metallurgy

Introduction
History of metallurgy
- Earliest development
  - Bronze
  - Iron
  - Brass
  - Precious metals
- From 500 bce to 1500 ce
- After 1500
  - Ferrous metals
  - Light metals
  - Welding
  - Metallography
Extractive metallurgy
- Pyrometallurgy
  - Roasting
    - Processes
    - Roasters
  - Smelting
    - Reduction smelting
    - Matte smelting
    - Electrolytic smelting
  - Refining
    - Fire refining
    - Electrolytic refining
    - Chemical refining
- Hydrometallurgy
  - Conversion
  - Leaching
  - Recovery
Physical metallurgy
- Structures and properties of metals
  - Metallic crystal structures
  - Mechanical properties
  - Electrical properties
  - Magnetic properties
  - Chemical properties
- Alloying
  - Processes
  - Metallurgy
    - Increasing strength
    - Increasing corrosion resistance
    - Reducing costs
    - Lowering melting points
- Casting
  - Processes
    - Sand-casting
    - Metal molds
    - Investment casting
    - Centrifugal casting
    - Continuous casting
  - Metallurgy
    - Grain size
    - Segregation
    - Porosity
- Metalworking
  - Processes
    - Rolling
    - Extrusion
    - Drawing
    - Sheet metal forming
    - Forging
  - Metallurgy
- Powder metallurgy
  - Applications
  - Processes
- Heat treating
  - Hardening treatments
  - Softening treatments
  - Processes
- Surface treating
  - Corrosion resistance
    - Barrier protection
    - Galvanic protection
    - Other coating techniques
  - Hardening
    - Carburizing
    - Nitriding
    - Other methods
- Metallography and metal testing
  - Metallography
    - Optical microscopy
    - Electron microscopy
  - Testing mechanical properties

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Diagram of a zinc-lead blast furnace system showing ore and coke entering through charge hoppers, with labeled furnace, air preheater, blower, taphole for slag and lead bullion, and a connected lead-splash condenser using rotors to separate and cool lead and zinc, with pathways for molten metals and off-gas.

Smelting of iron ore

Labeled schematic diagram showing a modern blast furnace on the right, with sections for hoppers, stack, barrel, bosh, and hearth, and a hot-blast stove on the left, featuring checker bricks and airflow paths. Arrows indicate the movement of gases and air through each structure.

Electrolytic smelting

Heap leaching of gold ore

Diagram showing three common metallic crystal structures: body-centred cubic with one atom at the center, face-centred cubic with atoms at each face and corner, and hexagonal close-packed with layers of atoms forming a hexagonal pattern.

Continuous casting

At a Glance

default image

metallurgy summary

metallurgy: Media

materials science

Videos

Exploring the world's oldest known gold mine

Exploring the world's oldest known gold mine

Watch archaeologists uncover traces of a Bronze Age metallurgical workshop in Georgia....

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

Images

Diagram of a zinc-lead blast furnace system showing ore and coke entering through charge hoppers, with labeled furnace, air preheater, blower, taphole for slag and lead bullion, and a connected lead-splash condenser using rotors to separate and cool lead and zinc, with pathways for molten metals and off-gas.

Metallurgy

A zinc-lead blast furnace and lead-splash condenser. This technology is utilized...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Smelting of iron ore

Smelting of iron ore

Catalan hearth or forge used for smelting iron ore until relatively recent times....

From H.E. McGannon (ed.), Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel, 9th ed., copyright 1985 by the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers

Roaster

Roaster

Schematic diagram of a fluidized-bed roaster.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Labeled schematic diagram showing a modern blast furnace on the right, with sections for hoppers, stack, barrel, bosh, and hearth, and a hot-blast stove on the left, featuring checker bricks and airflow paths. Arrows indicate the movement of gases and air through each structure.

blast furnace and hot-blast stove

Schematic diagram of a modern blast furnace (right) and a hot-blast stove (left).

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Matte smelting

Matte smelting

A side-blown copper-nickel matte converter.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Electrolytic smelting

Electrolytic smelting

Part of a modern potline based on the electrolytic Hall-Héroult smelting process.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Fire refining

Fire refining

A basic oxygen furnace shop.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Heap leaching of gold ore

Heap leaching of gold ore

Earth movers preparing the heap (background) and the drainage ditches for pregnant...

Engineering and Mining Journal (June 1990); MaClean Hunter Publishing Co.

Diagram showing three common metallic crystal structures: body-centred cubic with one atom at the center, face-centred cubic with atoms at each face and corner, and hexagonal close-packed with layers of atoms forming a hexagonal pattern.

Atoms in metals commonly are packed in one of three simple forms

Three common metallic crystal structures.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Continuous casting

Continuous casting

A curved-mold continuous slab caster.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Angle grinder

Angle grinder

Worker using an angle grinder to smooth a piece of metal.

© franckreporter /iStock.com

Galvanic protection

Galvanic protection

Principles of (A) hot-dipping and (B) electrolytic galvanizing.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Quasicrystalline aluminum-copper-iron

Quasicrystalline aluminum-copper-iron

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of quasicrystalline aluminum-copper-iron,...

F.W. Gayle, Journal of Metals, vol. 40, no. 5, May 1988

VIEW MORE in these related Britannica articles: