Quantitative Phase Field Modeling of Precipitation Processes

Phase Field modelling of microstructural evolution in alloys has already a long and successful history. One of the basics of the theory is the introduction of continuous fields (concentration, long‐range order parameters) that describe the local state of the alloy. These fields have a meaning only at a mesoscopic scale. One consequence is that we can treat much larger systems than with microscopic methods such as Monte Carlo or molecular dynamics simulations. The aim of this work is to precisely analyse the status of the mesoscopic free energy densities that are used in Phase Field theories and, simultaneously, to clarify the form that the Phase Field equations should adopt.