This book was first published in 1980. A great number of metallic materials in practical use owe their strength to the presence in their microstructure of particles of a hard precipitated phase. The text emphasises the importance of scientific rather than empirical methods in attempting to develop particle-hardened alloys. The author progresses from an elementary knowledge of metallurgy to theories relating to the deformation and fracture of alloys of this type. He also discusses the use of such theories to describe observations on both model materials and practical metals. After a discussion of the microstructures of these alloys, how they form and how to describe them quantitatively, their deformation and fracture behaviour at both low and elevated temperatures are examined.

The second edition of this textbook, popular amongst students and faculty alike, investigates the various causes of thermodynamic instability in metallic microstructures. Materials theoretically well designed for a particular application may prove inefficient or even useless unless stable under normal working conditions. The authors examine current experimental and theoretical understanding of the kinetics behind structural change in metals. The entire text has been updated in this new edition, and a completely new chapter on highly metastable alloys has been added. The degree to which kinetic stability of the material outweighs its thermodynamic instability is very important, and dictates the useful working life of the material. If the structure is initially produced to an optimum, such changes will degrade the properties of the material. This comprehensive and well-illustrated text, accompanied by ample references, will allow final year undergraduates, graduate students and research workers to investigate in detail the stability of microstructure in metallic systems.