Library Briefings

New databases at SEL

ASTM standards, inorganic crystal, and alloy phase data

The Science and Engineering Library (SEL) has recently started a subscription to the American Society for Testing and Materials' ASTM Specifications & Standards to meet the needs of engineering faculty and researchers. The subscription through IHS, one of the leading providers of technical information, allows users online access to the latest version of ASTM standards from the Annual Book of ASTM Standards collection and provides a convenient way for users to obtain the ASTM standards in their office and at home.

Two other important new research resources available through SEL are the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD) and Alloy Phase Diagrams Center.

The web version of the ICSD contains information on all inorganic crystal structure including pure elements, minerals, metals, and intermetallic compounds including their atomic coordinates that have been published since 1913 and allows you to view a three-dimensional representation of the crystal. As of June 2006, the database contains 89064 entries, approximately 600 crystal structures of the elements, approximately 600 crystal structures of the elements, 15000 records and 33000 records for binary and ternary compounds, respectively. Finally, the database contains approximately 35000 records for quarternary and quinternary compounds.

Alloy Phase Diagrams Center, published by ASM International, provides online access to more than 11,000 binary and ternary phase diagrams and associated phase data. Users can select Explore to browse by elements and systems, or select Search to build targeted queries.

For more information on any of these resources, please contact Anna Ren at x1-2910 or annawu@northwestern.edu.

Anna Ren
Head of Public Services and Engineering Librarian