RQMP Research Seminar

Phase Field Crystal Modelling of Orientation Gradients in Rapidly Solidified Aluminum

Nik Provatas

Department of Physics
McGill University

This talk will begin with a brief review of phase field theories and techniques for simulating microstructure formation across different scales, focusing on applications to rapid solidification. We discuss recent rapid solidification experiments on thin film aluminum samples that reveal the presence of lattice orientation gradients within crystallizing grains. To study this phenomenon, a new phase-field crystal (PFC) model that captures the properties of solid, liquid, and vapor phases is proposed to model pure materials quantitatively. A coarse-grained representation of this model is used to study rapid solidification in aluminum. We present recent simulation results that reproduce the experimentally observed orientation gradients within crystallizing grains grown at experimentally relevant rapid quenches and length scales, discussing a causal connection between defect formation and orientation gradients.