Metals Industry Glossary

Plain-English definitions of metallurgy and metals industry terms — for buyers, fabricators, procurement teams and engineering students.

Common terms

• MTC — Mill Test Certificate, the mill's certificate of chemistry and mechanical properties for a metal batch
• PMI — Positive Material Identification, on-site chemical analysis of metal
• UT — Ultrasonic Testing for internal defects
• HSN — Harmonised System of Nomenclature, the GST classification code
• Austenitic — face-centred-cubic stainless steels (300 series) with high corrosion resistance
• PREN — Pitting Resistance Equivalent Number, predicts pitting corrosion resistance
• Hot rolled / Cold rolled — rolling process at high vs room temperature; affects finish and tolerance
• Quenching & Tempering — heat treatment sequence to set hardness and toughness

Browse all glossary entries

The full glossary indexes every term with detailed explanations and links to related grades and shapes.