Foreword

This e-book is developed as part of the Key Topics in Materials Science and Engineering series. The series was originally inspired by Yip-Wah Chung and Zayna Connor, both of ASM’s Technical Books Committee. The objective of this series is to teach by problem solving.

Important topics within the general area of materials science and engineering, from basic to advanced, are covered in Key Topics. Each e-book covers one topic and includes introductory chapters, discussion of fundamentals, and presentation of problems with detailed solutions. The philosophy of this format is that the best way to learn about a topic is to solve problems related to the topic. These e-books guide readers through execution of the most common functions or utilities of an application or technique.