Sharp Phase Field Method

Abstract

Phase field modeling offers an extremely general framework to predict microstructural evolutions in complex systems. However, its computational implementation requires a discretization scheme with a grid spacing small enough to preserve the continuous character of the theory. We present here a new formulation, which is intrinsically discrete, in which the interfaces are resolved with essentially one grid point with no pinning on the grid and an accurate rotational invariance, improving drastically the numerical capabilities of the method. We show that interfacial kinetic properties are reproduced with a high accuracy. Finally, we apply the model to a situation where conserved and nonconserved fields are coupled.