Glossary Terms

TRANSGRANULAR FRACTURE. Fracture through or across the crystals or grains of a metal. Also called transcrystalline fracture or intracrystalline fracture.

ULTIMATE STRENGTH. The maximum conventional stress (tensile, compressive or shear) that a material can withstand.

ULTRA-SONIC TESTING. A nondestructive test applied to sound-conductive materials having elastic properties for the purpose of locating inhomogeneities of structural discontinuities within a material by means of an ultrasonic beam.

VACUUM ANNEALING. Annealing carried out at sub-atmospheric pressure.

VACUUM DEPOSITION. Condensation of thin metal coatings on the cool surface of work in a vacuum.

VACUUM FURNACE. A furnace using low atmospheric pressures instead of a protective gas atmosphere like most heat-treating furnaces. Vacuum furnaces are categorized at hot wall or cold wall, depending on the location of the heating and insulating components.

VAPOR PLATING. Deposition of a metal or compound on a heated surface by reduction or decomposition of a volatile compound at a temperature below the melting points of the deposit and the base material. The reduction is usually accomplished by a gaseous reducing agent such as hydrogen. The decomposition process may […]