Efficient Computation of Dendritic Microstructures Using Adaptive Mesh Refinement

We study dendritic microstructure evolution using an adaptive grid, finite element method applied to a phase-field model. The computational complexity of our algorithm, per unit time, scales linearly with system size, allowing simulations on very large lattices. We present computations on a 217×217 lattice, but note that this is not an upper limit. Time-dependent calculations in two dimensions are in good agreement with the predictions of …