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