On the variational formulation and implementation of Allen-Cahn and Cahn-Hilliard-type phase field theories

Phase field theory is a promising framework for analyzing evolving microstructures in materials. Phenomena like those related to microstructures in Ni-based superalloys, twin structures in martensites or precipitation in Al-alloys can be predicted by phase field theory. While phase transformations such as those characterizing twinning are captured by an Allen-Cahn-type approach, a Cahn-Hilliard-type formulation is used, if the respective interface motion is driven by the concentration of the species. Although the Allen-Cahn and the Cahn-Hilliard formulation are indeed different, they do share some similarities. To be more precise, a Cahn-Hilliard model is obtained by enforcing balance of mass in the Allen-Cahn approach. Within an energy-based formulation this can be implemented by adding additional energy terms to the underlying Allen-Cahn energy. Such a universal energy-based framework is elaborated in this presentation. (© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

On the convergence of a fourth order evolution equation to the Allen-Cahn equation

We construct special sequences of solutions to a fourth order nonlinear parabolic equation of Cahn-Hilliard/Allen-Cahn type, converging to the second order Allen-Cahn equation. We consider the evolution equation without boundary, as well as the stationary case on domains with Dirichlet boundary conditions. The proofs exploit the equivalence of the fourth order equation with a system of two second order elliptic equations with “good signs”.     

The Structure of Internal Layers for Unstable Nonlinear Diffusion Equations

We study the structure of diffusive layers in solutions of unstable nonlinear diffusion equations. These equations are regularizations of the forward-backward heat equation and have diffusion coefficients that become negative. Such models include the Cahn-Hilliard equation and the pseudoparabolic viscous diffusion equation. Using singular perturbation methods we show that the balance between diffusion and higher-order regularization terms uniquely determines the interface structure in these equations. It is shown that the well-known “equal area” rule for the Cahn-Hilliard equation is a special case of a more general rule for shock construction in the viscous Cahn-Hilliard equation.     

Singly Periodic Solutions of the Allen-Cahn Equation and the Toda Lattice

The Allen-Cahn equation ? Δu = u ? u ³ in ?² has family of trivial singly periodic solutions that come from the one dimensional periodic solutions of the problem ?u″ =u ? u ³. In this paper we construct a non-trivial family of singly periodic solutions to the Allen-Cahn equation. Our construction relies on the connection between this equation and the infinite Toda lattice. We show that for each one-soliton solution to the infinite Toda lattice we can find a singly periodic solution to the Allen-Cahn equation, such that its level set is close to the scaled one-soliton. The solutions we construct are analogues of the family of Riemann minimal surfaces in ?³.     

On the viscous Allen-Cahn and Cahn-Hilliard systems with willmore regularization

We consider the viscous Allen-Cahn and Cahn-Hilliard models with an additional term called the nonlinear Willmore regularization. First, we are interested in the well-posedness of these two models. Furthermore, we prove that both models possess a global attractor. In addition, as far as the viscous Allen-Cahn equation is concerned, we construct a robust family of exponential attractors, i.e. attractors which are continuous with respect to the perturbation parameter. Finally, we give some numerical simulations which show the effects of the viscosity term on the anisotropic and isotropic Cahn-Hilliard equation.     

Global solution to a generalized nonisothermal Ginzburg-Landau system

The article deals with a nonlinear generalized Ginzburg-Landau (Allen-Cahn) system of PDEs accounting for nonisothermal phase transition phenomena which was recently derived by A. Miranville and G. Schimperna: Nonisothermal phase separation based on a microforce balance, Discrete Contin. Dyn. Syst., Ser. B, 5 (2005), 753–768. The existence of solutions to a related Neumann-Robin problem is established in an N ⩽ 3- dimensional space setting. A fixed point procedure guarantees the existence of solutions locally in time. Next, Sobolev embeddings, interpolation inequalities, Moser iterations estimates and results on renormalized solutions for a parabolic equation with L ¹ data are used to handle a suitable a priori estimate which allows to extend our local solutions to the whole time interval. The uniqueness result is justified by proper contracting estimates.     

Finite Morse Index Implies Finite Ends

We prove that finite Morse index solutions to the Allen-Cahn equation in ℝ² have finitely many ends and linear energy growth. The main tool is a curvature decay estimate on level sets of these finite Morse index solutions, which in turn is reduced to a problem on the uniform second-order regularity of clustering interfaces for the singularly perturbed Allen-Cahn equation. Using an indirect blowup technique, in the spirit of the classical Colding-Minicozzi theory in minimal surfaces, we show that the obstruction to the uniform second-order regularity of clustering interfaces in ℝⁿ is associated to the existence of nontrivial entire solutions to a (finite or infinite) Toda system in ℝ^n–1. For finite Morse index solutions in ℝ², we show that this obstruction does not exist by using information on stable solutions of the Toda system. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Cahn-Hilliard Equation and the Allen-Cahn Equation on Manifolds with Conical Singularities

We consider the Cahn-Hilliard equation on a manifold with conical singularities. We first show the existence of bounded imaginary powers for suitable closed extensions of the bilaplacian. Combining results and methods from singular analysis with a theorem of Clément and Li we then prove the short time solvability of the Cahn-Hilliard equation in L_p-Mellin-Sobolev spaces and obtain the asymptotics of the solution near the conical points. We deduce, in particular, that regularity is preserved on the smooth part of the manifold and singularities remain confined to the conical points. We finally show how the Allen-Cahn equation can be treated by simpler considerations. Again we obtain short time solvability and the behavior near the conical points.     

A conservative nonlinear difference scheme for the viscous Cahn-Hilliard equation

Numerical solutions for the viscous Cahn-Hilliard equation are considered using the crank-Nicolson type finite difference method which conserves the mass. The corresponding stability and error analysis of the scheme are shown. The decay speeds of the solution inH ¹-norm are shown. We also compare the evolution of the viscous Cahn-Hilliard equation with that of the Cahn-Hilliard equation numerically and computationally, which has been given as an open question in Novick-Cohen[13].     

A NOTE ON LARGE TIME BEHAVIOUR OF SOLUTIONS FOR VISCOUS CAHN-HILLIARD EQUATION

This article is devoted to the discussion of large time behaviour of solutions for viscous Cahn-Hilliard equation with spatial dimension n 〈 5. Some results on global existence of weak solutions for small initial value and blow-up of solutions for any nontrivial initial value are established.     

Generating pairs for the sporadic groupRu

Analytical solutions for the viscous Cahn-Hilliard equation are considered. Existence and uniqueness of the solution are shown. The exponential decay of the solution inH ²-norm, which is an improvement of the result in Elliott and Zheng[5]. We also compare the early stages of evolution of the viscous Cahn-Hilliard equation with that of the Cahn-Hilliard equation, which has been given as an open question in Novick-Cohen[8].     

Stationary layered solutions in {\mathbb{R}}^2 for a class of non autonomous Allen-Cahn equations

We consider a class of non autonomous Allen-Cahn equations where is a multiple-well potential and is a periodic, positive, non-constant function. We look for solutions to (0.1) having uniform limits as corresponding to minima of W. We show, via variational methods, that under a nondegeneracy condition on the set of heteroclinic solutions of the associated ordinary differential equation the equation (0.1) has solutions which depends on both the variables x andy. In contrast, when a is constant such nondegeneracy condition is not satisfied and all such solutions are known to depend only on x. Received April 16, 1999 / Accepted October 1, 1999 / Published online June 28, 2000     

A continuous dependence result for a nonstandard system of phase field equations

The present note deals with a nonstandard system of differential equations describing a two‐species phase segregation. This system naturally arises in the asymptotic analysis carried out recently by the same authors, as the diffusion coefficient in the equation governing the evolution of the order parameter tends to zero. In particular, an existence result has been proved for the limit system in a very general framework. On the contrary, uniqueness was shown by assuming a constant mobility coefficient. Here, we generalize this result and prove a continuous dependence property in the case that the mobility coefficient suitably depends on the chemical potential. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vanishing viscosity limit for a coupled Navier-Stokes/Allen-Cahn system

In this paper, we study the vanishing viscosity limit for a coupled Navier-Stokes/Allen-Cahn system in a bounded domain. We first show the local existence of smooth solutions of the Euler/Allen-Cahn equations by modified Galerkin method. Then using the boundary layer function to deal with the mismatch of the boundary conditions between Navier-Stokes and Euler equations, and assuming that the energy dissipation for Navier-Stokes equation in the boundary layer goes to zero as the viscosity tends to zero, we prove that the solutions of the Navier-Stokes/Allen-Cahn system converge to that of the Euler/Allen-Cahn system in a proper small time interval. In addition, for strong solutions of the Navier-Stokes/Allen-Cahn system in 2D, the convergence rate is cν1/2.     

Cahn-Hilliard stochastic equation: Strict positivity of the density

This paper deals with the Cahn-Hilliard stochastic equation driven by a space-time white noise with a non-linear diffusion coefficient. Using new lower estimate of the kernel, we prove the "local" existence of the density without non-degeneracy condition in a case of Hölder continuous trajectories, and we show that the density of any vector is lower bounded by a strictly positive continuous function under a non-degeneracy condition.     

Fast Reaction Limit of the Discrete Diffusive Coagulation–Fragmentation Equation

Abstract

The local mass of weak solutions to the discrete diffusive coagulation–fragmentation equation is proved to converge, in the fast reaction limit, to the solution of a nonlinear diffusion equation, the coagulation and fragmentation rates enjoying a detailed balance condition.     

A two-grid finite element method for the Allen-Cahn equation with the logarithmic potential

In this paper, we present a two-grid finite element method for the Allen-Cahn equation with the logarithmic potential. This method consists of two steps. In the first step, based on a fully implicit finite element method, the Allen-Cahn equation is solved on a coarse grid with mesh size H. In the second step, a linearized system whose nonlinear term is replaced by the value of the first step is solved on a fine grid with mesh size h. We give the energy stabilities of the traditional finite element method and the two-grid finite element method. The optimal convergence order of the two-grid finite element method in H¹ norm is achieved when the mesh sizes satisfy h = O(H²). Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the validity of the proposed scheme. The results show that the two-grid method can save the CPU time while keeping the same convergence rate.     

On the choice of auxiliary linear operator in the optimal homotopy analysis of the Cahn-Hilliard initial value problem

Analytical solutions for the Cahn-Hilliard initial value problem are obtained through an application of the homotopy analysis method. While there exist numerical results in the literature for the Cahn-Hilliard equation, a nonlinear partial differential equation, the present results are completely analytical. In order to obtain accurate approximate analytical solutions, we consider multiple auxiliary linear operators, in order to find the best operator which permits accuracy after relatively few terms are calculated. We also select the convergence control parameter optimally, through the construction of an optimal control problem for the minimization of the accumulated L ²-norm of the residual errors. In this way, we obtain optimal homotopy analysis solutions for this complicated nonlinear initial value problem. A variety of initial conditions are selected, in order to fully demonstrate the range of solutions possible.     

The Interaction of Shocks with Dispersive Waves I. Weak Coupling Limit

We introduce and analyze a model for the interaction of shocks with a dispersive wave envelope. The model mimicks the Zakharov system from weak plasma turbulence theory but replaces the linear wave equation in that system by a nonlinear wave equation allowing the formation of shocks. This paper considers a weak coupling in which the nonlinear wave evolves independently but appears as the potential in the time-dependent Schrodinger equation governing the dispersive wave. We first solve the Riemann problem for the system by constructing solutions to the Schrodinger equation that are steady in a frame of reference moving with the shock. Then we add a viscous diffusion term to the shock equation and by explicitly constructing asymptotic expansions in the (small) diffusion coefficient, we show that these solutions are zero diffusion limits of the regularized problem. The expansions are unusual in that it is necessary to keep track of exponentially small terms to obtain algebraically small terms. The expansions are compared to numerical solutions. We then construct a family of time-dependent solutions in the case that the initial data for the nonlinear wave equation evolves to a shock as t → t* < ∞. We prove that the shock formation drives a finite time blow-up in the phase gradient of the dispersive wave. While the shock develops algebraically in time, the phase gradient blows up logarithmically in time. We construct several explicit time-dependent solutions to the system, including ones that: (a) evolve to the steady states previously constructed, (b) evolve to steady states with phase discontinuities (which we call phase kinked steady states), (c) do not evolve to steady states.     

Long Time Behavior of the Cahn-Hilliard Equation with Irregular Potentials and Dynamic Boundary Conditions

The Cahn-Hilliard equation with irregular potentials and dynamic boundary conditions is considered.The existence of the global attractor is proved and the long time behavior of the trajectories,namely,the convergence to steady states,is studied.