As shown in the image above, taken from Dr Chen’s presentation, CALPHAD also plays a central role in materials design because it is a bridging technology that can utilise both data from DFT calculations as well as experimental data into predictions for thermodynamics, phase equilibria and diffusion and precipitation kinetics of multicomponent materials. Such predictions, can then be used to provide composition and temperature dependent data as input to other models and codes in an ICME framework that deal with more of the macroscopic behaviour where typically such data are lacking.
As advances in technology continue to place increasing demands on discovering and optimising new materials, we will rely on computational materials engineering more heavily, and the importance of CALPHAD will only continue to grow
To learn more about the history of CALPHAD, read our Historic Note series, which tells the story of CALPHAD through the lens of the people who made the discoveries.