Microscopic Phase-field Model and Its Application for Solid-state Phase Transformation of Alloys

In the field of materials science and engineering, the phase-field method is an indispensable component of computational materials science. The phase-field method has incomparable advantages in simulating and predicting the microstructural and morphological evolutions in materials. The microstructure determines the service performances of materials. In fact, the manipulation of various properties of the solid materials principally depends on the anticipative material microstructures generated through the subtle control on phase transition process. In general, the experimental analysis of the solid-state phase transformation of alloy materials prevailingly focuses on the observation and discussion of the results, but less concerns on the kinetics of phase transitions. The phase-field method based on microscopic diffusion theory is capable of exploring the phase transformation process at the atomic scale, for which other phase-field models are powerless to achieve. This paper systematically reviewed the research ideas and results about the application of microscopic phase-field model in solid-state phase transformations. On this basis, the difficulties of current research were expounded, and the development prospect of microscopic phase-field in the field of solid-state phase transition was prospected. Finally, we forecasted the possible developments of microscopic phase-field in the foreseeable future.