This article addresses two issues on thermodynamics, namely, the calculation of solubility lines and the calculation of the activity of various components. It discusses alloying elements in terms of their influence on the activity of carbon. The article describes the desulfurization and deoxidation of cast iron and steel. It illustrates the thermodynamics of the iron-carbon system and the iron-silicon system. The article examines solubility and saturation degrees of carbon in multicomponent iron-carbon systems. One of the main applications of the thermodynamics of the iron-carbon system is the calculation of structure-composition correlations. The article concludes with information on the structural diagrams, such as Maurer diagram and Laplanche diagram, for cast iron.

This article provides accessible information on the thermodynamic properties of liquid aluminum-base and copper-base alloys with the help of phase diagrams. It contains tables that compile thermodynamic data in the form of activities, activity coefficients, partial molar thermal properties, and integral molar properties for selected aluminum-base and copper-base alloys.

This article is a comprehensive collection of the thermodynamic equations and property relations of the first and second laws of thermodynamics that are applicable to closed-system consisting of several homogeneous and heterogeneous phases.

This article introduces the fundamental concepts of chemical thermodynamics and chemical kinetics in describing presolidification phenomena. For metallurgical systems, the most important thermodynamic variables are enthalpy and Gibbs free energy. A qualitative demonstration of the interrelationship between phase diagrams and thermodynamics is presented. The article discusses processes that generally limit the rates of chemical processes. These include nucleation of the product phase and interphase mass transport. The article provides a discussion on the dissolution of alloy with melting point lower than bath temperature and dissolution of alloy that is solid at bath temperatures.

This article discusses the application of thermodynamic in the form of phase diagrams for visually representing the state of a material and for understanding the solidification of alloys. It presents the derivation of the relationship between the Gibbs energy functions and phase diagrams, which forms the basis for the calculation of phase diagrams (CALPHAD) method. The article also discusses the calculation of phase diagrams and solidification by using the Scheil-Gulliver equation.

Thermodynamic descriptions have become available for a large number of alloy systems and allow the calculation of the phase diagrams of multicomponent alloys. This article begins with a discussion on three laws of thermodynamics: the Law of Conservation of Energy, the Second Law of Thermodynamics, and the Third Law of Thermodynamics. It informs that for transformations that occur at a constant temperature and pressure, the relative stability of the system is determined by its Gibbs free energy. The article describes the Gibbs free energy of a single-component unary system and the Gibbs free energy of a binary solution. It schematically illustrates the structure of a binary solid solution with interatomic bonds and shows how the equilibrium state of an alloy can be obtained from the free-energy curves at a given temperature. The article concludes with information on the construction of eutectic and binary phase diagrams from Gibbs free-energy curves.

There are several main sources of thermophysical property data that provide the most authoritative and comprehensive compilations of critically and systematically evaluated data that are presently available. This article provides thermophysical property data to assist in the materials properties selection for the simulation of casting processes. The measurements of thermophysical property are difficult due to high temperatures and the reactivity of some alloys. The article discusses strategies adopted to minimize the effects of high temperatures and the reactivity of alloys. It presents thermophysical properties for pure metals and some commercial alloys, and tabulates enthalpy of fusion and the solidus and liquidus temperatures for various alloys of commercial interest. The article also tabulates density, thermal conductivity, surface tension, and viscosity for some commercial alloys.

This article presents a comprehensive collection of tables that list fundamental physical constants, standard atomic weights, melting points, atomic size parameters, heats of transition, thermal properties, temperature-dependent allotropic structures, pressure-dependent allotropic structures, and magnetic phase transition temperatures of the elements.

This article provides crystallographic and engineering data for single oxide ceramics, zirconia, silicates, mullite, spinels, perovskites, borides, carbides, silicon carbide, boron carbide, tungsten carbide, silicon-nitride ceramics, diamond, and graphite. It includes data on crystal structure, density, mechanical properties, physical properties, electrical properties, thermal properties, and magnetic properties.

Thermal analysis provides a powerful tool for researchers and engineers in determining both unknown and reproducible behavioral properties of polymer molecules. This article covers the thermal analysis and thermal properties of engineering plastics with respect to chemical composition, chain configuration, conformation of the base polymers, processing of the base polymers with or without additives; and the response to chemical, physical, and mechanical stresses of base polymers as unfilled, shaped articles or as components of composite structures. It also describes thermal analysis techniques, including differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, thermomechanical analysis, and rheological analysis. This article also summarizes the basic thermal properties used in the application of engineering plastics, such as thermal conductivity, temperature resistance, thermal expansion, specific heat, and the determination of glass transition temperatures. It concludes with a discussion of the thermal and related properties of nine thermostat resin systems divided into three groups by low, medium, and high service temperature capabilities.

This article presents a detailed account on the process flow, composition, alternative sources, and the advancement of ironmaking, steelmaking and secondary steelmaking practices. Some steels, such as bearing steels, heat-resistant steels, ultrahigh strength missile and aircraft steels, and rotor steels have higher quality requirements and tighter composition control than plain carbon or ordinary low-alloy steels. The production of special-quality steels requires vacuum-based induction or electric remelting and refining capabilities. The article explores the types and characteristics of various steel manufacturing processes, such as ingot casting, continuous casting, and hot rolling. It provides an outline of specialized processing routes of producing ultralow plain carbon steels, interstitial-free steels, high strength low-alloy steels, ultrahigh strength steels, stainless steels, and cold-rolled products, and briefly explains the analytical techniques for liquid steels.

A computational tool would require the contribution of the strengthening mechanisms of metallic material to be predicted and then summed in an appropriate way to derive an estimate of the tensile properties. This article focuses on the modeling of deformation mechanisms pertinent to structural materials, namely, solid-solution strengthening, age/precipitation hardening, dispersion strengthening, grain size reduction, strengthening from cold work, and strengthening from interfaces. It explains the application of predictive models in the atomistic modeling of dislocation structures and cast aluminum property prediction. The article concludes with information on the use of rules-based approaches and data-mining techniques for quantitative predictions of tensile properties.

This article describes the chemical composition, physical properties, thermal properties, mechanical properties, electrical properties, optical properties, magnetic properties, and chemical properties of glasses, glass-matrix composites, and glass-ceramics.

This article describes eight stages of the atomistic film growth: vaporization of the material, transport of the material to the substrate, condensation and nucleation of the atoms, nuclei growth, interface formation, film growth, changes in structure during the deposition, and postdeposition changes. It also discusses the effects and causes of growth-related properties of films deposited by physical vapor deposition processes, including residual film stress, density, and adhesion.

Electronic structure methods based on the density functional theory (DFT) are used as a powerful tool for assessing the mechanical thermodynamic and defect properties of metal alloys. This article presents the origins of the electronic structure methods and their strengths and limitations. It describes the basic procedures for calculating essential structural properties in metal alloys. The article reviews the approximations and computational details of the pseudopotential plane wave methods used in metal systems. It provides information on the applications of DFT methods in metal alloy systems. The article discusses the calculations of a variety of structural, thermodynamic, and defect properties, with particular emphasis on structural metal alloys and their derivatives.

This article reviews the corrosion behavior of intermetallics for the modeling of the corrosion processes and for devising a strategy to create corrosion protective systems through alloy and coating design. It discusses the high-temperature corrosion properties of intermetallics and aqueous corrosion properties. Thermodynamic principles in the context of high-temperature corrosion and information on oxidation; sulfidation; hot corrosion of NiAl-, FeAl-, and TiAl-based intermetallics; and silicides are included. The article explores the thermodynamic consideration, ordering influencing kinetics, stress-cracking corrosion, and hydrogen embrittlement of aqueous corrosion. It also explains the practical issues dealing with the corrosion problems.

This article begins with the one-component, or unary, diagram for magnesium. The diagram shows what phases are present as a function of the temperature and pressure. When two metals are mixed in the liquid state to produce a solution, the resulting alloy is called a binary alloy. The article describes the various types of solid solutions such as interstitial solid solutions and substitutional solid solutions. Free energy is important because it determines whether or not a phase transformation is thermodynamically possible. The article discusses the thermodynamics of phase transformations and free energy, as well as kinetics of phase transformations. It concludes with a description of solid-state phase transformations that occur when one or more parent phases, usually on cooling, produces a phase or phases.

A phase diagram is a graphical representation of the phase equilibria of materials in terms of temperature, composition, and pressure. This article provides an overview on the background of phase diagram calculation software. It presents an algorithm to calculate binary stable phase equilibria. The article summarizes a rapid method to obtain a thermodynamic description of a multicomponent system. It also provides information on thermodynamically calculated phase diagrams.

Alloy phase diagrams are useful for the development, fabrication, design and control of heat treatment procedures that will produce the required mechanical, physical, and chemical properties of new alloys. They are also useful in solving problems that arise in their performance in commercial applications, thus improving product predictability. This article describes different equilibrium phase diagrams (unary, binary, and ternary) and microstructures, description terms, and general principles of reading alloy phase diagrams. Further, the article discusses plotting schemes; areas in a phase diagram; and the position and shapes of the points, lines, surfaces, and intersections, which are controlled by thermodynamic principles and properties of all phases that comprise the system. It also illustrates the application of the stated principles with suitable phase diagrams.