Thesis Defense Announcement

The College of Arts and Sciences announces the final Thesis of

Kyle Moats

for the degree of Master of Science

on March 28, 2018 at 1:00 PM in Manning Hall - 204

Advisor: Mohamed Laradji

The Development of a Numerical Solver for the Phase Field Crystal Model with Select Applications to Materials Science

ABSTRACT: The phase field crystal (PFC) model is a conserved continuum model which is used to investigate the phase behavior of materials near the melting point. PFC spans the modeling regime between small length scale atomistic molecular dynamics models and large scale phase field models. The simplest PFC model, used in the present work, produces solid, liquid, and lamellar phases. The solid phase of this model features a spatially periodic triangular lattice structure much like the crystal structure of some real materials. The present work focuses on the development and implementation of computer codes to solve numerically the high order non-linear differential equations of the PFC model using a Fourier space formulation. These solver programs are then used in studies of dendritic growth and Ostwald ripening. In the dendritic growth study, the behavior of the growth of solid around a nucleus in a supersaturated solution is investigated. Results of the Ostwald ripening study are compared to experimental data of diffusion-limited growth of solid Sn domains in a liquid solution of Pb and Sn in microgravity. Possible next steps for this project are discussed.