Glasses and ceramics are susceptible to stress-corrosion cracking (SCC), as are metals, but the underlying mechanisms differ in many ways. One of the major differences stems from the lack of active dislocation motion that, in metals, serves to arrest cracks by reducing stress concentrations at flaw tips. As a result, even relatively small flaws (20 to 50 μm in radius) can cause glasses and ceramics to fail. This chapter examines the propensity of flaws to grow in glass and ceramic materials exposed to different environments, especially water, at stresses well below those that would produce immediate failure. It describes crack growth mechanisms, explains how to measure crack growth rates and predict time to failure, and provides crack growth data for a number of materials and environments.

This chapter discusses the composition, properties, and uses of crystalline ceramics, glasses, clay, and concrete mixes. It also discusses the carbon structure of diamond, graphite, fullerenes, and nanotubes.

This chapter discusses the foundational principles of materials science. It begins with a review of the periodic table and the fundamental particles, including atoms, ions, and molecules, that constitute matter. It also reviews the types of bonds that form between atoms and the relative levels of force they produce. It describes the difference between crystalline and noncrystalline or amorphous materials and discusses common crystal structures, including face-centered cubic, body-centered cubic, hexagonal close packed, and diamond cubic. It also describes the structure of sodium chloride and includes a list of structurally similar compounds.

Structural and fracture mechanics-based tools for metals are believed to be applicable to nonmetals, as long as they are homogeneous and isotropic. This chapter discusses the essential aspects of the fatigue and fracture behaviors of nonmetallic materials with an emphasis on how they compare with metals. It begins by describing the fracture characteristics of ceramics and glasses along with typical properties and subcritical crack growth mechanisms. It then discusses the properties of engineering plastics and the factors affecting crack formation and growth, fracture toughness, fatigue life, and stress rupture failures.

Phases are distinct states of aggregation of matter and one of the primary leverage points for understanding and applying materials. This chapter discusses the phase nature of metals and alloys, the concept of solid solutions, and the use of phase diagrams. It also describes some of the metallurgical effects of freezing or solidification, including the segregation of solutes and the formation of metal glasses.

This chapter discusses the types of fibers and matrix materials used in ceramic matrix composites and the role of interfacial coatings. It describes the methods used to produce ceramic composites, including powder processing, slurry infiltration and consolidation, polymer infiltration and pyrolysis, chemical vapor infiltration, directed metal oxidation, and liquid silicon infiltration.

This chapter discusses the use of coating methods and materials and their impact on corrosion and wear behaviors. It provides detailed engineering information on a wide range of processes, including organic, ceramic, and hot dip coating, metal plating and cladding, and the use of weld overlays, thermal spraying, and various deposition technologies.

This chapter covers the fatigue and fracture behaviors of ceramics and polymers. It discusses the benefits of transformation toughening, the use of ceramic-matrix composites, fracture mechanisms, and the relationship between fatigue and subcritical crack growth. In regard to polymers, it covers general characteristics, viscoelastic properties, and static strength. It also discusses fatigue life, impact strength, fracture toughness, and stress-rupture behaviors as well as environmental effects such as plasticization, solvation, swelling, stress cracking, degradation, and surface embrittlement.

This chapter reviews the basic chemistry of beryllium metals and compounds, including beryllium hydroxide, beryllium carbonates, beryllium fluoride, and beryllium chloride. It discusses the uses as well as application challenges of various forms of beryllium and includes information on their chemical properties and reactions.

This introductory article describes the various aspects of chemical structure and composition that are important to an understanding of polymer properties and their eventual effect on the end-use performance of engineering plastics, namely thermoplastics and thermosets. The most important properties of polymers and the most significant influences of structure on those properties are covered. The article also includes some general information on the classification and naming of polymers and plastics.

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.

The conversion of feedstock into a shape involves the application of heat and pressure, and possibly solvents. This chapter discusses the operating principle, advantages, limitations, and applications of such shaping processes, namely additive manufacturing, cold isostatic pressing, die compaction, extrusion, injection molding, slip casting, slurry processes, and tape casting. Information on equipment setup, requirements, and the various factors influencing these processes are described. In addition, the chapter provides information on novel approaches and processing costs applicable to these shaping processes.

Cleaning procedures serve to remove scale, tarnish films, and other contaminants that form or are otherwise deposited on the surface of titanium during processing operations such as hot working and heat treatment. This chapter explains what makes titanium susceptible to the formation of scale and how it can be removed via belt grinding, abrasive blasting, and molten salt descaling baths. It also discusses the role of acid pickling, barrel finishing, polishing, and buffing as well as the use of chemical conversion coatings and protective platings.

Specific heat and thermal expansion are closely related. Following a discussion on thermal expansion theory, methods of measurement techniques are presented along with their advantages and disadvantages. The results of the measurements are then summarized for three classes of materials: metallics, nonmetallics, and composites. Because predicting thermal expansion values for unmeasured or novel materials is useful, the chapter also describes the means of making educated guesses for low-temperature values. A short discussion on how thermal expansion data can be used is followed by a section describing where such data can be found.

This chapter describes some of the chemical processes that have been developed to extract beryllium from different types of ore. It covers the Kjellgren-Sawyer sulfate method, the Degussa method, Copaux-Kawecki fluoride extraction, solvent extraction, and leaching and settling. It also provides information on electrolytic extraction and the use of electrorefining.

All materials are susceptible to corrosion or some form of environmental degradation. Although no single material is suitable for all applications, usually there are a variety of materials that will perform satisfactorily in a given environment. The intent of this chapter is to review the corrosion behavior of the major classes of metals and alloys as well as some nonmetallic materials, describe typical corrosion applications, and present some unique weaknesses of various types of materials. It also aims to point out some unique material characteristics that may be important in material selection, and discuss, where appropriate, the characteristic forms of corrosion that attack specific materials. The materials addressed in this chapter include carbon steels, weathering steels, and alloy steels; nickel, copper, aluminum, titanium, lead, magnesium, tin, zirconium, tantalum, niobium, and cobalt and their alloys; polymers; and other nonmetallic materials, including rubber, carbon and graphite, and woods.

This chapter presents a glossary of foundry terms.