Programming Phase-Field Modeling

This textbook provides a fast-track pathway to numerical implementation of phase-field modeling—a relatively new paradigm that has become the method of choice for modeling and simulation of microstructure evolution in materials. It serves as a cookbook for the phase-field method by presenting a collection of codes that act as foundations and templates for developing other models with more complexity. Programming Phase-Field Modeling uses the Matlab/Octave programming package, simpler and more compact than other high-level programming languages, providing ease of use to the widest audience. Particular attention is devoted to the computational efficiency and clarity during development of the codes, which allows the reader to easily make the connection between the mathematical formulism and the numerical implementation of phase-field models. The background materials provided in each case study also provide a forum for undergraduate level modeling-simulations courses as part of their curriculum.

An overview of the Phase-Field Method and Its Formulism.- Introduction to numerical solution of Partial Differential Equations.- Preliminaries about the codes.- Solving Phase-Field models with finite difference algorithm.- Solving phase-field model with Fourier spectral methods.- Solving phase-field equations with finite element method.- Phase-field crystal modeling of material behavior.- Concluding remarks.

Dr. S. Bulent Biner is Senior Scientist, Fuels Modeling and Simulation Department, at the Idaho National Laboratory. His academic background includes appointments as Adjunct Assistant and Associate Professor, from 1989 through 2010, at Iowa State University in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. He holds Ph.D. in Metallurgy and Materials Science from the University of Aston, Birmingham, England.