The influence of magnetic and electric fields on microstructure in multiferroic composite materials - a Phase-Field-Crystal approach

The project objective is to examine the role of external magnetic and electric fields on the evolution of defect structures on diffusion time scales. The considered PFC model for multiferroic materials offers all possibilities to simulate these effects. Together with the experimental projects in the SPP 1959 ("Manipulation of matter controlled by electric and magnetic fields: Towards novel synthesis and processing routes of inorganic materials") this can open a window into the exploration of microstructure engineering via external fields. We start with a simulation plattform wich allows to simulate elastoplasticity in polycrystalline materials. This will first be extended towards a magnetic PFC model and second we will add additional features step by step until we arrive at the binary multiferroic PFC model of Seymour et al. (2015). On all levels we will derive stable and scalable algorithms and perform large scale simulations. They will be used to understand how defects and grain boundaries influence macroscopic properties, such as the ferroelectric coercivity. We will also consider simulations to unterstand the influence of external fields on grain boundaries and defect structures and to obtain statistical data on grain growth under the influence of external fields.

Project duration: 07/2016 - 06/2019
Funded by: DFG (SPP 1959)