Phase-field modelling : effect of an interface crack on precipitation kinetics in a multi-phase microstructure

Premature failures in metals can arise from the local reduction of the fracture toughness when brittle phases precipitate. Precipitation can be enhanced at the grain and phase boundaries and be promoted by stress concentration causing a shift of the terminal solid solubility. This paper provides the description of a model to predict stress-induced precipitation along phase interfaces in one-phase and two-phase metals. A phase-field approach is employed to describe the microstructural evolution. The combination between the system expansion caused by phase transformation, the stress field and the energy of the phase boundary is included in the model as the driving force for precipitate growth. In this study, the stress induced by an opening interface crack is modelled through the use of linear elastic fracture mechanics and the phase boundary energy by a single parameter in the Landau potential. The results of the simulations for a hydrogenated (α+β) titanium alloy display the formation of a precipitate, which overall decelerates in time. Outside the phase boundary, the precipitate mainly grows by following the isostress contours. In the phase boundary, the hydride grows faster and is elongated. Between the phase boundary and its surrounding, the matrix/hydride interface is smoothened. The present approach allows capturing crack-induced precipitation at phase interfaces with numerical efficiency by solving one equation only. The present model can be applied to other multi-phase metals and precipitates through the use of their physical properties and can also contribute to the efficiency of multi-scale crack propagation schemes