An Efficient Finite Difference-based Implicit Solver for Phase-Field Equations with Spatially and Temporally Varying Parameters

Abstract

The phase field method is an effective tool for modeling microstructure evolution in materials. Many efficient implicit numerical solvers have been proposed for phase field simulations under uniform and time-invariant model parameters. We use Eyre's theorem to develop an unconditionally stable implicit solver for spatially non-uniform and time-varying model parameters. The accuracy, unconditional stability, and efficiency of the solver is validated against benchmarking examples. In its current form, the solver requires a uniform mesh and may only be applied to problems with periodic, Neumann, or mixed periodic and Neumann boundary conditions.