Phase-field Modeling and Simulation of Solid-state Phase Transformations in Steels

• Published in: ISIJ International Vol. 63; no. 3; pp. 395 - 406
• Main Author: Yamanaka, Akinori
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Iron and Steel Institute of Japan 15-03-2023
• Subjects: microstructural evolution; phase-field method; solid-state phase transformation; steel
• ISSN: 0915-1559; 1347-5460
• DOI: 10.2355/isijinternational.ISIJINT-2022-343

The phase-field method is used as a powerful and versatile computational method to simulate the microstructural evolution taking place during solid-state phase transformations in iron and steel. This review presents the basic theory of the phase-field method and reviews recent advances in the phase-field modeling and simulation of solid-state phase transformations in iron and steel, with particular attention being paid to the modeling of the austenite-to-ferrite, pearlitic, bainitic, and martensitic transformations. This review elucidates that the phase-field method is a promising computational approach to investigate the microstructural evolutions (e.g., interface migration, solute diffusion, and stress/strain evolutions) that take place during the phase transformations. It also indicates that further improvements are required to enhance the predictive accuracy of the phase-field models developed to date. Finally, this review discusses the critical challenges and perspectives for the further improvement of the phase-field modeling of solid-state phase transformations in steel, i.e., the modeling of heterogeneous nucleation, the abnormal effect of the diffusion interface, and material parameter identification.