Metal and Alloy Phase Transformations

This book is basically about the theory explaining how metals and alloys behave and transform under various processing conditions. The processing changes the microstructures of the alloys and microstructures in turn control the properties of the materials. While writing this book care is taken to see that it is useful to the technologists working in metallurgical production facilities R&D or academies. With strong fundamentals of phase transformation like thermodynamics and kinetics the book offers insight into application oriented topics like solidification heat treatment and thermo-mechanical processing. The topics like diffusionless transformation spinodal decomposition and precipitation hardening find their due importance in the book. Chapters on shape memory alloys and ordering transformations are included to further the progressing knowledge in metallurgy. The book also contains materials not covered by traditional courses but required for solving a wide range of problems than just study of microstructure of metals and alloys. Although the book is written for undergraduate students it is useful to postgraduate and research students as well. It is hoped that this book will induce readers to get interested in the subject and kindle to study and research further about phase transformation processes. <B>Contents : <B/>1. Introduction to Phase Transformation2. Stability of Phases - Thermodynamics3. Evolution of Phase Diagrams of Binary Systems4. Phase Transformation Mechanism-Nucleation5. Phase Transformation Kinetics- Diffusion6. Growth Kinetics7. Overall Transformation Kinetics8. Solidification9. Diffusional Transformation- Discontinuous Precipitation10. Spinodal Decomposition11. Diffusional Transformation: Continuous Precipitation12. Precipitation Hardening in Al-Cu Alloys and Other Alloys13. Precipitation Free Zones and Particle Coarsening14. Plastic Deformation and Accompanying Relaxation Mechanisms15. Diffusionless Transformations- Massive and Martensitic Transformation16. Shape Memory Alloys17. Ordering Transformation in AlloysReferences<b>About Authors<b/>Author N.Ranganathan a postgraduate in Engineering from Indian Institute of Science Bangalore has wide experience in industry and also teaching experience in Indian technical universities SCSVMV University Kanchipuram and MSAJCE Anna University Chennai.Professor.K.Rajendra Udupa has a PhD from Indian Institute of Science Bangalore. With initial experience in the industry he has more than three decades of teaching and research in National Institute of Technology Surathkal Mangalore.