Abstract
The importance and value of a strong partnership between engineer and metallurgist is emphasized by the history of some of the successes achieved by this partnership in a few selected industries. In the aircraft industry reference is made to progress with the stronger aluminium alloys, the development of the Nimonic series of high-temperature alloys, and the creation of a titanium industry. In the chemical industry the development of corrosion-resistant steels is traced, a brief history of the great advances in pressure vessel construction over the past 30 years is given, and some of the metallurgical features of the new steam-re-forming process are described. In the nuclear engineering industry emphasis is given to the metallurgist-engineer problems concerned with fuel cans and examples are cited of developments in aluminium, magnesium, beryllium, and niobium fuel cans. The lecture concludes with examples from the metallurgical industries where the latest developments in this area such as vacuum melting, electron-beam melting, and hydrostatic extrusion receive special attention.
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