Decomposition of Alloys: The Early Stages

Book excerpt: Decomposition of Alloys: The Early Stages contains the proceedings of the 2nd Acta-Scripta Metallurgica Conference held in Sonnenberg, Germany, on September 19-23, 1983. Contributors discuss the early stages of decomposition in alloys, placing emphasis on the unsolved problems of the field, rather than on the solved ones. This book has 36 chapters and opens with a discussion on developments in the theory of the kinetics of first-order phase transitions, followed by an analysis of metastability and spinodal nucleation; neutron scattering during decomposition of aluminum alloys; Ostwald ripening of precipitates; and phase stability under irradiation. The next chapters explore decomposition processes in Al-Zn alloys; thermal decomposition in Cu-Ni-Fe alloys; and the initial stages of discontinuous precipitation reactions. Other papers focus on the mechanisms of plate precipitate growth; spinodal decomposition and continuous ordering; and early stages of decomposition in Ni-Al single crystals. This monograph will be of interest to students and practitioners of physics and metallurgy.