MICRESS-TQ - Thermo-Calc Software

About MICRESS_TQ

Developed through a collaboration between Thermo-Calc Software and ACCESS e.V., MICRESS_TQ enables direct coupling between MICRESS phase-field simulations and Thermo-Calc thermodynamic and mobility databases. This integration combines the strengths of CALPHAD-based thermodynamic modeling and phase-field simulations to provide a powerful approach for predicting microstructure evolution in engineering alloys.

MICRESS_TQ provides an integrated runtime coupling between MICRESS and Thermo-Calc, enabling the use of Thermo-Calc thermodynamic and mobility databases during simulations. It is a general and versatile tool that can be applied to solidification and solid-state phenomena for a wide range of alloy systems and materials processes.

MICRESS_AlCu5-solidification-simulation-GIF_03 — AlCu5 solidification simulations rendered based on different variables: Image 1: the solid-liquid interface, where the gray dendrites are the solid FCC-Al phase growing into the melt (not shown); Image 2: the Cu-concentration field at the simulation domain boundaries; Image 3: volume rendering based on the Cu-concentration field

About MICRESS

MICRESS is a multiphase-field simulation software developed by ACCESS e.V. for investigating microstructure formation in metallic alloys and materials processes. Based on a general multicomponent, multiphase-field framework, MICRESS enables the investigation of microstructure formation, for example, driven by phase transformations, for a wide range of metallic alloys and material processes. Users can simulate microstructural evolution in technically relevant alloys in 1-, 2-, and 3-dimensions.

The implemented phase-field model is based on irreversible thermodynamics and enables the simulation of temporal and spatial dependent microstructure evolution, including diffusion and interface controlled transformations, as well as mixed-mode conditions. MICRESS can be integrated into ICME workflows to follow the microstructure evolution throughout entire process chains. Eventually, the simulations lead to 2D or 3D representative microstructures, which can be used as input for property calculations to analyze process-microstructure-property correlations, including virtual tests based on micromechanical simulations with appropriate FEM software like ABAQUS.

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How the MICRESS_TQ Coupling Works

MICRESS_TQ uses a dedicated Thermo-Calc TQ-Interface to import thermodynamic, kinetic, and molar volume data from Thermo-Calc databases. This data feeds the material description in the phase-field model, providing the information required for calculating local driving forces and element redistribution at phase boundaries and temperature and composition dependent diffusion coefficients for the multicomponent diffusion solver.

This coupling enables phase-field simulations for real technical alloys under realistic processing conditions, allowing users to investigate transformations governed by kinetic processes under near-equilibrium and far-from-equilibrium conditions, such as slow and fast solidification, diffusion and interface controlled solid state transformations.

Primary Capabilities of MICRESS_TQ

Phase-field simulations using accurate thermodynamic data
Enable reliable phase-field simulations using Thermo-Calc thermodynamic databases to provide the required phase descriptions and transformation driving forces.
Multicomponent diffusion with full diffusion matrices
Model diffusion-controlled transformations using complete multicomponent diffusion data, including off-diagonal terms, to capture interactions between alloying elements.
Composition- and temperature-dependent molar volumes
Account for changes in molar volume as a function of composition and temperature for more accurate microstructure evolution simulations.

MICRESS_Microsegregation-GIF_03 — Microsegregation in a 2.5µm × 2.5µm wide cutting plane perpendicular to the dendritic growth direction in a LPBF printed Ni-based alloy M247LC for different alloying elements.

Questions MICRESS_TQ Can Help You Answer

How do cooling rates or more general temperature profiles affect phase transformation?
How do thermal gradients affect solidification morphologies?
How do non-equilibrium conditions, such as those defined by finite interface mobility or high nucleation barriers, affect microstructure evolution?
Is microstructure evolution controlled by nucleation, growth, or both?
How do stress and strain affect phase transformations?
How does microsegregation develop in 2D and 3D, and how can it be homogenized during heat treatment?
How does the initial microstructure, such as grain size, element, and phase distribution, influence subsequent transformations?

MICRESS_TQ Allows You to Simulate:

Microstructure evolution in 1D, 2D, or 3D across different length scales
Systems containing multiple elements, phases, and grains, limited only by computational demands and available thermodynamic data
Free boundary problems
Microstructure evolution in directional or equiaxed solidification
Microstructure evolution during casting, welding, soldering, and additive manufacturing
Solidification phenomena, including planar, cellular, and dendritic morphologies
Eutectic, peritectic, and monotectic solidification
Solid-state transformations
Heat treatment processes and formation/dissolution of precipitates
A wide range of metallic alloy systems: Al-, Mg-, Fe-, Ni-, Ti-based alloys and HEA alloys
Simulation results that can be directly compared to experimental data: EDS composition maps, DSC curves, volume expansion measurements (dilatometer)

MICRESS Development and Collaboration

The development of MICRESS began at ACCESS e.V. in 1996 with the creation of an early code basis for multiphase-field simulations. Between 2000 and 2004, Thermo-Calc and ACCESS collaborated through the EU-funded VESPISM project to develop concepts and early implementations for coupling phase-field modeling with CALPHAD thermodynamics. In 2004, MICRESS became the first commercial phase-field simulation software worldwide.

Since then, MICRESS has been continuously developed together with proprietary pre- and post-processing tools. The latest release, V7.4, comes with the new Python framework MicPy, and more than 100 examples for standard applications and benchmarks.

Today, MICRESS is used in both industry and academia to extend thermodynamic calculations into the spatial and temporal evolution of microstructures.

Predict Microstructure Evolution

MICRESS_TQ