Civil Engineering Association

This encyclopedia represents an update of existing materials and presents new materials that have been invented or changed, either by new processes or by an innovative technique. The encyclopedia covers basic materials such as rubber and wood.
This two-volumes-in-one includes two decades of the process of materials; the process/fabrication selection has been hindered by new and unusual demands from all quarters. No change in this trend is expected in the foreseeable future.
This trend has been visible in several industries - aerospace, automotive, electronic, space, computers, chemical, and oil — and in many other commercial endeavors. Metals (wrought, cast, forged, powder), plastics (thermoplastics/thermosets), composites, structural ceramics, and coatings are continually finding new applications in the above industries.
The trend toward combining high strength and light weight is evident in fiber/particle/whisker-reinforced composites. This encyclopedia/handbook covers not only these matrix composites (metallic, plastic, ceramic, and intermetallic), but also other materials of the future - nano and functionally graded structures, fullarenes, plastics (PEEK, PES, etc.), smart piezoelectric materials, shape memory alloys, and ceramics.
Higher processing temperatures as well as more resistant and effective high-temperature materials have attracted the attention of engineers, scientists, and materials workers in many industries. Engines now operate more efficiently at temperatures higher than those attainable with the materials of the past. For example, interest in 2000°F (1093°C) turbine engines has brought more high-temperature, high-strength ceramics into development and use.
The use of a vacuum environment has improved many materials not only in their initial production and processing, i.e., steels, but also eventually in their fabrication. For example, a vacuum environment in brazing and welding and in hot isostatic pressing removes voids and consolidates material structures.
New environmental regulations by government agencies (the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, etc.) have sent the technologist back to the drawing board and laboratory to design and develop new and better materials and processes that are not potential health hazards, and many of these new material substitutes are included in this revised edition.
Finally, political diplomacy, rather than economics and regulation, could well be the most important factor in materials supply in the near future. The major supply of many critical raw materials and supplies for the processes needed to sustain the future economies of many nations lies in the hands of a few small nations. Consequently, there is no guarantee of a steady supply of these strategic materials, and we must continually innovate and explore new sources of materials development (ocean floor and space).