ITR/AP: Multiscale Models for Microstructure Simulation and Process Design:
- Overview
- Cross-discipline research leads to powerful new analysis method
- Research on software environments sparks new science
- Interdisciplinary training of engineers, scientists & mathematicians
Simulation of microstructure evolution presents a number of challenges to the analyst, including multiple length and time scales as well as moving interfaces (phase boundaries). Research on dendritic solidification is a case in point. Whether in directional solidification of metallic alloys or in cryopreservation of biological materials, scientific progress in these applications depends on large-scale, adaptive simulations on parallel systems.
CPSD’s software environments and parallel computing group works closely with scientists to develop software environments that streamline the development cycle for high-performance applications. The Finite Element Framework uses domain-specific abstractions to relieve applications programmers of the task of managing the complex data structures required for adaptive analysis and parallel computation. Any application developed with the framework has immediate access to Charm++, a parallel computing environment that offers run-time load monitoring and balancing.
Figure 4 shows images from a break-through simulation of directional solidification in a 3D flow field that was enabled by the parallel and adaptive capabilities of the FE framework and Charm++ (charm.cs.uiuc.edu).
Fig. 4: Simulation of directional solidification in a 3D flow field
Fig. 5: Dendritic solidification refers to the formation of finger-like structures in solidification processes, such as the microscopic ice crystals seen in the cryogenic preservation process depicted above. Similar structures are responsible for the formation of grain structure in alloy casting processes, as seen in the numerical simulation below (Fig. 7). The ability to predict these structures is essential to the control of material microstructures.
Fig. 6: Particle transport in dendritic solidification
