Metallurgy

Abstract

IN spite of the extensive use of cast iron as a structural material, its scientific study has lagged conspicuously behind that of steel. Until quite recently, the knowledge of its constitution has been almost entirely empirical, and success in its use has been due to the practical skill of foundrymen rather than to an understanding of the factors which determine its constitution. Since the first edition of Dr. Hatfield's book was published, there have been determined efforts to remove this reproach, but a careful compilation such as this brings out the fact that even now we are very imperfectly acquainted with the constitution of cast iron, and therefore with the means of scientific control of its properties. For example, the relations between the sulphur and manganese contents of the iron are of the greatest importance in determining the degree of chill under given conditions, but the evidence is contradictory, and published work on the subject goes little beyond the knowledge of practical foundrymen. Even the relations between graphite, combined carbon, and silicon cannot yet be represented in a simple and intelligible diagram, and arbitrary assumptions have to be made concerning them. Cast Iron in the Light of Recent Research. By W. H. Hatfield. Third edition, revised and enlarged. Pp. xv + 340. (London: Charles Griffin and Co., Ltd., 1928.) 16s. net.