This appendix contains drawings that illustrate the test specimens used in generating the data related to aluminum alloy castings.

This chapter reviews and provides data tables for the wide range of properties and performance characteristics that are possible with specific aluminum casting alloys and tempers. Properties and performance attributes addressed include casting and finishing characteristics; typical physical properties; typical and minimum (design) mechanical properties; fatigue strength; fracture resistance, including subcritical crack growth; and resistance to general corrosion and to stress-corrosion cracking. The chapter concludes with information on the properties of cast aluminum matrix composites.

Steel is broadly classified as plain-carbon steels, low-alloy steels, and high-alloy steels. This chapter begins by describing microconstituents of low- and medium-carbon steel, including bainite and martensite. This is followed by a section discussing the effect of alloying elements on steel. Then, it provides an overview of steel casting applications. Next, the chapter reviews engineering guidelines for steel castings and feeder design. The following section provides information on feeding aids. Further, the chapter describes the elements of gating systems for steel castings. It also describes the alloys, properties, applications, and engineering details of steel. Finally, the chapter explains defects in steel castings and presents guidelines for problem solving with examples.

Aluminum casting alloy compositions parallel those of wrought alloys in many respects. However, because work hardening plays no significant role in the development of casting properties, the use and purposes of some alloying elements differ in casting alloys versus wrought alloys. This chapter provides information on specifications and widely used designation systems and alloy nomenclature for aluminum casting alloys. It describes the composition of seven basic families of aluminum casting alloys: aluminum-copper, aluminum-silicon-copper, aluminum-silicon, aluminum-silicon-magnesium, aluminum-magnesium, aluminum-zinc-magnesium, and aluminum-tin. The chapter discusses the effects of alloying elements on the properties of cast aluminum. It provides information on various alloys that are grouped with respect to their applications or major performance characteristics.

This chapter discusses the effect of composition on environmental resistance, machinability, and casting and forging, factors that are often considered when selecting a superalloy.

Specimen preparation is the first step that determines the quality of the microstructural information that can be obtained using optical microscopy. This chapter describes the sample preparation methods that are applicable to most types of composite materials containing short discontinuous or continuous fibers. The sample preparation methods cover documentation and labeling of samples, sectioning the composite, clamp-mounting composite samples, mounting composite samples in casting resins, and the addition of contrast dyes to casting resins. Information on the molds used for mounting composite materials is provided. The steps recommended to achieve a good mounted specimen without voids or specimen pull-out are also described. The chapter discusses the processes for clamping mounted composite samples in automated polishing heads and mounting composite materials for hand polishing. A summary of the mounting technique is also included.

The testing of plastics includes a wide variety of chemical, thermal, and mechanical tests. This chapter reviews the tensile testing of plastics, which has been standardized in ASTM D 638, "Standard Test Method for Tensile Properties of Plastics," and other comparable standards. It describes the fundamental factors that affect data from tensile tests, examines the stipulations in standardized tensile testing, and discusses the utilization of data from tensile tests.

This chapter reviews the concepts of fracture mechanics and their application to materials evaluation and the design of cryogenic structures. Emphasis is placed on an explanation of technology, a review of fracture mechanics testing methods, and a discussion on the many factors contributing to the fracture behavior of materials at cryogenic temperatures. Three approaches of elastic-plastic fracture mechanics are covered, namely the crack opening displacement, the J-integral, and the R-curve methods. The chapter also discusses the influence of thermal and metallurgical effects on toughness at low temperatures.

This appendix provides detailed information on design deficiencies, material and manufacturing defects, and service-life anomalies. It covers ingot-related defects, forging and sheet forming imperfections, casting defects, heat treating defects, and weld discontinuities. It shows how application life is affected by the severity of service conditions and discusses the consequences of using inappropriate materials.

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 chapter covers a broad range of low-carbon steels optimized for structural applications. Low-carbon structural steels are generally considered the highest-strength steels that can be welded without undue difficulty, even in the field. They include mild steels, carbon-manganese and niobium- and vanadium-containing steels, and high-strength low-alloy steels. Chapter 5 discusses the composition, microstructure, and properties of these workhorse materials and explains how to identify the cause of production-related issues such as lamellar tearing and ferrite-pearlite banding. It also describes some of the alloying variations that have been developed to improve machinability and the mechanisms by which they work.

This chapter explains how mechanical processes, including erosion, cavitation, impingement, and fretting, contribute to the effects of corrosion in aluminum alloys. It describes the two main types of erosion-corrosion and the factors involved in cavitation and liquid impingement erosion along with testing and prevention methods. It also provides information on fretting corrosion and fretting fatigue.

Fracture mechanics is the science of predicting the load-carrying capabilities of cracked structures based on a mathematical description of the stress field surrounding the crack. The fundamental ideas stem from the work of Griffith, who demonstrated that the strain energy released upon crack extension is the driving force for fracture in a cracked material under load. This chapter provides a summary of Griffith’s work and the subsequent development of linear elastic and elastic-plastic fracture mechanics. It includes detailed illustrations and examples, familiarizing readers with the steps involved in determining strain energy release rates, stress intensity factors, J-integrals, R-curves, and crack tip opening displacement parameters. It also covers fracture toughness testing methods and the effect of measurement variables.

This chapter discusses the typical compositional ranges of superalloys, the role of major base metals (iron, cobalt, and nickel), and the effects of common alloying additions. It describes how chromium, aluminum, and titanium as well as refractory elements, grain-boundary elements, reactive elements, and oxides influence mechanical properties and behaviors. It also discusses the effect of trace elements.

The casting engineer contributes to a successful component design by offering expertise in molding, core making, and material characteristics and by recommending the most suitable casting process to use to meet quality and cost targets. The casting engineer's responsibilities include recommending locator positioning; advising about lugs, hooks, or holes for casting handling through all processes; determining the choice of a parting plane and pouring orientation; designing cores for accurate positioning, suitable venting, and proper cleaning; guiding decisions about wall thicknesses and junctions; making suggestions about casting design to eliminate distortion; optimizing the gating design for slag-free metal; and establishing the feeding techniques to eliminate shrink porosity. This chapter provides the guidelines for these responsibilities. In addition, the guidelines for the use of chaplets and chills in cast iron castings; guidelines for drafts, machine stock, tolerances, and contraction or shrink rule; and guidelines for pattern layouts and nesting are also covered.

This chapter explains various aspects of the foundry process that the design engineer should consider when designing steel castings. It discusses special feeding aids, such as tapers, padding, ribs, and chills that may be used by foundry personnel to promote directional solidification. The chapter addresses the design of castings to reduce the occurrence of internal shrinkage. It provides a detailed discussion on design considerations for molding, cleaning, machining, and function.

This chapter describes sheet metal forming operations, including cutting, blanking, piercing, and bending as well as deep drawing, spinning, press-brake and stretch forming, fluid forming, and drop hammer and electromagnetic forming. It also discusses the selection and use of die materials and lubricants along with superplastic forming techniques.

This chapter explains the basic terminology and principles of metallurgy as they apply to extrusion. It begins with an overview of crystal structure in metals and alloys, including crystal defects and orientation. This is followed by sections discussing the development of the continuous cast microstructure of aluminum and copper alloys. The discussion provides information on billet and grain segregation and defects in continuous casting. The chapter then discusses the processes involved in the deformation of pure metals and alloys at room temperature. Next, it describes the characteristics of pure metals and alloys at higher temperatures. The processes involved in extrusion are then covered. The chapter provides details on how the toughness and fracture characteristics of metals and alloys affect the extrusion process. The weld seams in hollow profiles, the production of composite profiles, and the processing of composite materials, as well as the extrusion of metal powders, are discussed. The chapter ends with a discussion on the factors that define the extrudability of metallic materials and how these attributes are characterized.

This chapter discusses the extrusion characteristics of hard aluminum alloys, particularly those in the 5000 and 7000 series. It begins with a review of two studies, one showing how the extrudability of 7 xxx alloys varies with the presence and amount of different alloying elements, the other relating minimum wall thickness with circumscribing circle diameter. It then explains how oxides on either the billet or container complicate the control of extrusion as well as auxiliary processes and how material flow and the movement of trapped gasses in different regions of the extrusion can lead to defects and variations in strength. It also discusses the extrusion of aluminum matrix composites and explains how composite billets are made.