This article briefly introduces some commonly used methods of mechanical testing of plastics for determining mechanical properties, also describing the test methods and providing comparative data for the mechanical property tests. In addition, creep testing and dynamic mechanical analyses of viscoelastic plastics are briefly described. The discussion covers the most commonly used tests for impact performance, various types of hardness test for plastics, the fatigue strength of viscoelastic materials, and the tension testing of elastomers and fibers.

This article reviews fatigue test methodologies, provides an overview of general fatigue behavior (crack initiation and propagation) in engineering plastics, and discusses some of the factors affecting the fatigue performance of polymers. In addition, it provides information on fractography that provides useful insight into the nature of fracture processes.

This article covers the thermal analysis and thermal properties of engineering plastics with respect to chemical composition, chain configuration, and/or conformation of the base polymers. The thermal analysis techniques covered are differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, thermomechanical analysis, and rheological analysis. The basic thermal properties covered include thermal conductivity, temperature resistance, thermal expansion, specific heat, and the determination of glass-transition temperatures. The article further describes various factors influencing the determination of service temperature of a material. Representative examples of different types of engineering thermoplastics are discussed in terms of structure and thermal properties. The article also discusses the thermal and related properties of thermoset resin systems.

This article addresses some established protocols in characterizing thermoplastics, whether they are homogeneous resins, alloyed or blended compositions, or highly modified thermoplastic composites. It begins with a description of various approaches used for the determination of molecular weight (MW) by viscosity measurements. This is followed by a discussion of the use of cone and plate and parallel plate geometries in determining the viscoelastic properties of a polymer melt. Details on some of the chromatographic techniques that allow determination of MW and MW distribution of polymers are then provided. The article concludes with information on three distinctive, but complementary operations of thermoanalytical techniques, namely differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and thermomechanical testing.

The toughness of a material is its ability to absorb energy in the form of plastic deformation without fracturing. It is thus a measure of both strength and ductility. This chapter describes the fracture and toughness characteristics of metals and their effect on component lifetime and failure. It begins with a review of the ductile-to-brittle transition behavior of steel and the different ways to measure transition temperature. It then explains how to predict fracture loads using linear-elastic fracture mechanics and how toughness is affected by temperature and strain rate as well as grain size, inclusion content, and impurities. It also presents the theory and use of elastic-plastic fracture mechanics and discusses the causes, effects, and control of temper embrittlement in various types of steel.

This chapter describes tensile testing of advanced ceramic materials, a category that includes both noncomposite, or monolithic, ceramics and ceramic-matrix composites (CMCs). The chapter presents four key considerations that must be considered when carrying out tensile tests on advanced monolithic ceramics and CMCs. These include effects of flaw type and location on tensile tests, separation of flaw populations, design strength and scale effects, and lifetime predictions and environmental effects. The chapter discusses the advantages, problems, and complications of four basic categories of tensile testing techniques as applied to ceramics and CMCs. These categories are true direct uniaxial tensile tests at ambient temperatures, indirect tensile tests, tests where failure is presumed to result from tensile stresses, and high-temperature tensile tests.

The oil-hardening cold-work tool steels, designated as group O steels in the AISI classification system, derive their high hardness and wear resistance from high carbon and modest alloy contents. This chapter describes the microstructures and hardenability of oil-hardening tool steels and discusses the processes involved in the hardening and tempering of tool steels. It also covers the selection criteria and applications of oil-hardening cold-work tool steels.

This appendix is a compilation of terms and definitions related to metallurgy.

This chapter provides a detailed overview of the creep behavior of metals and how to account for it when determining the remaining service life of components. It begins with a review of creep curves, explaining how they are plotted and what they reveal about the operating history, damage mechanisms, and structural integrity of the test sample. In the sections that follow, it discusses the effects of stress and temperature on creep rate, the difference between diffusional and dislocation creep, and the use of time-temperature-stress parameters for data extrapolation. It explains how to deal with time dependent deformation in design, how to estimate cumulative damage under changing conditions, and how to assess the effect of multiaxial stress based on uniaxial test data. It also includes information on rupture ductility, creep fracture, and creep-crack growth and their effect on component life and performance.

Titanium aluminides are lightweight materials that have relatively high melting points and good high-temperature strength. They also tend to be stronger and lighter than conventional titanium alloys, but considerably less ductile. This chapter begins with a review of the titanium-aluminum phase diagram, focusing on the properties, compositions, and microstructures of alpha-2 Ti3Al alloys. It then describes the properties, microstructures, and compositions of orthorhombic, gamma, and near-gamma alloys as well as the processing methods and procedures normally used in their production.

This chapter provides an overview of the tools and techniques, as well as some of the underlying theory, that have proven useful for process modeling and simulation. It begins by presenting the framework of a thermoset cure model that accounts for kinetics, viscosity, heat transfer, flow, voids, and residual stress. It then discusses each variable in detail, explaining how it affects the cure process, how it is measured, and how it can be expressed mathematically in the form of a simple model. The discussions throughout the chapter are supported by numerous images, diagrams, and data plots.

This chapter introduces the concepts of mechanical properties and the various underlying metallurgical mechanisms that can be used to alter the strength of materials. The mechanical properties discussed include elasticity, plasticity, creep deformation, fatigue, toughness, and hardness. The strengthening mechanisms covered are solid-solution strengthening, cold working, and dispersion strengthening. The effect of grain size on the yield strength of a material is also discussed.

This chapter presents several materials and processes related to soldering technology. It first provides information on lead-free solders, followed by sections devoted to flip-chip processes, diffusion soldering, and modeling. Scanning acoustic microscopy and fine-focus x-ray techniques are also discussed. The chapter describes several evaluation procedures and tests developed to measure solderability and standards for process calibration. The chapter also describes the characteristics of reinforced solders, amalgams used as solders, and other strategies to boost the strength of solders. Further, the chapter considers methods for quantifying the mechanical integrity of joints and predicting their dimensional stability under specified environmental conditions. It discusses the effects of rare earth elements on the properties of solders. The chapter concludes with information on advanced joint characterization techniques.

Ceramic-matrix composites possess many of the desirable qualities of monolithic ceramics, but are much tougher because of the reinforcements. This chapter explains how reinforcements are used in ceramic-matrix composites and how they alter energy-dissipating mechanisms and load-carrying behaviors. It compares the stress-strain curves for monolithic ceramics and ceramic-matrix composites, noting improvements afforded by the addition of reinforcements. It then goes on to discuss the key attributes, properties, and applications of discontinuously reinforced ceramic composites, continuous fiber ceramic composites, and carbon-carbon composites. It also describes a number of ceramic-matrix composite processing methods, including cold pressing and sintering, hot pressing, reaction bonding, directed metal oxidation, and liquid, vapor, and polymer infiltration.

This appendix provides supplemental information on the metallurgical aspects of atomic structure, the use of dislocation theory, heat treatment processes and procedures, important engineering materials and strengthening mechanisms, and the nature of elastic, plastic, and creep strain components. It also provides information on mechanical property and fatigue testing, the use of hysteresis energy to analyze fatigue, a procedure for inverting equations to solve for dependent variables, and a method for dealing with the statistical nature of failure.

This chapter describes the general characteristics of two commonly classified metalworking processes, namely hot working and cold working. Primary metalworking processes, such as the bulk deformation processes used to conduct the initial breakdown of cast ingots, are always conducted hot. Secondary processes, which are used to produce the final product shape, are conducted either hot or cold. The chapter discusses the primary objectives, principal types, advantages, and disadvantages of both primary and secondary metalworking processes. They are rolling, forging, extrusion, sheet metal forming processes, blanking and piercing, bending, stretch forming, drawing, rubber pad forming, and superplastic forming.

This chapter discusses the various factors pertinent to gravity permanent mold (GPM) castings, along with their advantages, limitations, and significance. The discussion covers the geometric factors, process and manufacturing elements, gating practices, and feeding principles of and pouring systems in GPM. The influences of mold coatings on GPM and low pressure permanent mold castings are described. The chapter also discusses various processes involved in the engineering of core boxes and cooling of GPM for casting integrity and cycle time control. It provides information on some of the processes involved in post-casting operations, namely de-coring and de-gating. The key design aspects for consideration in water quenching during the T6 heat treatment are reviewed. The chapter also provides information on two critical cycle events important in engineering at the manufacturing facility: tipper cycle planning and table or cell cycle planning.

High-speed tool steels have in common the ability to maintain high hardness at elevated temperatures. High speed steels are primarily used for cutting tools that generate heat during high-speed machining. They are designated as group M or group T steels in the AISI classification system, depending on whether the major alloying approach is based on molybdenum or tungsten. This chapter describes the effects of each of the alloying elements and carbon content on the processing, microstructures, and properties of high-speed steels. It discusses the processes involved in the solidification, hot work, annealing, austenitizing for hardening, and tempering of high-speed steels. It also discusses the processes involved in controlling grain size during austenitizing and reviews the characteristics of cooling transformations and other property changes in tempered high-speed steels. Information on multipoint cutting tools is provided. The chapter discusses the applications of high-speed tool steel and factors in selecting high-speed tool steels.