Transformations in Real Materials

Abstract

We have explored many interesting properties of the Field-Theoretic Method and saw how it can help us better understand phase transformations at equilibrium and in dynamics. As the Materials Physics is moving into a new era of quantitative modeling and design of real materials, it is important to assess the challenges of the Method. One of those is obtaining reliable material parameters for it. The Method depends on a number of new parameters, which, although can be classified as material’s properties, cannot be found in a table of physical and chemical constants. For example, the Method uses the Landau–Gibbs free energy of the system expanded in powers of the order parameter (Chap. 2) with the coefficients of expansion (A, B) or (W, D). A partial list of other parameters used by the method is: the gradient energy coefficient κ (Chap. 3) and the rate constant γ (Chap. 4). The problem is that these parameters cannot be easily identified in experiments and obtained through direct measurements because they are not measurable quantities, that is, do not have direct experimental meaning. In this chapter, we discuss the strategies and challenges in obtaining these parameters for realistic materials and the boundaries of applicability of the Method.