Special Topic: Computational Materials Engineering

Description

This course is aimed at BE(Hons) students and 1-2 MEngSt students interested on the numerical description of the material properties and kinetics of materials.

The focus will be on systems that are conceived at the nanoscale and whose resultant properties and performance have an impact on the associated mesoscopic and macroscopic properties. Students will be exposed to advantages and disadvantages of different microstructural evolution methods, including diffuse (e.g., phase field) and sharp (e.g., level set) meth- ods. Associated numerical techniques such as finite elements, finite volumes, and finite differences, will be reviewed.
Practical aspects associated to modeling of materials, such as optimal meshing criteria, and model convergence and stability are very important aspects of the class. Example applications include prediction of phase diagrams, interca- lation kinetics in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, electromigration, domain switching in ferroelectric random access memories, spinodal decomposition, and single-component solidification. The class meets two times a week, and for each classroom (theory) lecture a computer lab lecture will be held, making it a very hands-on course.