Fundamentals Of Solidification

Abstract

Solidification is a phase transformation which is familiar to everyone, even if the only acquaintance with it involves the making of ice cubes. It is relatively little appreciated that the manufacture of almost every man-made object involves solidification at some stage. The scope of this book is restricted mainly to a presentation of the theory of solidification as it applies to the most widely-used group of materials, i.e. metallic alloys. Here, solidification is generally accompanied by the formation of crystals; an event which is much rarer during the solidification of glasses or polymers.