1,927 research outputs found
On the stable discretization of strongly anisotropic phase field models with applications to crystal growth
We introduce unconditionally stable finite element approximations for
anisotropic Allen--Cahn and Cahn--Hilliard equations. These equations
frequently feature in phase field models that appear in materials science. On
introducing the novel fully practical finite element approximations we prove
their stability and demonstrate their applicability with some numerical
results.
We dedicate this article to the memory of our colleague and friend Christof
Eck (1968--2011) in recognition of his fundamental contributions to phase field
models.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure
Nonlinear dynamics in one dimension: On a criterion for coarsening and its temporal law
We develop a general criterion about coarsening for a class of nonlinear
evolution equations describing one dimensional pattern-forming systems. This
criterion allows one to discriminate between the situation where a coarsening
process takes place and the one where the wavelength is fixed in the course of
time. An intermediate scenario may occur, namely `interrupted coarsening'. The
power of the criterion lies in the fact that the statement about the occurrence
of coarsening, or selection of a length scale, can be made by only inspecting
the behavior of the branch of steady state periodic solutions. The criterion
states that coarsening occurs if lambda'(A)>0 while a length scale selection
prevails if lambda'(A)<0, where is the wavelength of the pattern and A
is the amplitude of the profile. This criterion is established thanks to the
analysis of the phase diffusion equation of the pattern. We connect the phase
diffusion coefficient D(lambda) (which carries a kinetic information) to
lambda'(A), which refers to a pure steady state property. The relationship
between kinetics and the behavior of the branch of steady state solutions is
established fully analytically for several classes of equations. Another
important and new result which emerges here is that the exploitation of the
phase diffusion coefficient enables us to determine in a rather straightforward
manner the dynamical coarsening exponent. Our calculation, based on the idea
that |D(lambda)|=lambda^2/t, is exemplified on several nonlinear equations,
showing that the exact exponent is captured. Some speculations about the
extension of the present results to higher dimension are outlined.Comment: 16 pages. Only a few minor changes. Accepted for publication in
Physical Review
Solving periodic semilinear stiff PDEs in 1D, 2D and 3D with exponential integrators
Dozens of exponential integration formulas have been proposed for the
high-accuracy solution of stiff PDEs such as the Allen-Cahn, Korteweg-de Vries
and Ginzburg-Landau equations. We report the results of extensive comparisons
in MATLAB and Chebfun of such formulas in 1D, 2D and 3D, focusing on fourth and
higher order methods, and periodic semilinear stiff PDEs with constant
coefficients. Our conclusion is that it is hard to do much better than one of
the simplest of these formulas, the ETDRK4 scheme of Cox and Matthews
Degenerate Mobilities in Phase Field Models are Insufficient to Capture Surface Diffusion
Phase field models frequently provide insight to phase transitions, and are
robust numerical tools to solve free boundary problems corresponding to the
motion of interfaces. A body of prior literature suggests that interface motion
via surface diffusion is the long-time, sharp interface limit of microscopic
phase field models such as the Cahn-Hilliard equation with a degenerate
mobility function. Contrary to this conventional wisdom, we show that the
long-time behaviour of degenerate Cahn-Hilliard equation with a polynomial free
energy undergoes coarsening, reflecting the presence of bulk diffusion, rather
than pure surface diffusion. This reveals an important limitation of phase
field models that are frequently used to model surface diffusion
Positivity-preserving, energy stable numerical schemes for the Cahn-Hilliard equation with logarithmic potential
We present and analyze finite difference numerical schemes for the Allen
Cahn/Cahn-Hilliard equation with a logarithmic Flory Huggins energy potential.
Both the first order and second order accurate temporal algorithms are
considered. In the first order scheme, we treat the nonlinear logarithmic terms
and the surface diffusion term implicitly, and update the linear expansive term
and the mobility explicitly. We provide a theoretical justification that, this
numerical algorithm has a unique solution such that the positivity is always
preserved for the logarithmic arguments. In particular, our analysis reveals a
subtle fact: the singular nature of the logarithmic term around the values of
and 1 prevents the numerical solution reaching these singular values, so
that the numerical scheme is always well-defined as long as the numerical
solution stays similarly bounded at the previous time step. Furthermore, an
unconditional energy stability of the numerical scheme is derived, without any
restriction for the time step size. The unique solvability and the
positivity-preserving property for the second order scheme are proved using
similar ideas, in which the singular nature of the logarithmic term plays an
essential role. For both the first and second order accurate schemes, we are
able to derive an optimal rate convergence analysis, which gives the full order
error estimate. The case with a non-constant mobility is analyzed as well. We
also describe a practical and efficient multigrid solver for the proposed
numerical schemes, and present some numerical results, which demonstrate the
robustness of the numerical schemes
Sharp Interface Limits of the Cahn-Hilliard Equation with Degenerate Mobility
In this work, the sharp interface limit of the degenerate Cahn-Hilliard
equation (in two space dimensions) with a polynomial double well free energy
and a quadratic mobility is derived via a matched asymptotic analysis involving
exponentially large and small terms and multiple inner layers. In contrast to
some results found in the literature, our analysis reveals that the interface
motion is driven by a combination of surface diffusion flux proportional to the
surface Laplacian of the interface curvature and an additional contribution
from nonlinear, porous-medium type bulk diffusion, For higher degenerate
mobilities, bulk diffusion is subdominant. The sharp interface models are
corroborated by comparing relaxation rates of perturbations to a radially
symmetric stationary state with those obtained by the phase field model.Comment: 27 pages, 2 figure
Phase Separation Dynamics in Isotropic Ion-Intercalation Particles
Lithium-ion batteries exhibit complex nonlinear dynamics, resulting from
diffusion and phase transformations coupled to ion intercalation reactions.
Using the recently developed Cahn-Hilliard reaction (CHR) theory, we
investigate a simple mathematical model of ion intercalation in a spherical
solid nanoparticle, which predicts transitions from solid-solution radial
diffusion to two-phase shrinking-core dynamics. This general approach extends
previous Li-ion battery models, which either neglect phase separation or
postulate a spherical shrinking-core phase boundary, by predicting phase
separation only under appropriate circumstances. The effect of the applied
current is captured by generalized Butler-Volmer kinetics, formulated in terms
of diffusional chemical potentials, and the model consistently links the
evolving concentration profile to the battery voltage. We examine sources of
charge/discharge asymmetry, such as asymmetric charge transfer and surface
"wetting" by ions within the solid, which can lead to three distinct phase
regions. In order to solve the fourth-order nonlinear CHR
initial-boundary-value problem, a control-volume discretization is developed in
spherical coordinates. The basic physics are illustrated by simulating many
representative cases, including a simple model of the popular cathode material,
lithium iron phosphate (neglecting crystal anisotropy and coherency strain).
Analytical approximations are also derived for the voltage plateau as a
function of the applied current
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