Modified phase-field-crystal model for solid-liquid phase transitions

• Published in: Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics, 2015-07, Vol.92 (1), p.013309-013309, Article 013309
• Main Authors: Guo, Can, Wang, Jincheng, Wang, Zhijun, Li, Junjie, Guo, Yaolin, Tang, Sai
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1539-3755; 1550-2376
• DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.92.013309

A modified phase-field-crystal (PFC) model is proposed to describe solid-liquid phase transitions by reconstructing the correlation function. The effects of fitting parameters of our modified PFC model on the bcc-liquid phase diagram, numerical stability, and solid-liquid interface properties during planar interface growth are examined carefully. The results indicate that the increase of the correlation function peak width at k=k(m) will enhance the stability of the ordered phase, while the increase of peak height at k=0 will narrow the two-phase coexistence region. The third-order term in the free-energy function and the short wave-length of the correlation function have significant influences on the numerical stability of the PFC model. During planar interface growth, the increase of peak width at k=k(m) will decrease the interface width and the velocity coefficient C, but increase the anisotropy of C and the interface free energy. Finally, the feasibility of the modified phase-field-crystal model is demonstrated with a numerical example of three-dimensional dendritic growth of a body-centered-cubic structure.