Modified phase-field-crystal model for solid-liquid phase transitions

A modified phase-field-crystal (PFC) model is proposed to describe solid-liquid phase transitions by reconstructing the correlation function. The effects of fitting parameters of our modified PFC model on the bcc-liquid phase diagram, numerical stability, and solid-liquid interface properties during planar interface growth are examined carefully. The results indicate that the increase of the correlation function peak width at k=k_m will enhance the stability of the ordered phase, while the increase of peak height at k=0 will narrow the two-phase coexistence region. The third-order term in the free-energy function and the short wave-length of the correlation function have significant influences on the numerical stability of the PFC model. During planar interface growth, the increase of peak width at k=km will decrease the interface width and the velocity coefficient C, but increase the anisotropy of C and the interface free energy. Finally, the feasibility of the modified phase-field-crystal model is demonstrated with a numerical example of three-dimensional dendritic growth of a body-centered-cubic structure.