This article discusses electrical testing and recommended procedures for determining the electrical properties of insulating materials, with particular emphasis on plastics. It describes the electrical characteristics of various forms of plastics and also presents definitions of the terms used in connection with testing and specifying plastics for electrical applications.

This chapter provides a discussion of nitriding furnace equipment and control systems. The discussion covers the essential design criteria of the furnace, types of nitriding furnaces, insulation for the reduction of furnace heat losses, and factors influencing furnace configuration and design. It also covers the processes involved in the construction and maintenance of retorts, methods for sealing a retort to prevent ammonia leaks, and safety precautions to be taken while using ammonia. Further, the chapter provides information on the factors for choosing a heating medium and discusses the processes involved in controlling temperature, gas dissociation, oxygen probes, and nitriding sensors.

The design process is the first and most important step in corrosion control. Major savings in operating costs are possible by anticipating corrosion problems so as to provide proper design for equipment before assembly or construction begins. This chapter describes the role of the design team in producing a successful final design, general considerations in corrosion-control design, and design details that accelerate corrosion. The details that must be considered when attempting to control corrosion by design include plant/site location, plant environment, component/assembly shape, fluid movement, surface preparation and coating procedures, and compatibility, insulation, and stress considerations. Design solutions for specific forms of corrosion, namely crevice corrosion, galvanic corrosion, erosion-corrosion, and stress-corrosion cracking, are then considered. A brief section is devoted to the discussion on corrosion allowance used for steel parts subject to uniform corrosion. Finally, the chapter describes the design considerations for using weathering steels.

This chapter focuses on various factors to be considered at design stage to minimize corrosion. It begins by providing information on design considerations and general corrosion awareness. This is followed by a description of several factors influencing materials-component failure. Details on design and materials selection, which assist in controlling corrosion, are then provided. The chapter ends with a discussion on the design factors that influence corrosion.

This article provides a high-level overview of thermal spray technologies and their applications and benefits. It is intended to educate members of government, industry, and academia to the benefits of thermal spray technology. The article describes the value of thermal spray technology with examples of application success stories. A few applications critical to thermal spray and market growth are briefly discussed. The article also summarizes the key research areas in thermal spray technology.

This chapter describes the processes, applications, and limitations of forming and shaping various materials. It discusses bulk forming, hot working, cold working, sheet forming, and polymer and powder processing.

This chapter discusses three measurements parameters: temperature, strain, and magnetic field strength. It stresses the measurement of temperature because it is the primary variable in nearly all low-temperature material properties. The chapter contains information on methods and auxiliary materials. Areas of frequent concern, such as thermal contact, heat leak, thermal anchoring, thermal conductivity of greases, insulators, lead wires, ground loops, and feedthroughs are also reviewed. The chapter provides an overview and historical development of temperature scales because the practical use of all thermometers is associated with some approximation of the thermodynamic temperature scale. A short section is devoted to types of temperature measuring devices. The characteristics of commercially available resistance-type strain gauges at low temperatures are stressed.

Ceramics normally have high melting temperatures, excellent chemical stability and, due to the absence of conduction electrons, tend to be good electrical and thermal insulators. They are also inherently hard and brittle, and when loaded in tension, have almost no tolerance for flaws. This chapter describes the applications, properties, and behaviors of some of the more widely used structural ceramics, including alumina, aluminum titanate, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, zirconia, zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA), magnesia-partially stabilized zirconia (Mg-PSZ), and yttria-tetragonal zirconia polycrystalline (Y-TZP). It also provides information on materials selection, design optimization, and joining methods, and covers every step of the ceramic production process.

To a large extent, the induction coil and its coupling to the workpiece determine the precise heating pattern that is developed. However, it is often desirable to modify this pattern in order to produce a special heating distribution or to increase energy efficiency. At other times, the high heating rates of induction are needed for processing nonconductors. This chapter describes broad methods of accomplishing such objectives: modification of the field of magnetic induction, use of devices to prevent auxiliary equipment or certain portions of a workpiece from being heated, and techniques to apply heating to electrically nonconductive materials. These methods make use of devices such as flux concentrators, shields, and susceptors. The chapter provides a description of the materials for these devices and guidelines for their application.

This chapter presents basic principles and the theoretical results of heat transport in solids. Thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity are the principal properties discussed. Discussions are also included on the effects of temperature, magnetic field, and metallurgical variations caused by composition, processing, and heat-treatment differences. Numerous graphs illustrate the qualitative and quantitative effects of these variables. Measurement methods and associated accuracies and pertinent empirical correlations are presented.

This chapter examines some of the behaviors that suit materials for electrical and electronic applications. It begins by explaining how charge carriers move in metals and semiconductors and how properties such as conductivity, mobility, and resistivity are derived. It discusses the significance of energy bands, intrinsic and extrinsic conduction, and the properties of compound semiconductors. It also covers semiconductor devices, including p-n junctions, light emitting diodes, transistors, and piezoelectric crystals.

This article covers common techniques for surface characterization, including the modern scanning electron microscopy and methods for the chemical characterization of surfaces by Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. The principles of surface analysis and some of the applications of the technique in polymer failure studies are also provided.