MSE 260: Phase Transformations Second Semester 2021/22

7 July, 2022

Assignment One
1. (a) Derive the Gibbs phase rule.
(b) A pressure cooker was used to cook meat. Describe in detail the difference between using
the pressure cooker and using an ordinary cooking utensil.

2. (a) Define free energy of a system

(b) What thermodynamic condition must be met for a state of equilibrium to exist in phase
transformation?

3. (a) Consider a specimen of ice that is at –5 C and at room temperature. Using Figure Q3, the
pressure temperature phase diagram for H2O, determine the pressure to which the specimen
must be raised or lowered to cause it to
(i) to melt, and
(ii) to sublime
(b) It is the norm that when cooking beans, it should be allowed to fully cook before salt is
added. Using your knowledge in thermodynamics, explain the process in detail.

4. Consider the sugar-water phase diagram of Figure Q4.

a) How much sugar will dissolve in 1000 g of water at 80 C?
b) If the saturated liquid solution in part (a) is cooled to 20 C, some of the sugar will precipitate
out as a solid. What will be the composition of the saturated liquid solution (in wt.% sugar)
at 20 C?
c) How much of the solid sugar will come out of solution upon cooling to 20 C?
5. The unary phase diagram for SiO2 is shown in Figure Q5. Locate the triple point where solid,
liquid, and vapor coexist and give the temperature and the type of solid present. What do the
other “triple” points indicate?
6. Determine the degrees of freedom under the following conditions on the Tl – Pb phase diagram
shown in Figure Q6:
a) Tl-20 wt% Pb at 325 °C and 400 °C;
b) Tl-40 wt% Pb at 325 °C and 400 °C;
c) Tl-90 wt% Pb at 325°C and 400°C.
7. Given here are the solidus and liquidus temperatures for the copper-gold system. Construct the
phase diagram for this system and label each region.
Composition Solidus Liquid
(wt.% Au) Temperature (C) Temperature (C)
0 1085 1085
20 1019 1042
40 972 996
60 934 946
80 911 911
90 928 942
100 1064 1064
1
MSE 260: Phase Transformations Second Semester 2021/22
7 July, 2022

Figure Q3 Phase diagram of water

Figure Q4 Partial phase diagram of the water – sugar system

Figure Q5 Unary phase diagram for SiO2 Figure Q6 Phase diagram of Tl – Pb system