Modeling of microstructure formation

International audienceAt the intermediate mesoscopic scale of the grains, cellular automata (CA) methods can integrate nucleation and grain growth mechanisms to simulate the formation of grains during solidification. CA methods were combined with finite element heat flow calculations to predict the grain structure at the scale of a whole process. The microstructural features which can be predicted using this coupled model are: the morphology of the grains; the columnar-to-equiaxed transition; the selection of grains in the columnar zone; the crystallographic texture of the grains and the extension of grains in open regions of liquid