Key Engineering Materials

Description: Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters CPCI-S (WoS).
Abrasive technology concerns manufacturing processes that involve the use of abrasives in various forms. It has a long history; originating right from the first discovery of minerals. With increasingly stringent requirements for the production of high-precision and high surface-quality components, in applications such as silicon wafers for the semiconductor industry and optical lenses for the precision instrument industry, abrasive technology is becoming an increasingly important factor in precision manufacturing. An understanding of the mechanisms of abrasive technology ensures the soundness and integrity of current component manufacture, as well as leading to the development of new and effective techniques.

Description: Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters CPCI-S (WoS).
Japan is currently the most active country among those carrying out research into the rapidly expanding sphere of Electroceramics; a field that holds tremendous promise for expanding or opening-up a wide range of high-tech applications.

Description: Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters CPCI-S (WoS).
This volume is made up of contributions from researchers in 22 countries. It aims to promote exchange of the latest experimental and theoretical results on structural integrity, durability and failure analysis; with the emphasis on fracture and damage mechanics.

Description: Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters BCI (WoS).
All components and mechanical parts have surfaces which are either exposed to a particular environment or are in contact with other components. Consequent corrosion and/or wear of the surface may then lead to destructive failure. A so-called “bad” surface is a favoured spot for crack initiation, resulting in a decrease in the fatigue, tensile properties and even toughness of materials. Although the development of new materials can improve the surface properties, this can also lead to a change in the properties of the substrate. For example, increasing the carbon content significantly improves the wear resistance of steels, but toughness has to be sacrificed. Increased cost is another major concern. Moreover, for some components, such as gears, a ductile substrate and a hard surface are required. In this case, surface treatment remains the only choice. Surface modification, also termed surface treatment, has thus been recognised as being a major emergent manufacturing technology for improving the surface properties, with minimal alteration of the substrate.

Description: Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters BCI (WoS).
This special-topic volume reports on new progress made in the analysis and understanding of fracture and damage mechanics. The Finite Element Method is a well-established analytical tool for theoretical fracture analysis. The development of interface elements which combine aspects of both fracture and damage mechanics has permitted the prediction of both crack initiation and propagation. A number of the papers presented here deal with their use and further development.

Description: Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters BCI (WoS).
Measurement, rigorously defined as ‘ascertaining the size, amount or degree of a measurand by instrumental comparison with a standard unit or by indirect calculation based upon theory’, is what makes science and technology different to imagination. Measurement is essential in industry, commerce and daily life. In the manufacturing industry in particular, measurement and instrumentation technology play increasingly important roles not only in the traditional field of manufacturing but also in the new fields of micro/nano technology and bioengineering.
This book presents recent advances in the use of measurement and instrumentation in the manufacturing industry. A wide range of topics are covered including: micro/nano-metrology，precision measurements，online and in-process measurements，surface metrology，optical metrology and image processing，bio-measurement, sensor technology，intelligent measurement and instrumentation，uncertainty, traceability and calibration and signal-processing algorithms.

Description: “Scientific technology” has progressively displaced “empirical technology” as the primary driver and basis for increasing economic development over the last four centuries. The integration of the power technologies developed during the 17th – 19th Centuries, with the mechanization of thought developed in the 20th Century, has increased the scale and efficiency of formal inventive and innovation processes as the key sources of wealth creation by innovation.

Description: This special-topic book consists of a collection of technical papers assembled under the rubric of “Advances in Understanding the Fatigue Behavior of Materials”. The focus of “Fatigue Behavior of Materials” centers on the changes in properties that occur upon applying cyclic loads. Following its recognition and increasing importance during the latter half of the nineteenth century, this branch of study has focused upon the study and rationalization of the engineering approaches that are commonly used to design against the initiation and/or propagation of the fatigue damage which would otherwise culminate in catastrophic failure.

Description: Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters BCI (WoS).
The main purpose of this special-topic book, devoted to current trends in bioceramics, is to survey the present situation in this field, and to cover as fully as possible the various lines of research. The book includes many ceramic materials having clinical applications; some of them already entirely feasible, while others are expected to be available in the very near future.

Description: Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters CPCI-S (WoS).
This collection comprises 144 papers which were carefully selected from the over 300 papers submitted for the purposes of this special volume. All of the papers were subjected to peer-review by at least two expert referees.