Simulation of microstructural evolution in materials with misfitting precipitates

To predict the behavior of directional coarsening and the temporal evolution of the shape of coherent precipitates in two-phase materials, a dislocation-free model is proposed, based on a combination of statistical mechanics and linear elasticity. This model takes elastic anisotropy and isotropic interfacial energy into account. Based on an example of isolated precipitates under plane strain condition, the influence of particle size, inhomogeneity, direction and sign of external loads on the equilibrium shape will be discussed in terms of a generalized thermodynamic force acting on the interface. To simulate the morphological diffusion process of typical microstructures with several random distributed misfitting inclusions, a computational technique in form of a finite element Monte Carlo simulation is presented. Within this numerical technique, no restrictions on the particle shape or the elastic anisotropy of both phases are made. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.