Analytical Solution for a 1D equilibrium interface

Composition for 2D simulation domain.

Order parameter along .

Composition along .

In the KKS model, an analytical solution exists for the order parameter and composition through a 1D equilibrium interface:

where we use the switching function , the gradient energy coefficient and the barrier function height . (Note that there is a typo in Eq. (49) of Kim et al. (1999), should be in the denominator of the argument to the function, not .) In the following example, we equilibrate a flat interface between a solid phase (, , ) and a liquid phase (, , ) in a 2D simulation. The vector postprocessor LineValueSampler is used to obtain the values of and along , the results are output to a CSV file, and plotted together with the 1D analytical solution. (We will use no-flux boundary conditions, so a boundary conditions block is not required in the input file.)

#
# KKS simple example in the split form
#

[Mesh]
  type = GeneratedMesh
  dim = 2
  nx = 150
  ny = 15
  nz = 0
  xmin = -25
  xmax = 25
  ymin = -2.5
  ymax = 2.5
  zmin = 0
  zmax = 0
  elem_type = QUAD4
[]

[AuxVariables]
  [./Fglobal]
    order = CONSTANT
    family = MONOMIAL
  [../]
[]

[Variables]
  # order parameter
  [./eta]
    order = FIRST
    family = LAGRANGE
  [../]

  # solute concentration
  [./c]
    order = FIRST
    family = LAGRANGE
  [../]

  # chemical potential
  [./w]
    order = FIRST
    family = LAGRANGE
  [../]

  # Liquid phase solute concentration
  [./cl]
    order = FIRST
    family = LAGRANGE
    initial_condition = 0.1
  [../]
  # Solid phase solute concentration
  [./cs]
    order = FIRST
    family = LAGRANGE
    initial_condition = 0.9
  [../]
[]

[Functions]
  [./ic_func_eta]
    type = ParsedFunction
    expression = '0.5*(1.0-tanh((x)/sqrt(2.0)))'
  [../]
  [./ic_func_c]
    type = ParsedFunction
    expression = '0.9*(0.5*(1.0-tanh(x/sqrt(2.0))))^3*(6*(0.5*(1.0-tanh(x/sqrt(2.0))))^2-15*(0.5*(1.0-tanh(x/sqrt(2.0))))+10)+0.1*(1-(0.5*(1.0-tanh(x/sqrt(2.0))))^3*(6*(0.5*(1.0-tanh(x/sqrt(2.0))))^2-15*(0.5*(1.0-tanh(x/sqrt(2.0))))+10))'
  [../]
[]

[ICs]
  [./eta]
    variable = eta
    type = FunctionIC
    function = ic_func_eta
  [../]
  [./c]
    variable = c
    type = FunctionIC
    function = ic_func_c
  [../]
[]

[Materials]
  # Free energy of the liquid
  [./fl]
    type = DerivativeParsedMaterial
    property_name = fl
    coupled_variables = 'cl'
    expression = '(0.1-cl)^2'
  [../]

  # Free energy of the solid
  [./fs]
    type = DerivativeParsedMaterial
    property_name = fs
    coupled_variables = 'cs'
    expression = '(0.9-cs)^2'
  [../]

  # h(eta)
  [./h_eta]
    type = SwitchingFunctionMaterial
    h_order = HIGH
    eta = eta
  [../]

  # g(eta)
  [./g_eta]
    type = BarrierFunctionMaterial
    g_order = SIMPLE
    eta = eta
  [../]

  # constant properties
  [./constants]
    type = GenericConstantMaterial
    prop_names  = 'M   L   eps_sq'
    prop_values = '0.7 0.7 1.0  '
  [../]
[]

[Kernels]
  active = 'PhaseConc ChemPotSolute CHBulk ACBulkF ACBulkC ACInterface dcdt detadt ckernel'

  # enforce c = (1-h(eta))*cl + h(eta)*cs
  [./PhaseConc]
    type = KKSPhaseConcentration
    ca       = cl
    variable = cs
    c        = c
    eta      = eta
  [../]

  # enforce pointwise equality of chemical potentials
  [./ChemPotSolute]
    type = KKSPhaseChemicalPotential
    variable = cl
    cb       = cs
    fa_name  = fl
    fb_name  = fs
  [../]

  #
  # Cahn-Hilliard Equation
  #
  [./CHBulk]
    type = KKSSplitCHCRes
    variable = c
    ca       = cl
    fa_name  = fl
    w        = w
  [../]

  [./dcdt]
    type = CoupledTimeDerivative
    variable = w
    v = c
  [../]
  [./ckernel]
    type = SplitCHWRes
    mob_name = M
    variable = w
  [../]

  #
  # Allen-Cahn Equation
  #
  [./ACBulkF]
    type = KKSACBulkF
    variable = eta
    fa_name  = fl
    fb_name  = fs
    w        = 1.0
    coupled_variables = 'cl cs'
  [../]
  [./ACBulkC]
    type = KKSACBulkC
    variable = eta
    ca       = cl
    cb       = cs
    fa_name  = fl
  [../]
  [./ACInterface]
    type = ACInterface
    variable = eta
    kappa_name = eps_sq
  [../]
  [./detadt]
    type = TimeDerivative
    variable = eta
  [../]
[]

[AuxKernels]
  [./GlobalFreeEnergy]
    variable = Fglobal
    type = KKSGlobalFreeEnergy
    fa_name = fl
    fb_name = fs
    w = 1.0
  [../]
[]

[Executioner]
  type = Transient
  solve_type = 'PJFNK'

  petsc_options_iname = '-pc_type -sub_pc_type -sub_pc_factor_shift_type'
  petsc_options_value = 'asm      ilu          nonzero'

  l_max_its = 100
  nl_max_its = 100

  num_steps = 50
  dt = 0.1
[]

#
# Precondition using handcoded off-diagonal terms
#
[Preconditioning]
  [./full]
    type = SMP
    full = true
  [../]
[]

[VectorPostprocessors]
  [./c]
    type =  LineValueSampler
    start_point = '-25 0 0'
    end_point = '25 0 0'
    variable = c
    num_points = 151
    sort_by =  id
    execute_on = timestep_end
  [../]
  [./eta]
    type =  LineValueSampler
    start_point = '-25 0 0'
    end_point = '25 0 0'
    variable = eta
    num_points = 151
    sort_by =  id
    execute_on = timestep_end
  [../]

[]

[Outputs]
  exodus = true
  [./csv]
    type = CSV
    execute_on = final
  [../]
[]
(moose/modules/phase_field/examples/kim-kim-suzuki/kks_example_noflux.i)

Verification against analytical solution

error for order parameter .

To perform a more quantitative comparison of the simulation results to the analytical solution, we will calculate the norm of the difference between the simulation result and the analytical solution. The norm is defined for this case as

where is the analytical solution, is the equilibrium solution from simulation, and is the domain. The norm can be obtained in the MOOSE framework using the ElementL2Error postprocessor. It can be shown from the properties of the finite element method that for the linear Lagrange elements used in the split formulation,

where is the characteristic element size (for 2D square elements, is the length of one side) and is a constant specific to the problem. Thus, as the mesh is refined, error should decrease (at least) quadratically with .

In performing this comparison between the analytical solution and simulation results, if a no-flux boundary condition is used in the simulation, the order parameter and composition profiles may shift slightly in the or direction, even if the analytical solution is used as an initial condition. This makes it difficult to compare to an analytical solution centered at . Therefore, we simulate the half of the domain and use a Dirichlet boundary condition of and at , which prevents the interface from moving. For the verification, the size of the domain was also reduced to lower the computational cost.

To verify that error decreases quadratically with , see the plot showing error versus for in this problem. As expected, on a log-log scale, the points are fit well by a straight line. The slope was determined to be 1.995, in good agreement with the expected value of 2.

#
# KKS simple example in the split form
#

[Mesh]
  type = GeneratedMesh
  dim = 2
  elem_type = QUAD4
  nx = 50
  ny = 2
  nz = 0
  xmin = 0
  xmax = 20
  ymin = 0
  ymax = 0.4
  zmin = 0
  zmax = 0
[]

[AuxVariables]
  [./Fglobal]
    order = CONSTANT
    family = MONOMIAL
  [../]
[]

[Variables]
  # order parameter
  [./eta]
    order = FIRST
    family = LAGRANGE
  [../]

  # hydrogen concentration
  [./c]
    order = FIRST
    family = LAGRANGE
  [../]

  # chemical potential
  [./w]
    order = FIRST
    family = LAGRANGE
  [../]

  # Liquid phase solute concentration
  [./cl]
    order = FIRST
    family = LAGRANGE
    initial_condition = 0.1
  [../]
  # Solid phase solute concentration
  [./cs]
    order = FIRST
    family = LAGRANGE
    initial_condition = 0.9
  [../]
[]

[Functions]
  [./ic_func_eta]
    type = ParsedFunction
    expression = 0.5*(1.0-tanh((x)/sqrt(2.0)))
  [../]
  [./ic_func_c]
    type = ParsedFunction
    expression = '0.9*(0.5*(1.0-tanh(x/sqrt(2.0))))^3*(6*(0.5*(1.0-tanh(x/sqrt(2.0))))^2-15*(0.5*(1.0-tanh(x/sqrt(2.0))))+10)+0.1*(1-(0.5*(1.0-tanh(x/sqrt(2.0))))^3*(6*(0.5*(1.0-tanh(x/sqrt(2.0))))^2-15*(0.5*(1.0-tanh(x/sqrt(2.0))))+10))'
  [../]
[]

[ICs]
  [./eta]
    variable = eta
    type = FunctionIC
    function = ic_func_eta
  [../]
  [./c]
    variable = c
    type = FunctionIC
    function = ic_func_c
  [../]
[]

[BCs]
  [./left_c]
    type = DirichletBC
    variable = 'c'
    boundary = 'left'
    value = 0.5
  [../]
  [./left_eta]
    type = DirichletBC
    variable = 'eta'
    boundary = 'left'
    value = 0.5
  [../]
[]

[Materials]
  # Free energy of the liquid
  [./fl]
    type = DerivativeParsedMaterial
    property_name = fl
    coupled_variables = 'cl'
    expression = '(0.1-cl)^2'
  [../]

  # Free energy of the solid
  [./fs]
    type = DerivativeParsedMaterial
    property_name = fs
    coupled_variables = 'cs'
    expression = '(0.9-cs)^2'
  [../]

  # h(eta)
  [./h_eta]
    type = SwitchingFunctionMaterial
    h_order = HIGH
    eta = eta
  [../]

  # g(eta)
  [./g_eta]
    type = BarrierFunctionMaterial
    g_order = SIMPLE
    eta = eta
  [../]

  # constant properties
  [./constants]
    type = GenericConstantMaterial
    prop_names  = 'M   L   eps_sq'
    prop_values = '0.7 0.7 1.0  '
  [../]
[]

[Kernels]
  # enforce c = (1-h(eta))*cl + h(eta)*cs
  [./PhaseConc]
    type = KKSPhaseConcentration
    ca       = cl
    variable = cs
    c        = c
    eta      = eta
  [../]

  # enforce pointwise equality of chemical potentials
  [./ChemPotSolute]
    type = KKSPhaseChemicalPotential
    variable = cl
    cb       = cs
    fa_name  = fl
    fb_name  = fs
  [../]

  #
  # Cahn-Hilliard Equation
  #
  [./CHBulk]
    type = KKSSplitCHCRes
    variable = c
    ca       = cl
    fa_name  = fl
    w        = w
  [../]

  [./dcdt]
    type = CoupledTimeDerivative
    variable = w
    v = c
  [../]
  [./ckernel]
    type = SplitCHWRes
    mob_name = M
    variable = w
  [../]

  #
  # Allen-Cahn Equation
  #
  [./ACBulkF]
    type = KKSACBulkF
    variable = eta
    fa_name  = fl
    fb_name  = fs
    w        = 1.0
    coupled_variables = 'cl cs'
  [../]
  [./ACBulkC]
    type = KKSACBulkC
    variable = eta
    ca       = cl
    cb       = cs
    fa_name  = fl
  [../]
  [./ACInterface]
    type = ACInterface
    variable = eta
    kappa_name = eps_sq
  [../]
  [./detadt]
    type = TimeDerivative
    variable = eta
  [../]
[]

[AuxKernels]
  [./GlobalFreeEnergy]
    variable = Fglobal
    type = KKSGlobalFreeEnergy
    fa_name = fl
    fb_name = fs
    w = 1.0
  [../]
[]

[Executioner]
  type = Transient
  solve_type = 'PJFNK'

  petsc_options_iname = '-pc_type -sub_pc_type -sub_pc_factor_shift_type'
  petsc_options_value = 'asm      ilu          nonzero'

  l_max_its = 100
  nl_max_its = 100
  nl_abs_tol = 1e-10

  end_time = 800
  dt = 4.0
[]

#
# Precondition using handcoded off-diagonal terms
#
[Preconditioning]
  [./full]
    type = SMP
    full = true
  [../]
[]

[Postprocessors]
  [./dofs]
    type = NumDOFs
  [../]
  [./integral]
    type = ElementL2Error
    variable = eta
    function = ic_func_eta
  [../]
[]

[Outputs]
  exodus = true
  console = true
  gnuplot = true
[]
(moose/modules/phase_field/examples/kim-kim-suzuki/kks_example_dirichlet.i)

References

  1. Seong Gyoon Kim, Won Tae Kim, and Toshio Suzuki. Phase-field model for binary alloys. Physical Review E, 60(6):7186–7197, December 1999. URL: http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.60.7186 (visited on 2014-03-31), doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.60.7186.[BibTeX]