Phase-field Modeling of Crystal Growth during Deformation

Abstract

A method to compute crystal growth during materials deformation has been developed. This is done by firstly extension of the numerical solution of the recent developed phase-field model from regular lattice to the irregular lattice. Accurate mathematics and discrete algorithms are derived for solving phase-field governing equation in generic spatial configurations. The homogeneous deformation is modeled as vector operator on each lattice. The method enables the simulation of warm rolling, a thermomechanical processing method possessing huge potential for making high quality steels but far behind the scientific understanding due to the complex nature of that the phase transition and deformation take place simultaneously. Numerical simulation of three-dimensional crystal growth in deformation demonstrates interesting morphological evolution, and is understood by combining crystal anisotropy and free energy minimization.