The primary market for metal powder is the production of powder metallurgy (PM) parts, which are dominated primarily by iron and copper powders. This article reviews the chemical and pyrotechnics applications of ferrous and nonferrous powders. It describes the characteristics of iron powder used in oxygen scavengers and chemical reactive warmers and heaters. Metal powders used as fuels in solid propellants, pyrotechnic devices, explosives, and similar applications are reviewed. Atomized aluminum, magnesium, tungsten, and zirconium powders are also discussed.

Metal powders are used as fuels in solid propellants, fillers in various materials, such as polymers or other binder systems, and for material substitution. They are also used in food enrichment, environmental remediation market, and magnetic, electrical, and medical application areas. This article reviews some of the diverse and emerging applications of ferrous and nonferrous powders. It also discusses the functions of copier powders and the processes used frequently for copier powder coating.

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.

Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques include powder-bed fusion (PBF), directed-energy deposition, binder jetting (BJ), extrusion-based desktop, vat photopolymerization, material jetting, and sheet lamination. The development of suitable powders for AM is a challenging task because of critical design parameters including chemical composition, flowability of powders, and melt surface tension. This article explains the fabrication methods of metal and novel alloy powders for medical applications. The development of zirconium alloy powder for laser-PBF is introduced as a case study.

This article provides a discussion on filler metal selection, brazing procedures, and brazing equipment for brazing refractory metals. These include molybdenum, tungsten, niobium, and tantalum, and reactive metals. Commercially pure and alpha titanium alloys, alpha-beta alloys, zirconium alloys, and beryllium alloys are some reactive metals discussed in the article.

Tin is a soft, brilliant white, low-melting metal that is most widely known and characterized in the form of coating. This article discusses the primary and secondary production of tin and explains the uses of tin in coating, namely tinplating, electroplating, and hot dip coatings. It presents a short note on pure (unalloyed) tin and uses of tin in chemicals. The article also covers the compositions and uses of tin alloys which include solders, pewter, bearing alloys, alloys for organ pipes, and fusible alloys. It goes on to discuss the other alloys containing tin including battery grid alloys, type metals, copper alloys, dental alloys, cast irons, titanium alloys, and zirconium alloys. Finally, it presents a short note on the applications of tin powder and corrosion resistance of tin.

Zirconium, hafnium, and titanium are produced from ore that generally is found in a heavy beach sand containing zircon, rutile, and ilmenite. This article discusses the processing methods of these metals, namely, liquid-liquid separation process, distillation separation process, refining, and melting. It also discusses the primary and secondary fabrication of zirconium and hafnium and its alloys. The article talks about the metallurgy of zirconium and its alloys with emphasis on allotropic transformation, cold work and recrystallization, anisotropy and preferred orientation, and the role of oxygen. It concludes by providing useful information on the applications of reactor and industrial grades of zirconium alloys.

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. Various casting processes, such as rammed graphite casting, static and centrifugal casting, and investment casting are reviewed. The article also provides information on the mechanical and chemical properties of zirconium castings.

Zirconium and hafnium surfaces require cleaning and finishing for reasons such as preparation for joining, heat treatment, plating, forming, and producing final surface finishes. This article provides information on various surface treatment processes, surface soil removal, blast cleaning, chemical descaling, pickling or etching, anodizing, autoclaving, polishing, buffing, vapor phase nitriding, and electroplating. Applications of these surface treatment processes are also reviewed.

One of the most frequently cited advantages of ceramics in dentistry relates to aesthetics, and the same applies for dental implants. Zirconia has emerged as the material of choice for nonmetal implants. This article introduces the reader to zirconia as an implant material, its properties, manufacturing processes, and the particular surface modifications and treatments that have rendered its surfaces biologically compatible with peri-implant soft and hard tissues.

This article provides a description of the classification, industrial applications, microstructures, physical, chemical, corrosion, and mechanical properties of zirconium and its alloys. It discusses the formation of oxide films and the effects of water, temperature, and pH on zirconium. The delayed hydride cracking of zirconium is also described. The article provides information on the resistance of zirconium to various types of corrosion, including pitting corrosion, crevice corrosion, intergranular corrosion, galvanic corrosion, microbiologically induced corrosion, erosion-corrosion, and fretting corrosion. The article explains the effects of tin content in zirconium and effects of fabrication on corrosion. Corrosion control measures for all types of corrosion are also highlighted. The article concludes with information on the safety precautions associated with handling of zirconium.

Zirconium, hafnium, and their alloys are reactive metals used in a variety of nuclear and chemical processing applications. This article describes various specimen preparation procedures for these materials, including sectioning, mounting, grinding, polishing, and etching. It reviews some examples of the microstructure and examination for zircaloy alloys, hafnium, zirconium, and bimetallic forms.

Additive manufacturing (AM) has gained increased significance and has been adopted across many industries for various applications. Specific net-shape AM fabrication methods, such as laser powder-bed fusion (LPBF), have matured significantly, leading to aerospace sector R&D focused on the feasibility of using flagship alloys to manufacture complex components. This article presents one example of an aluminum alloy design tailored for laser powder-bed fusion AM. It discusses the integrated computational materials engineering design approach. The article also presents the design for high-strength, high-temperature aluminum alloys.

Refractory metals are extracted from ore concentrates or scrap, processed into intermediate chemicals, and then reduced to metal, usually in powder form. This article discusses the raw materials needed and the processing steps for producing pure and alloyed refractory metal powders. The effects of processing conditions on the physical and chemical properties of tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum, niobium, and rhenium powders are reviewed.

Ceramic-metal composites, or cermets, combine the heat and wear resistance of ceramics with the formability of metals, filling an application niche that includes cutting tools, brake pads, heat shields, and turbine components. This article examines a wide range of cermets, including oxide cermets, carbide and carbonitride cermets, boride cermets, and other refractory types. It describes the powder metallurgy process by which cermets are produced, examining each step from powder preparation to post treatment. It discusses forming and compacting, injection molding, extrusion, rolling, pressing, slip casting, and sintering. It also discusses fundamental concepts such as chemical bonding, chemical composition, microstructure, and the development of physical and mechanical properties.

This article focuses on the machining of reactive metals which refer collectively to the elements titanium, hafnium, and zirconium. It provides guidelines for machining titanium and titanium alloys and describes machining operations, such as turning, milling, drilling, tapping, reaming, grinding, and sawing, performed on titanium and its alloys. The article also provides information on electrochemical machining (ECM), chemical milling (CHM), and laser beam machining (LBM) for titanium and titanium alloys. Guidelines for machining zirconium alloys and hafnium are also provided. The article provides a short description of turning, milling, and drilling operations performed on zirconium alloys and hafnium. It also discusses health and safety considerations related to zirconium and hafnium.

This article provides a discussion on the process descriptions, processing conditions, and processing variables of the most common chemical methods for metal powder production. These methods include oxide reduction, precipitation from solution, and thermal decomposition. Methods such as precipitation from salt solution and gas, chemical embrittlement, hydride decomposition, and thermite reactions are also discussed. The article also discusses the methods used to produce powders electrolytically and the types of metal powders produced. The physical and chemical characteristics of these powders are also reviewed.

This article focuses on the various criteria considered in the selection of product forms, joint types, solders, and filler metals for brazing and soldering of base material components.