Cambridge International Science Publishing
 

COLOUR CONTRAST, STRUCTURE AND DEFECTS IN ALUMINIUM AND ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
 

Ivan Lukac (Technical University, Kosice, Slovakia) and Jozef Michna (Alusuisse Decin, Czech Republic)

At present, the literature concerned with aluminium and aluminium alloys does not contain publications describing in the widest general sense the structures and possible defects in aluminium and aluminium alloys.

When writing the book and selecting the materials, the authors used mainly the large amount of material available at Alusuisse Decin, Czech Republic, one of the world producers of pressed semi-finished products, in particular, from low-formability aluminium alloys. The firm was founded in 1909 and belongs to the oldest companies of this type in central Europe. The book is intended for experts working in these areas who have certain theoretical knowledge and, consequently, each chapter gives only the information required to introduce the reader directly into the given problem

When processing the materials, the authors used modern experimental equipment (TEM, SEM, EDX analysis), including an advanced optical microscope used for metallographic analysis. For example, the application of TEM has made it possible to obtain characteristic structures of several industrially produced alloys, and SEM was used for fractographic analysis, important when determining the reasons for failure of materials. The chapter concerned with the colour metallography of aluminium alloys represents a world novelty in the area of aluminium alloys. For this purpose, this chapter also contains the essential theoretical explanation of the principle of development of colour contrast in these alloys.

Special attention has been paid to the selection of representative photographs from the extensive and long-term work of both authors in the area of physical metallurgy.
On the whole, the publication contains approximately 400 photographs of structures, substructures and defects in aluminium and aluminium alloys, with approximately 50% photographs being in colour.

Contents
1. The structure of aluminium and aluminium alloys  
2. Defects in aluminium alloys detected in the macrostructure of cast Shafts and pressed semi-finished products  
3. Corrosion of aluminium and aluminium alloys  
4. Defects in aluminium and aluminium alloys detected in the microstructure  
5. The grains in aluminium and its alloys in the cast and formed condition  
6. Analysis of the substructure  
7. Fractures and fracture surfaces  
8. The development and application of colour contrast in the metallography of aluminium alloys