Table of contents; 1 Laws of thermodynamics ; 1.1 First and second laws of thermodynamics ; 1.2 Combined law of thermodynamics and equilibrium conditions ; 1.3 Stability at equilibrium and property anomaly ; 1.4 Gibbs-Duhem equation ; Exercises. 2 Gibbs energy function 2.1 Phases with fixed compositions ; 2.2 Phases with variable compositions: random solutions ; 2.2.1 Random solutions ; 2.2.2 Binary random solutions ; 2.2.3 Ternary random solutions ; 2.2.4 Multi-component random solutions. 2.3 Phases with variable compositions: solutions with ordering 2.3.1 Solutions with short-range ordering ; 2.3.2 Solutions with long-range ordering ; 2.3.3 Solutions with both short-range and long-range ordering ; 2.3.4 Solutions with charged species. 2.4 Polymer solutions and polymer blends 2.5 Elastic, magnetic, and electric contributions to the free energy ; Exercises ; 3 Phase equilibria in heterogeneous systems ; 3.1 General condition for equilibrium ; 3.2 Gibbs phase rule ; 3.3 Potential phase diagrams. 3.3.1 Potential phase diagrams of one-component systems 3.3.2 Potential phase diagrams of two-component systems ; 3.3.3 Sectioning of potential phase diagrams ; 3.4 Molar phase diagrams ; 3.4.1 Tie-lines and lever rule ; 3.4.2 Phase diagrams with both potential and molar quantities.

Includes worked examples, case studies, and end-of-chapter problems, this unique book offers an unrivalled and in-depth understanding of the computational-based thermodynamic approach and how it can be used to guide the design of materials for robust performances.