I. Report on Austenitic and Martensitic Special-Duty Cast Irons

Abstract

The First Report of the Committee* outlined briefly the development both of high-duty cast irons used by engineers for their superior strengths, and special-duty cast irons used mainly on account of other properties. As a consequence of the war, a demand has arisen among engineers and users for further information on special-duty irons, which are being used both as substitutes for other materials in urgent demand and for new applications arising out of the unusual conditions now prevailing. The Committee therefore decided that monographs should be prepared for the purpose of providing engineers and users with information available, and the present publication covers two relatively new types of special-duty cast iron—the austenitic and martensitic irons. To avoid repetition in introductory statements relating to the character of these irons, the two monographs are prefaced by a description of the types of cast iron available, which it is hoped may prove generally useful as well as a convenient summary of the relationship of the two types to each other and to the other cast irons in general use.