Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A | 2021
Entropy of Alloy Phases: A Macroscopic Perspective
Abstract
This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the entropy of condensed phases, its temperature, pressure, and composition dependence on a macroscopic correlative platform. Two principal contributions to total nonconfiguration entropy (ST) are outlined. They are: (i) the pure thermal (Sth) contribution arising from the isochoric temperature dependence of Gibbs energy (GT) and (ii) the elastic contribution (Sel) representing the dilatational volume effects. It is then argued that entropy variation among a group of alloy phases can be exclusively related to molar volume, only when both thermal pressure (pth) and thermal entropy terms assume common values for all members. This argument is extended to establish a linear relationship between transformation entropy (ΔStr) and transformation-induced volumetric strain (ΔVtr/V). The temperature and pressure dependencies of entropy have been discussed in terms of the complementing roles of Sth and Sel and simple approximations to these effects are suggested. A macroscopic power law relation for systematizing the standard entropy variation using a composite scaling parameter (MV2/3/Tm) has been proposed, and its validity is demonstrated for both solid and liquid metals. This power law correlation has been exploited to deduce the following outcome: (i) a simple approximation for the initial slope (dp/dTm) of p–Tm melting curve, (ii) self-consistent correlation of entropy with specific heat and Debye temperature, (iii) estimation of entropy of metastable phases, and (iv) correlating dilute solution entropy with volume effects of alloying.