Encyclopedia and Handbook of Materials, Parts and Finishes, Third Edition

Book Preface

The encyclopedia and handbook represents an update of existing materials, parts, finishes (coatings), systems, and processes and includes new materials that have been invented or changed or modified either by new processes or by additions or innovative techniques—the book covers basic materials from “A” to “Z.”
This encyclopedia is the culmination of over 70 years of various encyclopedias and material handbooks. With the advent of a steady increase in the number of materials and processes being developed over these past years, it is hoped that a one-volume encyclopedia would intelligently describe the important characteristics of commercially available materials without going into the details—an encyclopedia/ handbook that would meet the job needs of managers and executives, purchasing and manufacturing managers, supervisors, engineers, metallurgists, chemists, students, technologists, teachers, and others.

The encyclopedia reflects the phenomenal proliferation in the number and variety of materials, processes, parts, coatings, and systems. More than 16,000 different materials are described. Despite this manifold increase over the years, it is virtually impossible to include all commercially available materials in a one-volume work of this kind. Nevertheless, the most important and most widely used of the thousands of
materials introduced every year are included in this updated edition.

The diverse technologies that make up the field of materials and structures are at varying stages of commercialization. For example, piezoelectric and electrostrictive ceramics, piezoelectric polymers, and fiber-optic sensor systems are well-established commercial technologies, whereas microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), magnetostrictive materials, shape memory alloys (SMA) and polymers, conductive polymers, engineering-grade thermoplastics, nanomaterials, additive manufacturing (AM), and static-dissipative ABS plastics are, in some cases, in their developmental stages of commercialization.

There has been a tremendous increase in the variety of materials and processes, especially in the medical field, coupled with the rise of new and more severe service requirements, rigid testing, and qualification requirements, as well as a demand for lower cost. This has brought about many changes in the way these materials are utilized. Traditionally, users fit the design of a product to the properties of the material it was made of. This attitude has changed. The major concern now is finding and applying a material or materials with the right combination of properties to meet design and service conditions. Today, material selection is a complex process that operates throughout the entire span of a product’s evolution. Thus, the new attitude is end-service oriented. The next logical step, of course, is tailor-made materials.

Analytical procedures have been developed to deal with the complex interaction between requirements and performance properties. And materials engineering departments and specialists who devote their full time to material selection problems are now a common adjunct to engineering or manufacturing departments.

As we will see, scientists, researchers, and technologists no longer accept the atomic arrangements nature gives us. Such is the case with, for example, high polymers, aggregates of giant, chain-like molecules. High polymers that nature gives us, such as wood, leather, and glue, have been used in engineering materials for centuries. But only during the past couple of decades have we acquired sufficient understanding of their molecular structure to improve upon nature. Now, by varying the chain length and degree of branching or crosslinking, materials can be produced with combinations of properties to meet specific application requirements. The past century was dominated by the influence of emerging materials that were shaped and transformed into new mass-produced products that defined the twentieth century. Plastics, composites, aluminum, and advanced ceramics facilitated innovations that influenced culture and let us form products and machinery that made our lives easie —brightly colored plastics that pushed through labor-saving devices, materials engineered to make cars more comfortable, and touchscreen interactivity that simplified complex technology.

The next phase of material innovation is going to be a little more subtle and inconspicuous—not driven by materials and products that we can see, but rather by materials whose performance is more under the radar. These innovations are likely to manifest themselves through materials that intuitively make decisions for us. There is an increasing number of materials being developed as a response to how we live now and how we will live in the future. These new materials are often incorporating nanotechnology in some way to enhance performance or adapt, over time, to sensors and with the intention of improving our day-to-day life. Some materials that encompass this area are as follows:

• Nanocoated fabric, which repels stains
• Phase-change fabric
• Noise-absorbing material
• Self-healing plastic film
• Biodegradable additive for plastics
• Mineral plaster, which removes odor
• Foam crash mats, which keep you safe on the slopes

With regard to alloy names—metals, plastics, ceramics, and other material types—the choice between inclusion and exclusion is inevitably arbitrary. At one extreme, it would be ridiculous to offer an encyclopedia that excluded terms such as brass and solder or even admiralty brass or sterling silver. At the other extreme, it would be impossible, even assuming if it was desirable, to include all of the immense number of names introduced, and often discarded, at the whim generic names, such as those mentioned here, together with a small number of trade or proprietary names, such as Dural and Nimonic, that are commonly used.

The aim of this book is to reflect the broadest usage of materials and processing technology that is current, and, furthermore, limited reference will be made to some terms once popular, but now fallen from favor. Consequently, a very large number of books, reports, and papers, and even conversations, have been absorbed in an attempt to provide a consensus and comprehensive view. Thus, rather than attempting the invidious task of identifying individual sources or influences, I prefer to offer thankful knowledge with gratitude to the many material engineers, metallurgists, technologists, scientists, chemists, and others whose work has directly or indirectly been utilized or described in this encyclopedia.

Mel Schwartz