This article is a compilation of tables that provide information on preheat and interpass temperatures and the postweld heat treatment for selected carbon steels, as well as steel pressure vessels and pipe welds. Information is also provided for preheat and interpass temperatures of heat treatable steels, namely, low-alloy steels and ultra high-strength steels.

This article describes the control of water chemistry in the steam cycle of a power plant for achieving corrosion control, deposition prevention, and higher cycle efficiency. It discusses the materials requirements of the components exposed to supercritical water in supercritical (SC) and ultrasupercritical (USC) power plants. These components include high-pressure steam piping and headers, superheater and reheater tubing, water wall tubing in the boiler, high-and intermediate-pressure rotors, rotating blades, and bolts in the turbine section. The article reviews the boiler alloys, used in SC and USC boilers, such as ferritic steels, austenitic steels, and nickel-base alloys. It provides information on the materials used in turbine applications such as ferritic rotor steels, turbine blade alloys, and bolting materials. The article explains various factors influencing steamside corrosion in SC power plants. It also deals with the role of overall efficiency in the USC power generation.

Hardenable steels with high-alloy content includes a family of nickel-cobalt steels with high strength and high toughness. This article describes various heat treatments, namely, normalizing, annealing, hardening, tempering, stress relieving, overaging, quenching, refrigeration, and straightening treatment, applied to HP9-4-20, HP9-4-25, HP9-4-30, and HP9-4-45 steels. These steels have high fracture toughness when heat treated to very high strength levels. The article also describes heat treatments applied to other alloys such as AF 1410, AerMet 100, AerMet 310, and AerMet 340, which provide a good combination of high strength and toughness that make them attractive for aerospace application. It also presents tables that provide information on the effect of aging temperatures and heat treatment on mechanical properties and impact energy of these steels.

This article describes the physical properties of powder metallurgy (PM) stainless steels. These include thermal diffusivity, conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient, Poisson's ratio, and elastic modulus. The article contains a table that lists the characteristics of various grades of PM stainless steels. It discusses the applications of various PM stainless steels such as rearview mirror brackets, anti-lock brake system sensor rings, and automotive exhaust flanges and sensor bosses.

Stainless steels are primarily alloys of iron and chromium. They are grouped into five families, primarily based on their microstructure: ferritic, austenitic, martensitic, duplex, and precipitation hardening. Three out of the five families of stainless steels, namely, austenitic, ferritic, and martensitic, are well suited for manufacture via conventional powder metallurgy (PM) processes. This article presents the iron-chromium partial phase diagram to illustrate the changes in the temperature range when pure iron is alloyed with chromium. It describes AISI and UNS numbering systems, which are used as an identification system for stainless steels. The article tabulates the material designations of stainless steels in accordance with the Metal Powder Industries Federation. It also details the characteristics and chemical composition of wrought and PM stainless steels.

For the reinforcement of metal-matrix composites, four general classes of materials are commercially available: oxide fibers based primarily on alumina and alumina silica systems, nonoxide systems based on silicon carbide, boron fibers, and carbon fibers. This article discusses the key aspects of aluminum oxide fibers, silicon carbide fibers, boron fibers, and carbon fibers. The commercial fibers for reinforcement of metal-matrix composites are presented in a table. A tabulation of the coating schemes for silicon carbide monofilament fibers is also provided.

Cryogenic temperatures cause many structural alloys to become brittle, which is an unacceptable condition in most structural applications and is rectified by optimizing the weld composition. Although nonmatching weld compositions are most appropriate, differences between the welds and parent material in terms of thermal contraction, corrosion, and other factors must be considered. This article discusses these differences and describes the effect of these factors on the choice of the weld filler metal. It also provides a detailed discussion on the effects of cryogenic services on mechanical properties of the parent metal.

Bearing steels, which include high-carbon and low-carbon types, can be divided into service-based classes, such as normal service, high-temperature service, and service under corrosive conditions. This article discusses the importance of matching the hardenability and quenching of a bearing steel. It also discusses the typical microstructure of a high-carbon through-hardened bearing, and shows typical case and core microstructures in carburized bearing materials. Apart from a satisfactory microstructure, which is obtained through the proper combination of steel grade and heat treatment, the single most important factor in achieving high levels of rolling-contact fatigue life in bearings is the cleanliness, or freedom from harmful nonmetallic inclusions, of the steel. Alloy conservation and a more consistent heat-treating response are benefits of using specially designed bearing steels. The selection of a carburizing steel for a specific bearing section is based on the heat-treating practice of the producer, either direct quenching from carburizing or reheating for quenching, and on the characteristics of the quenching equipment.

Sheet forming comprises deformation processes in which a metal blank is shaped by tools or dies, primarily under the action of tensile stresses. This article discusses the classification of sheet-forming processes for obtaining desired dimensional features. It describes different process-related developments, namely, superplastic forming of aluminum, forming of tailor-welded blanks, rubber-pad forming, and high-velocity metal forming. The article explains cost-effective approaches of evaluating tooling designs prior to the manufacture of expensive steel dies and dieless forming techniques such as thermal forming and peen forming. It provides information on the application of advanced high-strength steels, magnesium alloys, and various ultrafine-grain materials for superplastic sheet forming. The article concludes with information on the development and application of simulation, design, and control of sheet-forming processes.

Mechanical joining by forming includes all processes where parts being joined are formed locally and sometimes fully. This article focuses on the types, advantages, disadvantages, and applications of the various mechanical joining methods, namely, riveting, crimping, clinching, and self-pierce riveting.

This article provides a detailed discussion on the effect of boron in heat-treated steel and thermomechanically-simulated steel. It describes the boron hardenability mechanism and the effect of composition and heat treatment parameters on boron hardenability. The article examines the hardening behavior of unalloyed boron steel and low-alloyed boron steel in heat treatment experiments by varying the austenitizing temperatures and cooling conditions. It also discusses the applications of boron steels.

This article compares and contrasts mechanical joining techniques used in the manufacture of aluminum assemblies, including seaming, swaging, flanging, crimping, clinching, dimpling, interference and snap fits, and interlocking joints. It provides basic illustrations of the various methods and summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of each. The article also discusses the use of staples, nails, rivets, and threaded fasteners and provides relevant property and performance data.

This article discusses the mechanics of chip formation and reviews the analytical modeling of the chip formation process by high-speed machining within the framework of continuum mechanics. It examines the relationship between the various high-speed machining parameters. The article describes the cutting tool systems for aluminum alloys, steel, superalloys, and titanium alloys and provides an overview of the alternative cutting tool geometries for increasing tool life. It highlights the factors considered by companies planning to employ high-speed machining systems and concludes with information on the applications of high-speed machining.

Stainless steels are used for medical implants and surgical tools due to the excellent combination of properties, such as cost, strength, corrosion resistance, and ease of cleaning. This article describes the classifications of stainless steels, such as austenitic stainless steels, martensitic stainless steels, ferritic stainless steels, precipitation-hardening stainless steels, and duplex stainless steels. It contains a table that lists common medical device applications for stainless steels. The article discusses the physical metallurgy and physical and mechanical properties of stainless steels. Medical device considerations for stainless steels, such as fatigue strength, corrosion resistance, and passivation techniques, are reviewed. The article explains the process features of implant-grade stainless steels, including type 316L, type 316LVM, nitrogen-strengthened, ASTM F1314, ASTM F1586, ASTM F2229, and ASTM F2581 stainless steels.

As cast iron parts are extensively applied, fracture events will eventually take place. Consequently, it becomes essential to carry out failure analyses to identify the cause of fracture and to provide corrective actions that allow safe operation. This article presents a description of the main fracture modes and their characteristic fractographic features. It discusses the four principal fracture modes: dimple rupture (or fracture), cleavage, fatigue, and intergranular fracture. The article provides information on special cases of environmentally assisted fracture. It concludes with a description of fractographic analyses for identifying the direction of propagation of a crack.

Failures in boilers and other equipment taking place in power plants that use steam as the working fluid are discussed in this article. The discussion is mainly concerned with failures in Rankine cycle systems that use fossil fuels as the primary heat source. The general procedure and techniques followed in failure investigation of boilers and related equipment are discussed. The article is framed with an objective to provide systematic information on various damage mechanisms leading to the failure of boiler tubes, headers, and drums, supplemented by representative case studies for a greater understanding of the respective damage mechanism.

The earliest commercial use of carbon fibers is often attributed to Thomas Edison's carbonization of cotton and bamboo fibers for incandescent lamp filaments. This article describes the manufacture of PAN-based carbon fibers and pitch-based carbon fibers. It discusses the properties and characteristics of carbon fibers in terms of axial structure, transverse structure, and interfacial bonding. The article discusses the typical applications of carbon fibers, including aerospace and sporting goods. It concludes with a discussion on anticipated developments in carbon fibers.

This article provides a detailed account on forming operations (blanking, piercing, press-brake forming, contour rolling, deep drawing, cold forming, and hot forming) of various nonferrous metals, including aluminum alloys, beryllium, copper and its alloys, magnesium alloys, nickel alloys, titanium alloys, and platinum metals. It discusses the formability, equipment and tooling, and lubricants used in the forming operations of these nonferrous metals.

Maraging steels are highly alloyed low-carbon iron-nickel martensite steels that possess an excellent combination of strength and toughness superior to that of most carbon-hardened steels. This article provides a detailed account of the formation of martensite in maraging steels. It discusses the heat treatment of these steels, namely, aging, solution annealing, age hardening, and nitriding. Their hardening during aging has been attributed to two different mechanisms: short-range ordering and precipitation. The article concludes with a discussion on the grain refinement using thermal cycling and transformation-induced plasticity maraging methods.

This article presents examples of the visual fracture examination that illustrate the procedure as it applies to failure analysis and quality determination. It describes the techniques and procedures for the visual and light microscopic examination of fracture surfaces with illustrations. The article also describes microscopic and macroscopic features of the different fracture mechanisms with illustrations with emphasis on visual and light microscopy examination. The types of fractures considered include ductile fractures, tensile-test fractures, brittle fractures, fatigue fractures, and high-temperature fractures.