Phase Transformations in Multicomponent Melts

Bringing together the concerted efforts of the multicomponent materials community in one decisive reference work, this handbook covers all the important aspects from fundamentals to applications: thermodynamics, microscopic processes, solidification, simulation and modeling. As such, it provides a vital understanding of melt and solidification processes, treating all simulation techniques for continuous and discrete systems, such as molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo, and finite elements calculations.

The systematic exploration of thermodynamic properties of molten metals and the physical processes during melt solidification provide the basis to develop proper modeling tools for computer assisted materials design to optimize casting processes, production routes and even find novel and innovative materials. This handbook concentrates on multicomponent alloys because most of the metallic materials in daily use are composed of several elements. It covers important aspects from fundamentals to applications:

- Thermodynamics,

- Microscopic and Macroscopic Dynamics,

- Nd-Fe based Alloys,

- Solidification and Simulation.

The text provides a vital understanding of melt properties and solidification processes, treating all simulation techniques for continuous and discrete systems, such as molecular dynamics on an atomic scale and sharp interface and phase field modeling on a mesoscopic scale. This is a complete and detailed picture of complex simulation of metallic alloy melts and their solidification behaviour for materials scientists, solid state physicists and chemists, and those working in the metal processing industry.

The reports given in the handbook describe scientific results of a priority program (DFG SPP1120) funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft over a period of six years.

Dieter M. Herlach is currently a senior scientist at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne as Head of the working group "Undercooling of Materials" and Professor of Physics at the Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany. He gained his PhD from the Technical University Aachen in 1981 and joined the DLR two years later. In 1991 he finished his Habilitation at the Ruhr-University Bochum where he became Full Professor of Physics in 2001.

Dieter M. Herlach has been chairman of various working groups at the European Space Agency (ESA) and the German Physical Society (DPG), a consultant or honorary professor at various Chinese universities, and a visiting professor at Harvard University, USA. Professor Herlach has organized 16 workshops, symposia and conferences, is co-editor of Advanced Engineering Materials, and also has five books, four patents and over 300 journal publications to his name.