Cast Structures and Their Susceptibility to Failure

Norkett J.E., Dickey M.D., Miller V.M.

Liquid metal embrittlement (LME) is the term for a collection of phenomena by which the action of a liquid metal in contact with the surface of a solid metal results in the weakening, loss of ductility, or otherwise mechanical degradation of the solid metal. Despite upwards of 100 years of study on this topic (Johnson, Proc R Soc Lond 23(156–163):168–179, 1874 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspl.1874.0024 ), the ability to predict the occurrence or severity of embrittlement in any given liquid–solid metal pair has eluded the community, in no small part due to the lack of an agreed upon mechanism or mechanisms that explain the observed phenomenology. This review will describe the various ways in which metals can fail by LME, the experimentally observed dependencies on environmental and metallurgical factors (Section III), and will briefly cover the various mechanisms that have been proposed to explain behavior.

Horvath C.D.

High-strength steels are commonly used in the automotive industry to reduce mass and improve structural performance. This chapter discusses the history of steel in the manufacture of automobiles, the types of steels currently being used, and the new advances in the types of steels that can be used for lightweight automotive structures. This chapter also reviews the manufacturing and forming aspects of these steels along with some important design considerations for the selection of these materials.

Ruxanda R., Obara R.

Loper C.R., Park J.

Volume 19 is a resource for basic concepts, alloy property data, and the testing and analysis methods used to characterize fatigue and fracture behavior of structural materials. Contents include fatigue mechanisms, crack growth and testing; fatigue strength prediction and analysis; fracture mechanics, damage tolerance, and life assessment; environmental effects; and fatigue and fracture resistance of ferrous, nonferrous, and nonmetallic structural materials. Statistical aspects of fatigue data, the planning and evaluation of fatigue tests, and the characterization of fatigue mechanisms and crack growth are also covered. Practical applications and examples of fracture control in weldments, process piping, aircraft systems, and high-temperature crack growth and thermos-mechanical fatigue are also included. For information on the print version of Volume 19, ISBN 978-0-87170-385-9, follow this link.

Nicholas M.G., Old C.F.

Liquid metal embrittlement is the reduction in the elongation to failure that can be produced when normally ductile solid metals are stressed while in contact with a liquid metal. This review describes its principal characteristics and the several models which have been advanced in attempts to explain the occurrence and different features of the process. Comparison between theory and experiment indicates that many, but not all, of its aspects are consistent with a mechanism which operates by reducing the fracture surface energy of the solid metal. Literature reports show that liquid metal embrittlement can occur with a very wide range of material combinations, and while most of the data refer to laboratory studies, it is clear that the phenomenon is also of technological significance as a potential cause of plant damage.