Physical Metallurgy of Metals and Alloys

This book will be very suitable for recommended reading in undergraduate and graduate courses offered by Departments of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Production Engineering in Universities and Technological Institutions world-wide.The topics in the book start with the basics of atomic structure and electronic configuration of materials, followed by the usual approach towards solid-state thermodynamics. Topics on phase diagram, phase transformation, heat treatment and various other metallurgical processes are discussed at length, putting emphasis on structure-property correlation. Additionally, the book serves as a ready reference for topics on practical metallography, microscopy and image analysis, highlighting the processes of counting of phases, determining particle size and measuring grain sizes.What is unique in this book is the introduction of chapters and contents featuring new concepts and ideas with regard to heat treating steels and developing structure and properties, which are exclusively missing in the old and existing text books on Physical Metallurgy. The new concepts and ideas regarding heat treatment introduced in this book will provide scope to initiate extended research on metals and alloys. Industries may also take-up the proposed new ideas of heat treatment for implementation as future steps of production.