCl on nonmetallic materials such as natural rubber, neoprene, thermoplastics, and reinforced thermoset plastics. It also tabulates the corrosion of various metals in dry hydrogen chloride.

This article first describes the two methods used in the 1998 U.S. corrosion cost study. In the first method, the cost was determined by summing the costs for corrosion control methods and contract services. In the second, the cost of corrosion was first determined for specific industry sectors and then extrapolated to calculate a national total corrosion cost. The article then reports the results and conclusions of the study. It concludes with information on corrosion prevention strategies.

Furnaces are one of the most versatile types of industrial appliances that span many different areas of use. This article discusses the classification of various furnaces used in heat treating based on the mode of operation (batch-type furnaces and continuous-type furnaces), application, heating method, mode of heat transfer, type of materials handling system, and mode of waste heat recovery (recuperation and regeneration). It provides information on uniform temperature distribution, the general requirements and selection criteria for insulation materials, as well as the basic safety requirements of these furnaces.

This article primarily considers the problem of sampling bulk materials, including minerals, metals, environmentally important substances, and industrial raw materials and waste products. It provides useful information on sample types, sampling plan, optimizing sampling resources, practical aspects of sampling, and how to ensure the quality of sampling.

Advances in vehicle design and technology require engine coolant technology to minimize the degradation of nonmetals and prevent the corrosion of the metals in the cooling system. This article provides a detailed discussion on the functions, operation, materials, and major components of the cooling system. It discusses various forms of corrosion that occur in cooling systems, including uniform corrosion, galvanic corrosion, crevice corrosion, pitting corrosion, intergranular corrosion, erosion corrosion, and cavitation corrosion. The article presents information on engine coolant base components and inhibitors used for corrosion prevention. It reviews the coolant performance tests recommended by ASTM, SAE, and vehicle manufacturers. The article concludes with a description on the difference between light-duty automotive and heavy-duty diesel engine coolants.

Phosphating is used in the metalworking industry to treat substrates like iron, steel, galvanized steel, aluminum, copper, and magnesium and its alloys. This article provides an overview of the types, uses, and theory of phosphate coatings and their formation. It also discusses the composition of phosphating baths, phosphate layers, and their analysis, as well as the process hardware necessary to realize these treatments. A summary of the different types of phosphate layers is tabulated, and the chemical formulas for a number of different phosphate compounds that are theoretically possible in crystalline phosphate layers are illustrated. The article presents four chemically important phosphating steps, namely, cleaning, activation or conditioning, phosphating, and posttreatment plus standard rinsing. It describes the physical and chemical properties by gravimetric analysis, chemical analysis, structure and morphology, thermal analysis, and alkaline resistance.

Pickling is the most common of several processes used to remove scale from steel surfaces. This article provides a discussion on pickling solutions, such as sulfuric and hydrochloric acid, and describes the role of inhibitors in acid pickling. It discusses the equipment and processes involved in the batch, continuous, and electrolytic pickling of carbon steel components. The article describes the effects of process variables on scale removal in sulfuric and hydrochloric acid. It concludes with a description of pickling defects, spent pickle liquor disposal, and safety practices.

Product design greatly influences the recycling and reuse of manufacturing materials. This article presents a design for recycling strategy based on ease of disassembly, minimizing process scrap, using readily recyclable materials, and labelling or otherwise identifying parts. It also discusses the concept of life-cycle analysis (LCA), a quantitative accounting of the environmental and economic costs of using a given material and the energy required to make, distribute, operate, and eventually dispose of the host product and its constituent materials. An important but often overlooked step in the LCA process is to identify potential improvement pathways.

Aluminum and its alloys are used in a broad range of applications. This article discusses the primary and secondary production of aluminum and the classification system for cast and wrought products. It describes some of the more common manufactured forms, including commercial wrought aluminum products, aluminum alloy engineered castings, powder metallurgy parts, and metal-matrix composites. The article also reviews fabrication characteristics such as machining, forming, forging, and joining. It concludes with a description of the major industrial applications of wrought and cast aluminum alloys.

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.

This article provides a detailed discussion on the components of a high-performance induction crucible furnace system, namely, furnace body, power supply, and peripheral components. The furnace body contains refractory lining, coil and transformer yokes, and tilting frame and furnace cover. The power supply consists of the following: transformers, frequency converters, capacitor banks, and power cables and furnace coils. The peripheral components comprise recooling device, charging system, and skimming devices. The article also presents a three-dimensional representation of the induction crucible furnace system.

The sealing of the anodized aluminum is a critical process in achieving the durability and extended functionality of anodizing. This article discusses the different methods for sealing the anodic coatings produced by using sulfuric acid, namely, hot deionized water, hot nickel acetate, midtemperature, cold, and dichromate sealing. It reviews the factors that affect seal quality: immersion time, chemistry concentration, temperature, pH, water quality, coating thickness, and contaminants/dye bleeding. The article describes the various tests that are used for determining the quality of the seal, namely, salt spray, modified dye stain, acid dissolution, impedance, copper accelerated acetic acid salt spray, high-alkaline resistance, SO 2 fog, and clorox tests.