ASME Specifications

A list of specifications available from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers is available in the section Some Commonly Used Specifications, Codes, Standards, and Texts at the end of the book before the index. This list provides additional detail on items that may not be covered in great depth here.

Abrasives

Abrasives is a term given to various materials with different physical formats (such as aggregate, grains, shot, particles bonded with an adhesive, and so forth) that are used to wear down surfaces to desired dimensions or surface finishes or for some other purpose. They may be used in their "raw" state, such as with shot or glass in shot or glass-bead peening operations. Or they may be used in conjunction with adhesives and fillers to make belts, wheels, and tool surfaces.

Sometimes peening operations address more than surface finish. Glass-bead peening has been used to add a compressive stress layer to the surface of gasturbine compressor wheels to bring the net tensile stress level down to tolerable levels. As alloy metallurgy improved, machinery component operation totally under the stress endurance curve was possible, and such applications were phased out. They are worth mentioning, however, as they can contribute to puzzling failure modes if they are wrongly applied during design or repair and overhaul.

Abrasives may also be combined with adhesives to make grinding wheels, belts, or other components for precision grinding in sophisticated manufacturing or repair machinery such as a blade-tip grinder. A blade-tip grinder