Transformations of Materials

Phase transformations are among the most intriguing and technologically useful phenomena in materials, particularly with regard to controlling microstructure. After a review of thermodynamics, this book contains chapters on Brownian motion and the diffusion equation, diffusion in solids based on transition-state theory, spinodal decomposition, nucleation and growth, instabilities in solidification, and diffusionless transformations. Each chapter includes exercises and the solutions are available in a separate manual.

Based on the notes from a graduate course taught in the Centre for Doctoral Training on Theory and Simulation of Materials, which was attended by students with undergraduate degrees in physics, mathematics, chemistry, materials science and engineering, this book is written to accommodate diverse backgrounds.