Topological Invariants of Vapor–Liquid, Vapor–Liquid–Liquid and Liquid–Liquid Phase Diagrams

The study of topological invariants of phase diagrams allows for the development of a qualitative theory of the processes being researched. Studies of the properties of objects in the same equivalence class may be carried out with the aim of predicting the properties of unexplored objects from this class, or predicting the behavior of a whole system. This paper describes a number of topological invariants in vapor–liquid, vapor–liquid–liquid and liquid–liquid equilibrium diagrams. The properties of some invariants are studied and illustrated. It is shown that the invariant of a diagram with a miscibility gap can be used to distinguish equivalence classes of phase diagrams, and that the balance equation of the singular-point indices, based on the Euler characteristic, may be used to analyze the binodal-surface structure of a quaternary system.