Thermodynamics of the activated state of materials

The thermodynamics of irreversible processes is extended to deformable materials whose state and behavior under nonequilibrium conditions are determined by the value and evolution of the additional parameter — the activation parameter. General thermodynamic relations are presented. The concept of the time of existence of a nonequilibrium state is introduced, and the phase coexistence conditions are generalized taking into account the properties of the interface. Methods are described to generalize the relations for irreversible flows, thermodynamic forces, and the equations of state. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 141–152, January–February, 2009.