Thermodynamics of Discrete Systems and Martensitic Phase Transition Simulation

Abstract

A thermomechanical approach for the modelling of the phase-transition front propagation in solids is described for the class of thermoelastic phases. This description is based on the balance laws of  continuum mechanics in the reference configuration and the thermodynamics of discrete systems. Contact quantities are introduced following the basic concepts of the thermodynamics of discrete systems. The values of the contact quantities are determined within a finite-volume numerical scheme based on a modification of the known wave-propagation algorithm. No explicit expression is used for the kinetic relation governing the phase transition front propagation. All the needed information is extracted from the thermodynamic consistency conditions for adjacent discrete elements. It is shown that the developed model captures the experimentally observed velocity difference which appears because of impact-induced phase transformation.