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02/26/2007 -
Steels Microstructure and Properties, third edition (2006)
by H.K.D.H. Bhadeshia and R.W.K. Honeycombe
ISBN 0 7506 8084 9. Elsevier, London, U.K. 2006. Hardcover. 360 pages. $89.95.
| REVIEWED BY: | Gary S. Vardon, Retired Chemist
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H.K.D.H. Bhadeshia and R.W. K. Honeycombe wrote the book on steels. The book is appropriately enough entitled Steels. To be more complete, the book is called Steels Microstructure and Properties, third edition. Professor Honeycombe has been studying steels for a while. The first edition was written in 1980 and the second edition in 1995. The authors are professors of metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. This is a key point. The authors who wrote Steels showed a solid academic background as distinct from an industrial background in steel. The book Steels is as an excellent text on ferrous metallurgy. Steels are of tremendous importance and have many vital uses. However, this book does not discuss the uses of steels in depth. Rather, it is more a study of the structures and properties of various steels. Understanding iron is important in understanding steels.
Our beloved text gets off to a strong start by devoting the first chapter to a study of the properties of iron. As steel can be considered modified iron this is a good starting point. A science book benefits from a good starting point and logical organization. The book Steels has these properties. Bhadeshia and Honeycombe are reductionists--they use the properties of atoms, molecules and microstructures to understand large scale phenomena and behavior in this case of steels. This approach has proven very fruitful in many fields including metallurgy. This approach also leads to a vast abundance of material to study. For example, just the study of various alloying elements and various temperature regimes on the properties of steels of varying carbon content would be voluminous. The authors discuss this topic in a chapter on the effects of alloying elements on iron-carbon alloys. They generalize in a profound way to make a vast field more manageable and understandable. For example, they divide alloying elements into those that expand and those that contract the austenite stability field. Every chapter of Steels concludes with a section called further reading. This is wise. Some of the chapters in Steels, including the chapter on alloying elements, demand further discussion. For example, the economics of alloying elements are not mentioned in the alloying chapter. Such elements as molybdenum and chromium are mined actively to use as alloying elements.
No book can cover everything and keeping a book to a manageable size is good. Nevertheless, subjects such as the economics and uses of alloying elements could be discussed in more depth. One topic of importance that is not ignored in Steels is kinetics. It is not enough that a reaction can occur. The time it takes to occur is vital information. Steels is also strong in thermodynamics and phase diagrams. The book knowledgably discusses microstructures and provides many pictures of microstructures. This is another strong point of Steels. Professors Bhadeshia and Honeycombe have proved themselves to be men of steel. A knowledge of such subjects as thermodynamics, chemistry, and material science would help in understanding Steels the book and steels as a material. Of course, a good book on steels should appeal to those interested in steels and those who work with the metal. Reading Steels could well prove valuable to those interested in metals and material science in general. The text in this volume is well written and clear.
For more on Steels Microstructure and Properties, third edition, visit the Elsevier web site.
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