Verlag Stahleisen mbH., Germany, 1983 - 601 p.In the past 20 years the electron microscope has been applied with great success to the investigation of steels, as is shown by the great amount of literature on this subject. These papers have appeared in various journals, conference volumes and monographs. It is a difficult and time-consuming task to collect together all publications relating to a particular topic when required. The present Atlas of Precipitates in Steels, which was drawn up during the last four years by the Electron Microscopy Working Group of the VDEh Materials Committee in the form of a cooperative publication, is intended to provide a solution for these difficulties in the wide and important field of precipitation processes.
In a presentation which has been kept as brief as possible in both text and illustrations, the reader will find all the relevant information on the precipitates in a particular steel or a particular group of steels. A comprehensive review of the literature was not possible within the intended brevity and would also have taken too much time. A different approach was therefore required. For each section authors were chosen who, on account of their practical experience, were in a position to select the most important, experimentally verified results and present them in a systematic form. On the basis of this concept, the precipitate atlas could be produced only as a cooperative publication. Despite the above remarks, the most important original papers are cited, so that the reader is provided with a starting point for a detailed study of the literature.
The first problem which occurred during the work on the atlas was the question as to where to set the limits for the material to be included. A book covering all metallic systems would certainly have been attractive, but this would have gone far beyond the scope of the present project. Limiting the subject matter to materials whit more than 50 % iron would have left too many wishes open. The definition eventually found may be summed up by the heading Steels and Steel-Like Alloys. Thus, nickelbase alloys, for example, are treated, though only in a short section.
The first chapter, Detection and identification of precipitates is of a general character and contains mainly a discussion of the possibilities and limitations of the various experimental methods. In the following chapters 2 Unalloyed, age-hardening steels, 3 Alloyed, heat treatable steels and 4 Steels with high chromium and/or nickel content, the precipitation behaviour of the individual steels or steel groups is discussed with respect to the alloy content Chapter 3 forms the main part, at least as far as length is concerned. Chapters 5 Nickel base alloys and 6 Special alloys and treatments
follow. Appendix I contains tables of crystallographic data of the precipitate phases mentioned, which are needed for X-ray and electron diffraction investigations.
The reader’s attention is also drawn to the following points: The steel designations and the compositions are taken as far as possible from the Stahl-Eisen-Liste, 7th edition, Verlag Stahleisen m.b.H., Düsseldorf, 1981. No attempt has been made to specify the equivalent English or American norms, since an exact correspondence exists in comparatively few cases only. However, in Appendix II a list is given in which the reader may find those materials roughly corresponding to the German norms. The crystallographic data of the phases treated were taken as a rule from W.B. Pearson, Handbook of Lattice Spacings and Structures of Metals, Pergamon Press, 1958 and 1967. Other sources are cited. Concentrations are given as mass contents unless otherwise stated. In a few cases the figure captions
could not be completely translated into English for reasons of space. In such cases L means air cooling and Öl oil cooling (quenching).
The precipitate atlas was written in the first place for the electron microscopist engaged in investigations of steels, but it is by no means intended exclusively for electron microscopists. Thus some micrographs taken with the light microscope or with the scanning electron microscope are presented. Quite generally, the atlas is intended to help the practical metallurgist to obtain information about the precipitates to be expected in a particular material, thus giving certain indications of the probable properties and behaviour.
Such a preface would not be complete without acknowledgements to the people who significantly contributed to the completion of this book, of whom only a few can be named here. Professor P.L. Ryder prepared the English translation which will certainly secure a broader distribution. Mr. H. Hoeft, who acted as secretary in all of the meetings, made my job as chairman considerably easier. He should also be thanked for revision of the drawings and completion of the pictures. Mr. H. Stelzenmüller of the VDEh (German Association of Ferrous Metallurgists) undertook the laborious task of compiling a table for the comparison of German and American steel standards. Finally, the staff of Stahleisen should be thanked for the continued coorperation.
