Modeling precipitate evolution in zirconium alloys during irradiation

Multiscale modeling of precipitate microstructure evolution.

We demonstrate how three "state-of-the-art" techniques may be combined to build a bridge between atomistics and microstructure: (1) first-principles calculations, (2) a mixed-space cluster expansion approach, and (3) the diffuse-interface phase-field model. The first two methods are used to construct the driving forces for a phase-field microstructural model of theta'- Al2Cu precipitates in Al:...

Titanium-Rich Precipitate Evolution in Vanadium-based Alloys Studied by TEM and Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy

Modeling the evolution of orientation distribution functions during grain growth of some Ti and Zr alloys

A 2D cellular automaton model developed for the simulation of grain growth in hexagonal metals is presented here. It allows the direct use of experimental measurement as input data. Texture evolution of a titanium alloy and a zirconium alloy are simulated on the basis of simple hypothesis and compared with experimental evolution as well as the results from a 3D Monte Carlo model. Results from b...

Nanoscale Phase Evolution during Continuum Decomposition of Fe-Cr Alloys

The continuum decomposition of the Fe-Cr alloys from initial phase separation to steady-state coarsening with concentrations varying from 25 at % Cr and 30 at % Cr to 33 at % Cr aged at 750 K was studied by utilizing three-dimensional phase-field simulations. The dynamic stages of separation of nanoscale Cr-enriched α' phase were distinguished by the evolution of the volume fraction, particle n...

Self-similar evolution of a precipitate in inhomogeneous elastic media

In this paper, we present linear theory and nonlinear simulations to study the self-similar growth and shrinkage of a precipitate in a 2D elastic media. This work is motivated by a series of studies by Li et al., where the existence and morphological stability of self-similarly evolving crystals were demonstrated in a diffusional field. Here, we extend the theory and simulations to account for ...