The thermodynamics of stressed crystals that can change phase and composition is examined with particular attention to hypotheses used and approximations made. Bulk and surface conditions are obtained and for each of them practical expressions are given in terms of experimentally measurable quantities. The concept of open-system elastic constants leads to the reformulation of internal elastochemical equilibrium problems into purely elastic problems, whose solutions are then used to compute the composition distribution. The atmosphere around a dislocation in a cubic crystal is one of several examples that are completely worked out. The effects of vacancies, and their equilibrium within a solid and near surfaces are critically examined and previous formulas are found to be first order approximations. Consequences of the boundary equations that govern phase changes are studied with several examples. Finally, problems connected with diffusional kinetics and diffusional creep are discussed.
This article originally appeared in Acta Metallurgica 33(3), 1985, Pages 331-357.
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