Superplasticity is the ability of polycrystalline materials under certain conditions to exhibit extreme tensile elongation in a nearly homogeneous/isotropic manner. Historically, this phenomenon was discovered and systematically studied by metallurgists and physicists. They, along with practising engineers, used materials in the superplastic state for materials forming applications. Metallurgists concluded that they had the necessary information on superplasticity and so theoretical studies focussed mostly on understanding the physical and metallurgi cal properties of superplastic materials....

This is the second book in a new series - "Materials Research and Engineering" - devoted to the science and technology of materials. "Materials Research and Engineering" evolves from a previous series on "Reine und Allgemeine Metallkunde," which was edited by Werner KBster until his eightieth birthday in 1976. Although the present series is an outgrowth of the earlier one, it should not and cannot be regarded as a continuation. There had to be a shift of scope - and a change in presenta tion as well. Metallurgy is no longer an isolated art and science. Rather, it is linked by its scientific...