Substitute Alloys

IN the wake of depleting mineral reserves and their shortages and, in certain cases, in the almost total absence of some, researches and applied technological efforts are directed towards mineral conservation on the one hand and making the maximum optimum use of available resources on the other. In doing so, unconventional uses have to be made of different metals and their alloys through the judicious development of 'Substitute' ferrous and non-ferrous families of alloy compositions. The subject of substitute alloys has always tended to be somewhat controversial adjudged on the basis of indigenous
availability of the primary metals not only in relation to metallurgical acceptability of the substitute alloys but also vis-a-vis their production economics, consumer acceptance and serviceability. The scope of research in such a field would be vast indeed even in its reference to diverse metallurgical alloys, wherein such substitution could successfully be introduced in times of both peace and war emergencies ; in either case, the scope of potent-ial substitution will cover a wide spectrum. As such, the diverse substitutional factors have to be rationally and scientifically examined to establish their industrial scale implementation, particularly in the context of Indian conditions.