DYNAMIC SOLID-SOLID TRANSITIONS WITH PHASE CHARACTERIZED BY AN ORDER-PARAMETER

We develop a thermodynamically consistent continuum theory for the stu dy of solid-solid phase transitions where deformation dominates heat a nd mass transfer. We use an order parameter to characterize the notion of phase and identify phase interfaces with thin transition zones wit hin which the strain and order parameter exhibit large gradients. To m odel die growth of one phase at the expense of another we introduce co nfigurational forces, subject to their own balance, that work against changes in the order parameter. By studying traveling waves and the, a symptotics of a transition layer, we establish connections between our theory and more standard approaches that identify phase interfaces wi th surfaces of strain discontinuity.