Engineering of microstructures

Abstract

Structure is at the heart of the materials science paradigm connecting processing with properties. In the hierarchy of structures that exist in materials microstructure offers the richest variety of structural arrangements. This variety is often conveniently accessible, e.g., simply by heat treatment or mechanical deformation. Exploration of the relation between properties and microstructure serves to establish a target range of microstructural states that will perform. In order to attain a target microstructure it is necessary to understand what microstructures are, and how they evolve in processing. This presentation focuses upon the set of tools that must be combined to achieve this control: 1. Geometry 2 Thermodynamics 3. Kinematics 4. Kinetics. The content of these tools is reviewed briefly and their uses illustrated in developing an understanding of how microstructures evolve. In this development an attempt is made to carry the description of each microstructural process as far as possible without making simplifying assumptions. The study of microstructures with this rigorous point of view was termed by F.N. Rhines, "microstructology".