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Abstract The macroscopic properties of materials are highly dependent on microscopic structures. The enhancement of material performance by microstructures has drawn much attention in both industry and academia. Due to the discontinuity of field variables at the interface, the sharp interface model based on the local theory has the difficulty in predicting the microstructure evolution of materials. The phase field method based on the nonlocal theory employs a diffusive interface concept to model the interface, which exhibits several advantages over sharp interface model in predicting the arbitrary and complex microstructures of materials. In this paper, we firstly introduce the fundamental theory of phase field method, which includes the free boundary problem, diffusive interface model, nonlocal free energy function, the phase field governing equation and its numerical solution. Secondly, we present some research work on the phase field simulations of ferroelectric, ferromagnetic and multiferroic materials, with a brief introduction to phase field simulations of the microstructure evolution of softer mater and Li-ion battery. Finally, we give a summary and propose a few research topics of phase field simulations worthy to be investigated.
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Received: 24 February 2016
Published: 24 February 2016
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2016, Vol. 37 
