Traditionally, new materials have been developed by empirically correlating their chemical composition, and the manufacturing processes used to form them, with their properties. Until recently, metallurgists have not used quantum theory for practical purposes. However, the development of modern density functional methods means that today, computational quantum mechanics can help engineers to identify and develop novel materials.

Computational Quantum Mechanics for Materials Engineers describes new approaches to the modelling of disordered alloys that combine the most efficient quantum-level theories of random alloys with the most sophisticated numerical techniques to establish a theoretical insight into the electronic structure of complex materials such as stainless steels, Hume-Rothery alloys and silicates. The practical success of these approaches to applications in all of these areas are covered in detail. The new EMTO-CPA method is detailed, including its application in alloys to model structural stability and elastic properties of random alloys of arbitrary composition and the effect of alloying elements on elastic stiffnesses stacking fault energies and structural parameters. The EMTO-CPA method makes new approaches to computational alloy design feasible. Computational Quantum Mechanics for Materials Engineers shows how the technique will soon allow materials engineers to become "quantum blacksmiths".

Computational Quantum Mechanics for Materials Engineers will interest researchers and postgraduate students in materials science and engineering, solid-state physics and applied quantum mechanics.

Autorentext

Dr Levente Vitos is a research fellow at the Research Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics (SZFKI), Budapest, a guest professor at KTH, Sweden, and a researcher at Uppsala University, Sweden. Dr Vitos is considered a world expert on the application of the LMTO quantum mechanical method and its application in materials systems, and the he is the creator of the new EMTO-CPA method. These methods represent the first useful applications of modern applied quantum mechanics that can be used practically in the industrial world of metallurgy and alloy design to model and create novel materials.

Zusammenfassung
Forcenturies,composersandmusicianssuccessfullycomplementedeachother. Composers provided humanity with superb compositions, and musicians have been making attempts to vivify the mysterious staves. Great performances, thosethatmanagedtocreatetheexpectedorsometimesunexpectedemotions, always captivated the audience and broke fresh ground for new artworks. The present work belongs to the world of instrumentalists and ventures upon creating new perspectives within the ?eld of electronic structure of solid materials. We also have our own great composers, such as Walter Kohn and Ole Krogh Andersen. Kohn established the Density Functional theory, the most elegant and useful formulation of the many electron problem, and for that he deservedly won the highest award within the scienti?c world. - dersen created e?cient tools to solve the basic Density Functional equations for solids. Today, his theories are widely used in computational materials science. In January 1997, Andersen, looking for experts within the ?eld, c- tacted Hans Lomholt Skriver's group in Lyngby, and asked then to vivify his latest tool belonging to the third generation mu?n-tin methods. Since then, many new incarnations of these methods have come to light. This monograph revealsanimplementationofoneoftheoriginalapproaches,namelytheExact Mu?n-Tin Orbitals (EMTO) method. Today theoretical condensed matter physics, besides its fundamental m- sion to facilitate the understanding of the properties of solid materials at the atomic level, also strives to predict useful quantitative and qualitative data for the development of high-performance materials. Computational quantum mechanics brings an increasing demand for new techniques, which make t- oretical investigations more handleable bytoday's computers.

Inhalt
The Method.- Basics of Electronic Structure Calculations.- Exact Muffin-tin Orbitals Method.- Slope Matrix.- Full Charge Density Technique.- The EMTO-CPA Method.- Applications.- Ground-state Properties.- Ordered Solids.- Binary Alloys.- Ironchromiumnickel Alloys.