Preface Free

Metallography has proved to be an exceptionally useful metallurgical tool for both production and research work. Since the initial work of Sorby nearly 120 years ago, a multitude of techniques have been developed and applied to nearly every conceivable material. The vast scope of material available on this subject presents a formidable challenge to the student and to the practicing metallographer or metallurgist. This book brings together much of the existing knowledge pertaining to metallographic techniques and their application to the study of metals, ceramics, minerals, and polymers, although primary attention is given to metals.

This book concentrates on techniques relevant to visual and light microscopy- techniques fundamental to the study of macrostructure and microstructure. A similar treatment of techniques relevant to electron metallography is beyond the scope of this book, although some of the information presented is directly applicable. The historical development of metallographic techniques and the underlying scientific principles are discussed. Emphasis, however, has been placed on the practical problems associated with the use of these methods in order to facilitate their implementation. Metallography is both an art and a science, and both of these areas have been covered in detail. A complete list of recipes for polishing and etching solutions has been included plus comments regarding their safe and successful application. There are also extensive reference lists of key work at the end of each chapter to permit the reader to obtain additional information when needed. An extensive collection of macrographs and micrographs has also been included to illustrate the various methods discussed and to provide examples of their application to various materials.

This book should be useful to both undergraduate and graduate students in courses devoted to microscopy and physical metallurgy but should also prove useful to those studying ceramics, minerals, polymers, and carbonaceous materials. Engineers and technicians should find the book to be a valuable source of reference for use on the job. Although metallography is a relatively mature field, there has been substantial progress made in recent years in automation of sample preparation and in quantification of microstructural measurements, subjects that are thoroughly covered in this book.

The author wishes to acknowledge the contributions made by his colleagues during the preparation of this manuscript over the past 10 years. Specifically, he appreciates the advice and encouragement from the reviewers and the photographs of equipment supplied by their manufacturers. The advice and help provided by metallographers at Bethlehem Steel's Homer Research Laboratories- A. O. Benscoter, A. V. Brandemarte, J. W. Guidon, J. R. Gruver, L. L. Hahn, J. R. Kilpatrick, M. L. Longenbach, V. E. McGraw, E. C. Poetl, M. A. Rodriguez, and L. R. Salvage-and by his former coworkers-H. A. Abrams, R. L. Bodnar, B. L. Bramfitt, J. C. Chilton, R. J. Henry, R. W. Hinton, M. L. Lasonde, A. R. Marder, M. Schmidt, M. J. Roberts, J. P. Snyder, E. T. Stephenson, and L. R. Woodyatt-were invaluabl e. The author gratefully acknowledges the following people who offered advice or provided samples or photomicrographs: A. Boe (Struers, Inc.), G. W. Blann (Buehler Ltd.), R. D. Buchheit (Battelle-Columbus Labs), A. E. Calabra (Rockwell International), R. S. Crouse (Oak Ridge National Lab.), R. T. DeHoff (University of Florida), E. W. Filer (Cabot Corp.), N. J. Gendron (retired, General Electric Corp.), J. F. Golden (E. Leitz, Inc.), R. J. Gray (Oak Ridge National Lab.), N. D. Greene (University of Connecticut), J. A. Hendrickson (Wyman-Gordon Co.), J. N. Hoke (Pennsylvania State University), W. Hunn (E. Leitz, Inc.), H. M. James (Carpenter Technology Corp.), R. R. Jones (Lafayette College), G. Krauss (Colorado School of Mines), J. A. Nelson (Buehler Ltd.), E. C. Pearson (Aluminum Co. of Canada), A. W. Pense (Lehigh University), G. Petzow (MaxPlanck Institute), T. Piotrowski (Engelhard Minerals & Chemicals), J. H. Richardson (The Aerospace Corp.), R. M. Slepian (retired, Westinghouse Electric Corp.), R. H. Stevens (Aluminum Co. of America), D. A. Thomas (Lehigh University), F. J. Warmuth (Special Metal s Corp.), E. Weidmann (Struers, Inc.), W. E. White (Petro Canada Ltd.), D. B. Williams (Lehigh University), E. E. Underwood (Georgia Institute of Technology), and W. Yankauskas (retired, TRW).