title: Phase-field modeling of eutectic growth.
abstract: A phase-field model of eutectic growth is proposed in terms of a free energy F, which is a functional of a liquid-solid order parameter psi, and a conserved concentration field c. The model is shown to recover the important features of a eutectic phase diagram and to reduce to the standard sharp-interface formulation of nonequilibrium growth. It is successfully applied to the study of directional solidification when the solid phase is a single or two phase state. The crystallization of a eutectic compound under isothermal conditions is also considered. For that process, the transformed volume fraction and psi-field structure factor, both measured during numerical simulations, closely match theoretical predictions. Three possible growth mechanisms are also identified: diffusion-limited growth, lamellar growth, and spinodal decomposition.
authors.affiliation: Supercomputer Computations Research Institute, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4052, USA.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Drolet
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Elder
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kosterlitz