Material Information on the Internet
Acknowledgement:
This is a graduation thesis by Mats Ericsson for Materials Technology,
The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. My supervisor was
Prof. Rolf Sandström.
Contents
Summary
1. Introduction
2. Method
3. Results. The Supply of Material Information on the Internet
3.1 Numerical Databases and Materials Selection Tools
3.2 Materials Sites
3.2.1 Polymers and Composites
3.2.2 Aluminium
3.2.3 Steels
Nondestructive Testing
Tribology
Welding
Corrosion
3.2.4 Other Metals
3.2.5 Ceramics
3.2.6 Materials - General
Materials Science and Engineering
Other Materials References - Index
Standards
3.2.7 Physical Data
Physical Constants
Scientific Reference Data
Crystallography
Electron Diffraction Contrast Images
Periodic Tables
3.3 Computing Software
3.4 Bibliographic Databases
3.5 Electronic Media For Literature Publication, Online Journals
3.6 Educational Information
3.7 Information on Organizations
3.8 Government Sources
4. Discussion and Concluding Remarks
4.1 The Internet in Comparison to Other Materials Resources
4.2 Development of Search Tools
Summary
A great amount of material information and data are available on the web, either
direct or indirect via software and database presentations. There are direct,
accessfree online material like materials information, selection databases, and
technical reference guides, and there are a great diversity of commercial
materials databases which are accessible via numerous online hosts.
With listings of these web-based sources for material property information,
it is possible to compare information and to get a more overall view.
The information available on Internet has been found to have many forms e.g.:
software and databases, online reference guides, selection guides, journal prints
or abstracts, technical papers and reports, educational hypertexts and simulation
programs, glossaries and indexes, material (chemical compounds) safety sheets,
guides to elements, and that information that might be procured through direct
communication via for example news- and discussion groups.
Short presentations and links to materials meta sites (meaning sites with
additional often comprehensive links), as well as to materials databases are given.
Special focus has been devoted to European material information systems. Databases
are described including information on content, materials properties, database host,
and access mode.
In this work lists of many WWW-sites offering materials information have been
established. Of these some have business emphasis and can be relevant for industry,
while others can be interesting for people dealing with research or education. The
purpose is to provide a good starting point for further search into specific subject
areas on different types of materials; metals, plastics, ceramics and composites.
1. Introduction
On the Internet there are many pages with links concerning materials science &
engineering; in fact many academic institutions and most organizations working
within the area have one. There is a need to have a more comprehensive listing of
web-based sources for material property information, and that is what this work
should provide.
There is a need for material information systems (MIS), both the manufacturing
industry as well as the general research community are urging for this. Using the
web implies many potential benefits such as; increased access; demos or full
versions of MIS can be established so that potential users can decide whether the
systems are useful for them. Awareness of existing MIS seems to be limited. Some
types of systems seem to be developed over and over again without the general level
being improved in comparison to that of past systems. This indicates that the
communication between people working on MIS is not very extensive. Again this
hampers the general development in the area.
Internet offers well known opportunities: hypertext functionality; the benefits of
having a variety of literature and data at one's disposal with the use of search
engines, to have the text illustrated with highly visual aids as digitized video
clips, animations, etc., to trace information otherwise hard to find, to test
systems.
News- and discussion groups are one of Internets great advantages, putting
people across the world in contact to share their knowledge and procure new
cognizance. Discussion forums like these should not be underestimated as sources for
general and specified information for the entire materials community spanning from
students to industry workers and researchers.
Part of the information on materials properties on Internet is considered
proprietary by its owners and providers and is available online only through
commercial database vendors. Databases and software are provided against payment
i.e. by subscription or through purchasing online.
There are some very good examples of sites containing comprehensive access-free
information though.
Universities and educational institutions are promoted through licensing
agreements with academic networks or consortia of libraries, and industrial
networks exist for information sharing among collaborators brought together by
similar directions in research and development (and not seldom by proximity,
examples: the Sheffield Forgemasters Group of Companies, and the IRC in Polymer
Science and Technology, both situated in England).
The perhaps most useful (non-paid) information that utilizes Internet’s basic
networking function to a full, is the kind of Registry features that intend to
bring together the materials community in centralized web locations, pertaining to
plastics, composites, ceramics, and other specific material groups or issues.
Polymers DotCom, Composites Corner and the Composite Registry, the Ceramics
Web, and Swiss Tribology Online. These collecting nodes provide an easy
way to locate manufacturers, suppliers, university programmes, and all-round,
relevant info.
I have tried to collect web-sites that contain some form of information that is
directly of interest for a casual visiter that is looking for hard facts about a
specific material, or sites that have some kind of interesting and valuable software
to offer. These sites are, naturally, often of commercial nature, or a form of
advertising for the companys own product. Nevertheless they provide a valuable piece
of information for the general materials community. And the people who established
them should be credited.
2. Method
In collecting this material Internet has been scanned with the help of search
engines, mainly Alta Vista. Key words have included: material(s) database and
databank, combined with other key words such as steel, aluminium, polymers,
ceramics, composites, properties, information, etc. Examples of key word
combinations are: material information, database +steel, alumin*m, to cover both
the European and the American spelling of the word, material* database -.com -.org
-.edu -.gov, to search for non-American materials databases presented on the net,
etc.
Sites of organizations and societies of major influence in the area of materials
science and engineering have been included, as well as sites covering different
materials and subject specific areas.
The focus has been on web documents describing materials databases and other
systems having materials information, for example technical reference guides, and
materials information and selection systems. The search results have been lists of
materials sites which have been browsed through "node for node", eventually building
up an image of the material information situation on Internet.
Separate lists of the materials databases have been established.
When searching for materials information different categories of sources are
revealed, of which some are of clearly commercial nature while others can be
shareware, informative sites (company and product information, etc.), or of guiding
nature (meta sites, net libraries). These are described in the following chapter
including examples of web sites. For each material category a brief description of
contents of the web sites, as well as the task and main directions of major material
institutions are provided, and with links to the specific web places.
The information has been sorted according to either origin or type of
information; meta sites, databases, educational material, online journals,
organizations, etc. The different sub-headings specifying the source can sometimes
be vague or overlap each other. Under the headline general information information
that does not fit under any other description or has multiple functions is gathered.
Special focus has been devoted to European material information systems, for
databases and for other material information systems (MIS).
In many cases detailed information is listed, for example on a) content; material
and compounds types covered, properties covered, completeness of information,
b) availability; intended user groups and purpose of system, under development,
pilot or commercial system, platform, and distribution (diskettes, CD-ROM,
traditional on-line, Internet, etc.).
In searching for material databases from European sources use has been made of
the CODATA Register of Materials Database Managers, 1993 edition. For some databases
of special interest, present in this booklet but not presented on the web, the
database managers have been contacted by fax or phone to give further information.
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