This chapter explains how to prepare material samples for optical microscopy, the most common method for characterizing the microstructure of cast iron and steel. It provides information on sectioning, mounting, polishing, etching, and recording. It describes the nature of surface roughness, the factors that contribute to it, and its effect on image quality. It discusses the use of fixturing and holding devices, includes photographic examples of polishing defects and drying marks, and provides an overview of micrographic etchants and the features they reveal. It also describes the steps involved in replicating part surfaces.

This atlas contains images showing how sintering conditions (time, temperature, and atmosphere) and compaction pressure affect the microstructure of different types of stainless steel. It also includes images of stainless steel powders, fracture surfaces, and test specimens characterized by the presence of compounds, such as oxides, carbides, and nitrides, and various forms of corrosion.

This appendix contains a table that correlates magnification values with true distance per centimeter as observed in light photomicrographs.

This chapter describes several macroscopic examination techniques, including macroetching, contact printing, fracturing, and lead exudation. It explains how each method is implemented, why it is used, and what it reveals about manufacturing processes, defects, imperfections, and failure mechanisms.

This chapter explains how to prepare metallographic samples for light microscopy and how to anticipate and avoid related problems. It describes standard practices and procedures for sectioning, mounting, grinding, and polishing and identifies common defects along with their causes and cures. It also provides recommendations for handling specific materials and addresses safety concerns.

This chapter explains how to achieve accurate, sharp delineation of the microstructure of metals using appropriate etching and contrasting techniques. It covers a variety of methods, including chemical etching, heat tinting, gas contrasting, vapor deposition, magnetic etching, ion bombardment, and dislocation etch pitting.

This chapter discusses the tools and techniques of light microscopy and how they are used in the study of materials. It reviews the basic physics of light, the inner workings of light microscopes, and the relationship between resolution and depth of field. It explains the difference between amplitude and optical-phase features and how they are revealed using appropriate illumination methods. It compares images obtained using bright field and dark field illumination, polarized and cross-polarized light, and interference-contrast techniques. It also discusses the use of photometers, provides best practices and recommendations for photographing structures and features of interest, and describes the capabilities of hot-stage and hot-cell microscopes.

Hardness tests provide valuable information about the quality of materials and how they are likely to perform in different types of service. This chapter covers some of the most widely used hardness testing methods, including Vickers, Rockwell, and Brinell tests, Shore scleroscope and Equotip hardness tests, and microindentation tests. It describes the equipment and procedures used, discusses the factors that influence accuracy, and provides hardness conversion equations for different types of materials. It also explains how hardness testing sheds light on anisotropy, machinability, wear, fracture toughness, and tensile strength as well as temperature effects, residual stress, and quality control.

This chapter covers the emerging practice of quantitative microscopy and its application in the study of the microstructure of metals. It describes the methods used to quantify structural gradients, volume fraction, grain size and distribution, and other features of interest. It provides examples showing how the various features appear, how they are measured, and how the resulting data are converted into usable form. The chapter also discusses the quantification of fracture morphology and its correlation with material properties and behaviors.

This appendix provides a list of etch compositions and procedures that reveal the macrostructure of aluminum, beryllium, bismuth, antimony, cobalt, copper, lead, magnesium, nickel, tin, titanium, zinc, and their respective alloys as well as iron, steel, noble metals, refractory metals, silicon, zirconium, and hafnium.

This appendix lists copper-containing macroetchants that are used on iron and steel.

This appendix lists etch compositions and procedures that reveal strain patterns in aluminum and nickel-base superalloys.

This appendix lists plating solutions and procedures used in metallographic edge preparation.

This appendix contains recipes of the electrolytic solutions in which various metals are polished in preparation for metallographic examination.

This appendix lists attack-polishing solutions and procedures used in metallographic sample preparation.

This appendix lists chemical polishing solutions and procedures used in metallographic sample preparation.

This appendix provides detailed information on the processes and procedures used in electrolytic polishing. It lists important process parameters, including time, temperature, voltage, and current density, as well as the recipes of electrolytic solutions used. The information is presented in tabular form, corresponding to specific metals and their alloys.

This appendix contains tables that list the composition and capabilities of etchants that reveal the microstructure of metals and alloys, including aluminum, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, magnesium, molybdenum, nickel, niobium, palladium, platinum, radioactive metals, rare earth metals, rhenium, rhodium, selenium, tellurium, silicon, silver, tantalum, tin, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, and zinc, as well as carbides, oxides, and nitrides.

This appendix is a list of etchants that are used to reveal dislocations in various metals, alloys, and compounds.