CALPHAD History

Many other parepistemes were stimulated by the new habits of precision in theory. Two important ones are the entropic theory of rubberlike elasticity in polymers, which again reached a degree of maturity in the middle of the century (Treloar 1951), and the calculation of phase diagrams (CALPHAD) on the basis of measurements of thermochemical quantities (heats of reaction, activity coefficients, etc.) here the first serious attempt, for the Ni-Cr Cu system, was done in the Netherlands by Meijering (1957). The early history of CALPHAD has recently been... 

As we have repeatedly seen in this chapter, proponents of computer simulation in materials science had a good deal of scepticism to overcome, from physicists in particular, in the early days. A striking example of sustained scepticism overcome, at length, by a resolute champion is to be found in the history of CALPHAD, an acronym denoting CALculation of PHAse Diagrams. The decisive champion was an American metallurgist, Larry Kaufman. 

The book begins with a chapter describing the history and growth of CALPHAD. This provides a useful point of departure for a more detailed account of the various strands which make up the CALPHAD approach. Chapters 3 and 4 then deal with the basic thermodynamics of phase diagrams and the principles of various experimental techniques. This is because one of basic pillars of the CALPHAD approach is the concept of coupling phase diagram information with all other available thermodynamic properties. It is a key factor in the assessment and characterisation of the lower-order systems on which the properties of the higher-... 

The history of CALPHAD is a chronology of what can he achieved in the field of phase equilibria by combining basic thermodynamic principles with mathematical formulations to describe the various thermodynamic properties of phases. The models and formulations have gone through a series of continuous improvements and, what has become known as the CALPHAD approach, is a good example of what can be seen as a somewhat difficult and academic subject area put into real practice. It is indeed the art of the possible in action and its applications are wide and numerous. 

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