Materials for Engineers and Technicians

This renowned text has provided many thousands of students with an easily accessible introduction to the wide ranging subject area of materials engineering and manufacturing processes for over thirty years. Avoiding the excessive technical jargon and mathematical complexity so often found in textbooks for this subject, and retaining the practical down-to-earth approach for which this book is noted, Materials for Engineers and Technicians is now thoroughly updated and fully in line with current syllabus requirements. Offering a comprehensive guide to materials used by engineers, their applications and selection in a single volume, the fourth edition focuses on applications and selection – reflecting the increased emphasis on this aspect of materials engineering now seen within current vocational and university courses. Materials properties and relevance to particular uses are addressed in detail from the outset, with all subsequent chapters linking back to these essential concepts. Detailed discussion of examples of materials, and additional applications of processes have been incorporated throughout the text, with expanded sections addressing the causes of failure as this relates to material selection. Updated sections in the fourth edition provide a wider ranging discussion of titanium, printed-circuit-board materials and production, silicon chip production, and the applications and forms of modern composite materials. This new edition has been matched closely to the relevant units of the BTEC Higher National Engineering program, as well as catering fully for the requirements of a Level 3 audience. Students of BTEC Nationals will find that the new edition structure covers all the essential topics required for their courses in the early chapters (chapters 1 – 8). Those students following higher level qualifications (HNC / D Engineering, and first year undergraduate Engineering Materials modules within Mechanical, Manufacturing Systems and also Electrical & Electronic Engineering degree courses) will find additional more advanced topics are addressed in the second half of the book. In addition to meeting the requirements of vocational and undergraduate engineering syllabuses, this text will also prove a valuable desktop reference for professional engineers working in product design, who require a quick source of information on materials and manufacturing processes.

Table of Contents:
Preface 1 Engineering materials: Introduction The requirements The materials Structure of materials Processes The materials society 2 Properties of materials: Introduction Properties Costs Data sources 3 Mechanical testing: Introduction The tensile test Hardness tests Impact tests Creep Fatigue Other mechanical tests Factor of safety 4 The crystal structure of metals: Introduction From gas to solid Metal crystals Impurities in cast metals The influence of cooling rates on crystal size 5 Casting process: Introduction Ingot casting Sand-casting Die-casting Centrifugal casting Investment-casting Full-mould process Semi-solid metal processing The choice of casting process 6 Mechanical deformation of metals: Introduction Slip Annealing Cold-working processes Hot-working processes Grain flow and fiber Metallurgical furnaces 7 The mechanical shaping of metals: Introduction Hot-working processes Cold-working processes Powder metallurgy Machining metals 8 Alloys: Introduction Eutectics Solid solutions Intermetallic compounds Summary: alloys 9 Equilibrium diagrams: Introduction Obtaining equilibrium diagrams Types of equilibrium diagram Precipitation from a solid solution Ternary equilibrium diagrams 10 Practical microscopy: Introduction Selecting and mounting a specimen Grinding and polishing the specimen Etching the specimen The metallurgical microscope The electron microscope 11 Iron and steel: Introduction Smelting Steel-making Composition of steel The structure of plain-carbon steels Heat-treatment of steel Brittle fracture in steels 12 The heat-treatment of plain-carbon steels: Introduction Principles of hardening The hardening process Tempering Isothermal heat-treatments Hardenability The Jominy test Heat treatment furnaces 13 Alloy steels: Introduction Constructional steels Tool and die steels Stainless steels Heat-resisting steels Magnet alloys The principal effects of the main alloying elements 14 The surface hardening of steels: Introduction Case-hardening Heat-treatment after carburizing Case-hardening steels Nitriding Ionitriding Flame-hardening Induction-hardening Summary of surface-hardening processes 15 Cast iron: Introduction Composition of cast irons The influence of cooling rate on the properties of a cast iron `Growth’ in cast irons Ordinary cast irons High-duty cast irons Malleable cast irons Alloy cast irons Which iron? 16 Copper and its alloys: Introduction The extraction of copper Properties of copper Copper and alloys The brasses Tin bronzes Aluminium bronzes Copper-nickel alloys Other copper alloys 17 Aluminium and its alloys: Introduction Extraction of aluminium Properties of aluminium Aluminium alloys Wrought alloys which are not heat-treated Cast alloys which are not heat-treated Wrought alloys which are heat-treated Cast alloys which are heat-treated 18 Other non-ferrous metals and alloys: Introduction Nickel and its alloys Titanium and its alloys Magnesium-base alloys Zinc-base alloys Bearing metals Other metals 19 Plastics materials and rubbers: Introduction Types of plastics Thermoplastics Thermoplastic materials Thermosets Thermoset materials Elastomers 20 Properties of plastics: Introduction Crystal and glass states Mechanical properties Additives Shaping plastics 21 Ceramics: Introduction Silicate-based ceramics Asbestos Clay products Engineering ceramics Properties of ceramics Cement Semiconductors 22 Glasses: Introduction Composition and structure of glass Glass-transition temperature Glass manufacture The properties of glass Glasses and their uses Metallic glasses 23 Composite materials: Introduction Particle-hardened composites Dispersion-hardened materials Mortar and concrete Tarmacadam 24 Fiber-reinforced composite materials: Introduction Unidirectional composites Fibers Matrix materials Mechanical properties Fiber-composite manufacture Uses of fiber-reinforced composites Reinforced wood Reinforced concrete 25 Methods of joining materials: Introduction Adhesives Soldering and brazing Welding Arc-welding processes Electric resistance welding Thermo-chemical welding Radiation welding Solid-state welding Structure of welds Welding of plastics 26 Causes of failure: Introduction Causes of failure Non-destructive testing Degradation of metals by oxidation Degradation of metals by electrolytic corrosion The protection of metal surfaces Stability of plastics Preservation of timber Service life 27 Choice of materials and processes: Introduction Selection of materials Service requirements Choice of shaping process Appendix: Properties of engineering materials Index

Review :
"This is an amazing book! No matter which discipline an engineer or technician is trained in, I am sure that he will learn much from it." - Brian Ellis, Circuit World