Numerical experiments for effects of elastic strain energy on decomposition process of binary alloy in a two-dimensional system

Abstract

This paper is concerned with phase decomposition of a supersaturated solid solution in a two-dimensional system. We have investigated the behavior of numerical solutions to the Cahn equation including an elastic strain energy term in such a way as to follow the time evolution of composition modulation by computer. It is found that in our numerical experiment the introduction of the elastic strain energy gives no anisotropic effect on the crystallographic direction of the composition modulation, but leads to the decrease in the decomposition rate and quantity at the equilibrium state. Again, it is demonstrated that for a high solute alloy system inside the spinodal region a large circular precipitate is formed at the center of the flat matrix through a very complicated process accompanied with the aggregation and annihilation of particles. The results so obtained are discussed from a numerical point of view.