AWS WHB-4.8

C/R * W/D S/S BY AWS WHB 4.9

PREFACE

This is the fourth and final volume of the Eighth Edition of theWelding Handbook. The title of Volume Four is Materialsand Applications-Part 2. Publication of this volume not onlycompletes the Eighth Edition, it also concludes publication of theWelding Handbook for the 20th Century. The first edition of theWelding Handbook was published in 1938. In this volume, theAmerican Welding Society recognizes those who worked in developing,interpreting, and sharing the technologies described in theseeditions by serving as chairmen of the Welding HandbookCommittee (see facing page). The Eighth Edition of the WeldingHandbook is a fitting tribute to their legacy, as it is the resultof thousands of hours of preparation by current volunteers.

Originally the Welding Handbook Committee had planned to publishMaterials and Applications as a single volume. However, it becameevident during compilation of the text that the material was toovoluminous to be contained in a single volume. Evidence of this isthat the final two volumes exceed 1100 pages, compared to 547smaller pages in the Seventh Edition.

Volume Four contains ten chapters supplementing the ten chapterscontained in Volume Three. Both of these volumes represent aconsiderable expansion of the information in the previous editions.In many instances, it is new material never before published by theAmerican Welding Society.

One example of new content is the chapter on coated steels. Itis 85 pages in the Eighth Edition, compared to 11 in the previousedition. The chapters on stainless steels, tool and die steels, andtitanium also have been revised extensively. The stainless steelschapter provides an overview of ferrite, its effects, and itsmeasurement. The tool and die steels chapter presents previouslyproprietary information. The titanium chapter greatly expands theprevious treatment of welding metallurgy.

It should be noted that the Welding Handbook is unique,in that it is a far more lengthy dissertation on broader subjectareas than other peer-reviewed AWS publications. Volumes Three andFour of the Welding Handbook have a high level of technicalcontent, yet this material is presented in a manner understandableto typical readers. The authors drew on industry sources toindependently confirm that the information represents the latesttechnology. Volumes Three and Four should stand as authoritativetexts for welding information on the vast array of materials weldedin the world.

This volume, like the others, was a voluntary effort. The titlepage of each chapter bears the names of the Chapter Committeemembers and the Welding Handbook Committee members responsible forthat chapter. Other individuals also participated in a variety ofways, particularly in chapter reviews. Preparation of this volumealone required the collaboration of more than 100 volunteers. Allparticipants contributed generously of their time and talent, andthe American Welding Society expresses its sincere appreciation tothem and to the employers who supported their work. They haveenabled the Welding Handbook Committee to realize its goal ofissuing the Welding Handbook as a peer-reviewed andpeer-approved publication.

The Welding Handbook Committee expresses its appreciation to theAWS staff members who assisted with this volume, especially BillOates and Alex Saitta for editorial assistance, the TechnicalDivision staff engineers for their technical assistance, and thePublication Services Division staff for graphics assistance.

Edition:

8

Published:

01/01/1998

Number of Pages:

627

File Size:

1 file , 46 MB