| GREATEST MATERIAL MOMENTS |
See how the world voted! View the top 100 moments in history.
|
|
President Obama recently announced plans to scrap NASA’s Constellation moon-landing project and to redirect funding toward programs that will lay the groundwork for a 2030 Mars expedition. This month JOM asks, what is the impact of the new priorities for NASA?
• The United States will lose its status as a worldwide leader of human spaceflight
• Scientific advancement will be stalled as R&D funding is redirected
• Commercial space launch services will be stimulated to fill the void left by NASA’s new priorities
• The U.S. space program will ultimately be better positioned for deep space exploration
The poll is conducted via the JOM Reader Zone of the TMS Discussion Board. |
| SAMPLE JOM |
|
|
Want a free trial of JOM? Sign up today for a free 3 month subscription.
|
|
|
JOM MAY 2006
VOLUME 58, NO.5
|
|
![May 2006 Cover: At the 2006 TMS Annual Meeting in March, attendees crowded the exhibit floor to preview the latest technology—such as the new, page-turning JOM. The meeting, held in San Antonio, Texas, included lively technical sessions, some new programming, and significant decisions by the TMS Board of Directors, including the naming of the new TMS executive director. For meeting highlights and photos, see News & Update beginning on page 7. [Click to enlarge]](http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/0605/cover-0605.gif)
Published monthly by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society for its members, JOM is a technical journal devoted to exploring the many aspects of materials science and engineering.
The History and Archaeology of Materials Symposium
[p. 19
]
Author(s): Gregory J. Hildeman
|
At the Materials Science and Technology 2005 (MS&T'05) conference held in Pittsburgh in September, nine papers were presented at the History and Archaeology of Materials Symposium. This commentary provides highlights of six papers from that symposium that are included in this issue of JOM.
|
How Roebling Did It: Building the World‘s First Wire-Rope Suspension Aqueduct in 1840s Pittsburgh
[p. 20
]
Author(s): Donald L. Gibbon
|
The noted bridge designer John Roebling introduced his wire-rope suspension concept in Pittsburgh on a wooden aqueduct. His design was later implemented in bridges in Pittsburgh and elsewhere, including New York‘s Brooklyn Bridge. This article describes Roebling‘s work based on reviews of his notes and other historical documents.
|
Understanding the Copper of the Statue of Liberty
[p. 30
]
Author(s): Jean-Marie Welter
|
Pierre-Eugène Secrétan, a French copper industrialist, donated the copper sheets for the construction of the skin of the Statue of Liberty when it was built in 1875–1876. It can be inferred from the history of Secrétan‘s activities that the sheets were rolled in his plant of Sérifontaine. The impurities found in two samples obtained from the U.S. National Park Service show that different qualities of copper were used. They indicate, by taking also into account the commercial relations of Secrétan, that the copper may possibly have come from Spanish or South/North American ore.
|
The Use of Metal Threads and Decorations in Byzantine–Greek Orthodox Ecclesiastical Textiles
[p. 34
]
Author(s): Anna Karatzani and Thilo Rehren
|
Gold threads, like silk, are luxury materials engaged in the manufacture of the finest and most expensive fabrics. While the use of metal threads in European and Near-Eastern fabrics has been the subject of detailed analytical investigation, few studies have focused on the nature of Byzantine–Greek metal threads. The aim of this research is to identify the morphological and technological characteristics of the metal threads used for the decoration of Greek Orthodox ecclesiastical textiles between the 13th and the 19th centuries.
|
About the Pre-Hispanic Au-Pt “Sintering” Technique for Making Alloys
[p. 38
]
Author(s): M. Noguez, R. García, G. Salas, T. Robert, and J. Ramírez
|
The “sintering” technique to produce Au-Pt alloys in pre-Hispanic times in the South American region Tumaco-La Tolita (North Ecuador, South Colombia) is reviewed in this paper. Two Au-Pt alloys were made using small pieces of pure gold and platinum in an attempt to simulate some pre-Hispanic artisan alloys. A “sintering” process (950°C, cold and hot hammering) was done with metallurgical considerations. The results were analyzed with optical and scanning-electron microscopy and compared to the available microstructures of some similar pre-Hispanic composition alloys.
|
The Sacred in Mesoamerican Materials
[p. 44
]
Author(s): Guillermo Salas, José Ramirez, and María Noguez
|
The materials used in Mesoamerica are the focus for the interpretation of pre-Hispanic society cosmovision with the support of the social system perspective of Bruce Malina and Mircea Eliade‘s concept of the homo religiosus. Malina‘s illustration of modern occidental culture and the sacred and profane male behavior proposed by Eliade are used to appreciate the Mesoamerican culture and behavior described in the works of recognized Mexican researchers.
|
Crucible Damascus Steel: A Fascination for Almost 2,000 Years
[p. 48
]
Author(s): Ann Feuerbach
|
Whether you call it Indian wootz, Central Asian Pulad, Bulat, or Oriental Damascus, crucible steel has fascinated craftsmen, scientists, and laymen for almost 2,000 years. This paper will present current research on the origins of crucible steel, its influence on the history of ferrous alloys, and the current interest in this decorative, yet functional, metal.
|
The Carbothermic Route to Magnesium
[p. 51
]
Author(s): Geoffrey Brooks, Simon Trang, Peter Witt, M.N.H. Khan, and Michael Nagle
|
The carbothermic reduction of magnesia to produce magnesium offers the potential of a lower energy and higher productivity route for metal production compared to existing industrial routes. The reaction of magnesia and carbon produces a magnesium and carbon monoxide vapor. Slow cooling of that vapor will allow the reaction to quickly revert and the prevention of this reversion reaction is a major technical challenge. Two main approaches can be taken to prevent reversion and allow recovery of the metal product: rapid quenching of the vapor and dissolving the magnesium directly in a suitable metal solvent before reversion can occur. The commercial viability of either carbothermic route to magnesium is closely connected to the physical chemistry of each system.
|
The Use of Friction-Stir Technology to Modify the Surfaces of AM60B Magnesium Die Castings
[p. 56
]
Author(s): Michael Santella, Alan Frederick, Cassandra Degen, and Tsung-Yu Pan
|
These experiments were done to evaluate the feasibility of locally modifying the surface properties of magnesium alloys with friction-stir processing. The magnesium alloy used for the study was high-pressure die-cast AM60B, nominally Mg-6Al-0.13Mn (wt.%). Friction-stir passes were made with a translation speed of 1.7 mm/s using tool-rotation speeds of 1,250 rpm or 2,500 rpm. Stir passes with good appearance were obtained under both conditions. In some cases up to five passes were overlapped on a single bar to produce stir zones with cross-sectional dimensions of about 1.5 mm × 10 mm. Metallographic examinations indicated that the stir zones were largely comprised of a magnesium solid solution with equiaxed grains on the order of 5–10 μm in size. Hardness mapping showed that the stir zones experienced increases of 16–25% compared to the as-cast metal. Room-temperature testing showed that, compared to the cast metal, the stir zones had flow stresses nearly 20% higher with about twice the tensile elongation.
|
Mg Sheet Metal Forming: Lessons Learned from Deep Drawing Li and Y Solid-Solution Alloys
[p. 62
]
Author(s): Sean R. Agnew, Jeremy W. Senn, and Joseph A. Horton
|
The sheet formability of current magnesium alloys at ambient temperatures is poor; however, the formability at moderately elevated temperatures can be excellent. Cylindrical cup drawing tests are used to compare the warm forming characteristics of conventional alloy AZ31B with alloys containing lithium or yttrium solid solutions. While both types of experimental alloy can have better room-temperature ductility (εf~25–30%) than AZ31B, only the lithium alloy has comparable or better deep-drawing capacity. The results are discussed in terms of the sheet anisotropy. Particular attention is drawn to the fact that magnesium alloys exhibit poor bending ductility due to their anisotropy and mechanical twinning-induced tension-compression strength asymmetry.
|
The Anisotropy of Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys
[p. 70
]
Author(s): William F. Hosford
|
The anisotropy of textured aluminum is approximated by a yield criterion with an exponent of eight. The use of this criterion in metal-forming analyses has improved the understanding of the formability of aluminum and other metals. The effect of anisotropy on the limiting drawing ratio in cupping is less than that expected from the quadratic Hill yield criterion and the effect of texture on forming limit diagrams is negligible. A method of predicting the effect of strain-path changes on forming limit curves of aluminum alloy sheets has proven to agree with experiments.
|
In the Final Analysis
[p. 4
]
Author(s): James J. Robinson
|
Visitors to the annual TMS exhibition who came looking for new technology might have found it in an unexpected location: the JOM booth. There, a dynamic presentation style for viewing the journal on-line was introduced. We call it JOM in page-turning format, and now anyone who visits the TMS home page can give it a try.
|
Foundation News
[p. 6
]
Author(s): Anonymous
|
With funding from the TMS Foundation, eight young materials professionals traveled to San Antonio in March to attend the 2006 TMS Annual Meeting, where they gained first-hand experience in society leadership activities. Through the Young Leader Internship Program, these professionals had the opportunity to attend meetings of society leadership from the technical committee to the board of director level and to network with some of the society‘s most prominent members.
|
News and Update
[p. 7-10, 12-15, 17-
]
Author(s): Anonymous
|
Comprehensive coverage of the 2006 TMS Annual Meeting, including multiple pages of photos.
|
Meetings Calendar
[p. 75
]
Author(s): Anonymous
|
A monthly round-up of soon-to-be-held meetings and upcoming calls for papers.
|
Materials Resource Center: Jobs, Consultants, Marketplace
[p. 77
]
Author(s): Various
|
Positions and services available. (You may view "Consultants Directory" or "Classifieds" in HTML format or click on the button to download both departments as they appear in the print version of the journal.)
|
End Notes: The Role of Protective Orders in Intellectual Property Litigation
[p. 80
]
Author(s): Arnold B. Silverman
|
Suppose you have valuable trade secrets which you feel have been misappropriated by another and you wish to sue to enjoin future disclosure and use of the trade secrets and to be compensated for the damage done. A protective order could be the answer.
|
|
|
![May 2006 Cover: At the 2006 TMS Annual Meeting in March, attendees crowded the exhibit floor to preview the latest technology—such as the new, page-turning JOM. The meeting, held in San Antonio, Texas, included lively technical sessions, some new programming, and significant decisions by the TMS Board of Directors, including the naming of the new TMS executive director. For meeting highlights and photos, see News & Update beginning on page 7. [Click to enlarge]](http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/0605/cover-0605.large.gif)