Kinetic theory of the overlapping phase transformations: case of the dilatometric method

Often a number of precipitation processes in steels and alloys occur simultaneously (they have the same origin in time) albeit at different rates. Consequently, isothermal transformations are accompanied, in this case, by the occurrence of second processes of precipitation that influence the changes of the macroscopic parameter chosen for the kinetic study while first processes are occurring. In this context a set-up is presented that addresses the issue of characterization of nucleation and growth mechanisms of the individual processes. Small and large overlapping of processes are considered. The present approach is based on the Avrami model and allows computing the kinetic parameters ( n, k) of the different precipitation processes in isothermal phase reactions.