Smithells metals reference book — sixth edition

raters for materials innovation in the. current century. One has been the tremendous acceleration of physical communication. In sixty four years, from 1905 to 1969, mankind leapt not only into the air but into outer space. The second has been the proliferation of energy sources, particul. arly oil, gas and nuclear power. The third has been two devastating world wars. None of these phenomena is likely to occur again. The growth in physical communication is slowing down, as witnessed by the problems of all the transport related industries. Energy usage is also stagnant for both economic and environmental reasons. Mankind will not survive another global conflict. The next century will surely see a n unimaginable expansion in intellectual communication, the extent of which is as hard to envisage now as was world jet travel and the ubiquitous motor car in 1883. Yet many of the prime movers which will power this expansion are with us now, as their equivalents, except the jet engine and the rocket motor, were a century ago. Some are mentioned in the report, liquid crystals and polyvinylidene fluoride, for example. Others are optical fibres and lasers. The materials opportunities for the expanding markets of communication will rely much more on materials in their primary role than in their secondary one of the conveyors or transmitters of power. The primary role will therefore expand and many more new materials will be needed. The secondary role will stagnate~ Materials development here will be slow and application, painstaking and mainly in specialised areas to reduce cost and improve efficiency in power generation and transmission; and possibly also in some fringe customer areas such as packaging. It is impossible to conceive, for example, that mass produced motor cars will have aluminium or fibreglass bodies. The investment and risk are too great, as the report points out. Even in sports and leisure' industries, also a growth area, such innovations as the Dunlop injection moulded carbon fibre tennis racket, one of the case histories, may only find extensive application where high performance is at a premium. The cost may never come down within the reach of the average amateur. The exhortations at the end of the

198

substantive part of the report to the financial community, the manufacturing industry and Department of State should therefore be directed to innovations in materials directly connected with the growth of intellectual communication, because this is where the pay-off, which will make these recommendations and exhortations worth following, will come. W.E. Duckworth

DEFORMATION AND FRACTURE MECHANICS OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS 2nd Edition Richard W. Hertzberg John Wiley & Sons, New York August 1983 687pp £32.75 This book is divided into two sections: the first on deformation contains six chapters in 233 pages and the second on fracture, eight chapters in 432 pages. There are over 450 illustrations and over 850 references. The text contains worked examples and each chapter ends with a set of problems. During the seven years since the first edition there have been advances in such t o p i c s a s , fracture analysis using J integrals, metallurgical and short crack aspects of fatigue crack propagation and fracture processes in polymeric solids and ceramics. These have been incorporated in the second section which has undergone extensive revision. The changes to the first section are more modest. In the section on deformation of engineering materials the chapter headings are, Tensile Response, Elements of Dislocation Theory, Slip in Crystals, Deformation Twinning and Structure of Plastically Deformed Metals, High Temperature Deformation of Crystals, and Deformation of Engineering Plastics. The first four chapters are standard texts, albeit eminently readable, as can bd seen from the dates of the references which are mostly pre 1970. The material presented in the remaining two chapters is more recent and the references are mainly post 1970. In the second section on fracture of engineering materials, which is nearly twice the length of the first. The chapter headings are:- Fracture-Overview; Fracture Mechanics; Transition Temperatures and Fracture Control;

Microstructural Aspects of FractureToughness; Environmentally Assisted Cracking; Cyclic Stress and Strain Fatigue; Fatigue Crack Propagation; and Analysis of Failures. The references to these chapters are mostly post 1970 and reflect the recent advances in the study of these topics. The subject matter of the book is presented from three viewpoints:the crystal physics approach and the role of dislocations in controlling plastic flow, the classical metallurgical approach relating microstructure and properties and the fracture mechanics approach relating material toughness, design stress and permissable flaw size. Some of the topics are treated from more than one viewpoint, but it is emphasised that it is important to choose the more relevant viewpoint, especially when conducting a failure analysis. It should be pointed out that the fracture mechanics approach is not always the relevant one, as it appears from the nine case histories in the chapter on failure analysis; the author selected these case histories to illustrate the application of the principles given in chapters 7 to 13. The material in this book is well organised and the exposition clear; the somewhat pedagogical style is offset by lighter touches. The text provides a well informed and balanced view of the topics which are still developing and can be recommended to students, teachers and practitioners of materials science. The book is well printed and produced and contains appendices on the examination o f fracture surfaces-and K calibrations for fracture toughness specimens. There are three i n d i c e s - author, subject and materials - and the cost of around 5p a page is not expensive. M. Deighton

SMITHELLS METALS REFERENCE BOOK - SIXTH EDITION Erie A. Brandes Butterworth Group, U.K. 1983 Price £95.00 Since its first publication in 1949, metallurgists together with scientists and technologists in many other disciplines, have come to regard Metals Reference Book as a prime source of reliable metallurgical data. The recently-published Sixth Edition has adopted the title of SmitheUs

MATERIALS & DESIGN Vol. 5 No. 4 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1984

Metal Reference Book in memory of Dr. Colin J. Smithells, the editor of previous editions. In the Sixth Edition the editor, Eric A. Brandes, has maintained the high standards established by earlier volumes. The tradition of presenting data clearly in tabular or graphical form with a minimum of explanatory text but extensive referencing has also been carried on. In its thirty-six sections (two more than in the previous edition) the book provides data on a truly broad spectrum of metal properties and processing ranging from mainstream metallurgical data, such as those on mechanical or electrical properties, to the more process orientated aspects of metallurgical technology. This latter category is typified by the four sections devoted to lubricants, fuels, refractory materials and heat treatment environments. Of the thirty-four sections this edition has in common with its predecessor, several have been extensively revised. The metallography section has been updated and extended to include sub-sections on optical examination techniques (e.g. polarised light and interference microscopy) and tables of colour etches for various materials. Similarly, the section on hard metals has been expanded and now includes data on alloying effects, coatings and hot isotatic pressing. The friction and wear chapter hasl also been considerably extended to include, amongst other additional data, comprehensive tables on relative wear rates for various metals and alloys. The soldering and brazing data have been the subject of the most comprehensive revision. This section has been extended to twenty-three pages (compared to four pages in the Fifth Edition) and now contains sub-sections on, amongst other things, fluxes, joint design and control of galvanic corrosion. The expansion of this section, together with the material in the chapter on welding, now provides a broad source of useful data on joining techniques, materials and procedures. In the previous edition of Metals Reference Book the section on corrosion resistance took the form of two very extensive tables; one giving electrode potentials and the other on corrosion rates of metals and alloys in a wide range of environments. In this latest edition the data have been tabulated under the headings of the various corrosion mechanisms. These

ten headings include bimetallic corrosion, crevice corrosion, hydrogen embrittlement, stress corrosion cracking and corrosion fatigue. The net result of the revision has been to present the data in a much more meaningful, and therefore usable, form. Two completely new chapters have been included in the Sixth Edition; one on vapour deposited coatings and the other on superplasticity. The vapour deposition section presents tabulated data on deposition parameters for a wide range of elements and compounds deposited by both chemical and physical vapour techniques. A concise explanation of deposition techniques is also given together with comprehensive references. The section on superplasticity takes the form of a tabulation of maximum elongations, 'm' values and temperature ranges of alloy systems which exhibit superplastic properties. Also included are similar data for alloys compacted from powders. In general, data are presented in a concise and easily assimilated form. Moreover, the binary equilibrium diagrams, which occupy 450 pages, are for the most part, clear, well drawn and well referenced. It is often useful to have phase diagram compositions shown in both atomic percent and weight percent. Occasionally in this volume only one or the other of the scales is shown on the diagrams. In a reference voiume of this kind it is important that tabulations of data should be accompanied by comprehensive references to original sources. The volume under review is generally excellent in this respect. However, the two exceptions to this are the sections on refractories and electroplating and finishing which between them produce only one reference. In mitigation it should be said that the sections on refractories, electroplating and finishing which between them produce only one reference. In mitigation it should be said that the the data provided. Nevertheless, more extensive references or suggestions for further reading would be appropriate. Repetition of data has been kept to a minimum, although there are instances where some repetition is desirable in order to facilitate efficient use of the book. For instance, it is useful to have values of room temperature resistivity included in a table of physical properties of pure metals as well as in electrical property data.

MATERIALS & DESIGN VoL 5 No. 4 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1984

However, it is perhaps unfortunate that the values quoted in these two tables for the same element can sometimes differ by up to 10%. Micro criticisms apart, the Sixth Edition of Metals Reference Book is undoubtedly a useful addition to any metallurgical library. However, at £95, the price will most certainly limit the number of personal copies sold. Since nearly all the thirty-six sections in the book fall naturally under one of perhaps five or six general headings, in the reviewer's opinion there is a good case for dividing the book into several smaller volumes which would sell individually at a more attractive price. R. I. Saunderson

FRACTURE MECHANICS OF CERAMICS - 5 (692pp) FRACTURE MECHANICS OF CERAMICS - 6 (688pp) R. C. Bradt, A. G. Evans D.B.H. Hasselman and F.F. Lange. Plenum Press, New York, 1983 U.S. $89.50 £75 approx. U.K. ISBN 0 306 41021 4 ISBN 0 306 41022 2 These volumes subtitled, "Surface Flaws, Statistics and Mcro-cracking" and "Measurements, Transformations, and High-temperature Fracture" contain the proceedings of the third international symposium held at The Pennsylvania State University in July 1981. Volumes 1 and 2 are from the 1973 symposium and volumes 3 and 4 from the 1977 symposium. The 39 papers in volume 5 may be divided roughly into the topics of the subtitle. The eight papers on 'statistics' are concerned with the variability of strength of smooth specimens and the reliability of ceramics in load-bearing situations. The 12 papers on "Surface Flaws" are concerned with the effect on residual strength of surface flaws generated by impacts, scratching and indentation. The 18 papers on "Microcracking" are concerned with various aspects of the behaviour of microcracks such as, the environmental effects of stress corrosion, oxidation and sintering and the generation of micro-cracks at structural features like pores, inclusions and grain boundaries. Volume 6 also contains 39 papers. Of the four on "Measurements", two are general reviews concerned with

199