TY - JOUR A1 - Darvishi Kamachali, Reza A1 - da Silva, A. A1 - McEniry, E. A1 - Gault, B. A1 - Neugebauer, J. A1 - Raabe, D. T1 - Segregation-assisted spinodal and transient spinodal phase separation at grain boundaries N2 - Segregation to grain boundaries affects their cohesion, corrosion, and embrittlement and plays a critical role in heterogeneous nucleation. In order to quantitatively study segregation and low-dimensional phase separation at grain boundaries, here, we apply a density-based phase-field model. The current model describes the grain-boundary thermodynamic properties based on available bulk thermodynamic data, while the grain-boundary-density profile is obtained using atomistic simulations. To benchmark the performance of the model, Mn grain-boundary segregation in the Fe–Mn system is studied. 3D simulation results are compared against atom probe tomography measurements conducted for three alloy compositions. We show that a continuous increase in the alloy composition results in a discontinuous jump in the segregation isotherm. The jump corresponds to a spinodal Phase separation at grain boundary. For alloy compositions above the jump, we reveal an interfacial transient spinodal phase separation. The transient spinodal phenomenon opens opportunities for knowledge-based microstructure design through the chemical manipulation of grain boundaries. The proposed density-based model provides a powerful tool to study thermodynamics and kinetics of segregation and phase changes at grain boundaries. KW - Grain Boundary Spinodal KW - Densty-based Thermodynamics KW - Microstrucrue Design PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-519497 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41524-020-00456-7 VL - 6 IS - 1 SP - 191 PB - Nature AN - OPUS4-51949 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wang, Lei A1 - Darvishi Kamachali, Reza T1 - Density-based grain boundary phase diagrams: Application to Fe-Mn-Cr, Fe-Mn-Ni, Fe-Mn-Co, Fe-Cr-Ni and Fe-Cr-Co alloy systems N2 - Phase diagrams are the roadmaps for designing bulk phases. Similar to bulk, grain boundaries can possess various phases, but their phase diagrams remain largely unknown. Using a recently introduced density-based model, here we devise a strategy for computing multi-component grain boundary phase diagrams based on available bulk (CALPHAD) thermodynamic data. Fe-Mn-Cr, Fe-Mn-Ni, Fe-Mn-Co, Fe-Cr-Ni and Fe-Cr-Co alloy systems, as important ternary bases for several trending steels and high-entropy alloys, are studied. We found that despite its solute segregation enrichment, a grain boundary can have lower solubility limit than its corresponding bulk, promoting an interfacial chemical decomposition upon solute segregation. This is revealed here for the Fe-Mn-base alloy systems. The origins of this counter-intuitive feature are traced back to two effects, i.e., the magnetic ordering effect and the low cohesive energy of Mn solute element. Different aspects of interfacial phase stability and GB co-segregation in ternary alloys are investigated as well. We show that the concentration gradient energy contributions reduce segregation level but increase grain boundary solubility limit, stabilizing the GB against a chemical decomposition. Density-based grain boundary phase diagrams offer guidelines for systematic investigation of interfacial phase changes with applications to microstructure defects engineering. KW - Densty-based Thermodynamics KW - Microstrucrue Design KW - Grain Boundary Phase Diagram PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-522207 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2021.116668 SN - 1359-6454 VL - 207 SP - 116668 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-52220 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jacobson, D. A1 - Darvishi Kamachali, Reza A1 - Thompson, G. B. T1 - Extending Density Phase-Field Simulations to Dynamic Regimes N2 - Density-based phase-field (DPF) methods have emerged as a technique for simulating grain boundary thermodynamics and kinetics. Compared to the classical phase-field, DPF gives a more physical description of the grain boundary structure and chemistry, bridging CALPHAD databases and atomistic simulations, with broad applications to grain boundary and segregation engineering. Notwithstanding their notable progress, further advancements are still warranted in DPF methods. Chief among these are the requirements to resolve its performance constraints associated with solving fourth-order partial differential equations (PDEs) and to enable the DPF methods for simulating moving grain boundaries. Presented in this work is a means by which the aforementioned problems are addressed by expressing the density field of a DPF simulation in terms of a traditional order parameter field. A generic DPF free energy functional is derived and used to carry out a series of equilibrium and dynamic simulations of grain boundaries in order to generate trends such as grain boundary width vs. gradient energy coefficient, grain boundary velocity vs. applied driving force, and spherical grain radius vs. time. These trends are compared with analytical solutions and the behavior of physical grain boundaries in order to ascertain the validity of the coupled DPF model. All tested quantities were found to agree with established theories of grain boundary behavior. In addition, the resulting simulations allow for DPF simulations to be carried out by existing phase-field solvers. KW - CALPHAD KW - Phase-field modelling KW - Phase-Field Simulations PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-581365 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/met13081497 VL - 13 SP - 1 EP - 16 AN - OPUS4-58136 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Marschall, Niklas A1 - Murugan, Jegatheesan A1 - Darvishi Kamachali, Reza T1 - Incorporating elasticity into the thermodynamics and phase diagrams of multi-component systems N2 - Elastic energy plays a critical role in determining phase stability in compositionally complex alloys. However, quantifying elastic contributions in multi-component systems and incorporating them into phase diagram construction remain challenging. In this study, we present a generalized elastic energy formalism tailored for multi-component alloys, which can be directly and efficiently integrated with CALPHAD thermodynamic databases and existing frameworks such as Thermo-Calc (Andersson et al., 2002), Pandat (Cao et al., 2009) or FactSage (Bale et al., 2016). This elasticity formalism can also be introduced as a post-processing layer in open-source software such as pyCALPHAD (Otis and Liu, 2017) and Kawin (Ury et al., 2023) , enabling elastic assessments in multi-component systems. We apply our framework for constructing the phase diagram of quinary Fe–Mn–Ni–Co–Cu alloy system, utilizing convex hull and Hessian matrix under elastic considerations. Our results reveal that incorporating elastic energy leads to an expansion of both the spinodal region and the miscibility gap. These are governed by the intricate interplay of chemical and elastic driving forces: We found that Mn and Ni contribute strongly to chemical stabilization, while Cu and Co tend to destabilize the alloy, especially at low Mn concentrations. The stabilizing effect of Fe is also pronounced in Mn-deficient regions. Acting as a destabilizing factor, the elastic energy is primarily driven by the presence of Mn, underscoring its multifaceted role in thermodynamic stability. In Mn-rich compositions, Cu markedly reduces the elastic energy contribution. Combined with CALPHAD infrastructures, the current framework offers a practical pathway to improve the predictive accuracy of phase stability and transformations in complex multi-component alloys. KW - Elastic energy KW - HEA KW - CALPHAD KW - Elastic spinodal KW - Elastic miscibility gap KW - Elastic phase diagram PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-643339 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtla.2025.102546 SN - 2589-1529 VL - 44 SP - 1 EP - 18 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam, Niederlande AN - OPUS4-64333 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhou, X. A1 - Darvishi Kamachali, Reza A1 - Boyce, B.L. A1 - Clark, B.G. A1 - Raabe, D. A1 - Thompson, G.B. T1 - Spinodal Decomposition in Nanocrystalline Alloys N2 - For more than half a century, spinodal decomposition has been a key phenomenon in considering the formation of secondary phases in alloys. The most prominent aspect of the spinodal phenomenon is the lack of an energy barrier on its transformation pathway, offering an alternative to the nucleation and growth mechanism. The classical description of spinodal decomposition often neglects the influence of defects, such as grain boundaries, on the transformation because the innate ability for like-atoms to cluster is assumed to lead the process. Nevertheless, in nanocrystalline alloys, with a high population of grain boundaries with diverse characters, the structurally heterogeneous landscape can greatly influence the chemical decomposition behavior. Combining atom-probe tomography, precession electron diffraction and density-based phase-field simulations, we address how grain boundaries contribute to the temporal evolution of chemical decomposition within the miscibility gap of a Pt-Au nanocrystalline system. We found that grain boundaries can actually have their own miscibility gaps profoundly altering the spinodal decomposition in nanocrystalline alloys. A complex realm of multiple interfacial states, ranging from competitive grain boundary segregation to barrier-free low-dimensional interfacial decomposition, occurs with a dependency upon the grain boundary character. KW - Density-based Thermodynamics KW - Nanocrystalline alloys KW - Spinodal decomposition KW - Defects engineering PY - 2021 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2021.117054 VL - 215 SP - 117054 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-52918 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hickel, Tilmann A1 - Waske, Anja A1 - Tehranchi, Ali A1 - Bhattacharya, Biswajit A1 - Stawski, Tomasz M. A1 - Fellinger, Tim-Patrick A1 - Mehmood, Asad A1 - Witt, Julia A1 - Ozcan, Ozlem A1 - Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Kumar, Sourabh A1 - Mishra, Rajesh Kumar A1 - Holzer, Marco A1 - Stucchi de Camargo, Andrea Simone A1 - Agudo Jácome, Leonardo A1 - Manzoni, Anna A1 - Fantin, Andrea A1 - John, Elisabeth A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan A1 - Bührig, Sophia A1 - Murugan, Jegatheesan A1 - Marschall, Niklas A1 - George, Janine A1 - Darvishi Kamachali, Reza A1 - Maaß, Robert A1 - Emmerling, Franziska T1 - Chemically complex materials enable sustainable high-performance materials N2 - Chemically complex materials (CCMats) 􀀀 including high-entropy alloys, oxides, and related multi-principal element systems 􀀀 offer a paradigm shift in materials design by leveraging chemical diversity to simultaneously optimize functional, structural, and sustainability criteria. The vastness of the compositional and structural space in CCMats propels the field into an expanding exploratory state. To reconcile functional and structural performance across this immense parameter space remains an open challenge. This Perspective evaluates the opportunities and challenges associated with harnessing chemical complexity across a broad spectrum of applications, such as hydrogen storage, ionic conductors, catalysis, magnetics, dielectrics, semiconductors, optical materials, and multifunctional structural systems. It is delineated how three central design strategies: targeted substitution (SUB), defect engineering (DEF), and diversity management (DIV) enable the reconciliation of high functional performance with long-term structural stability and environmental responsibility. Advances in computational thermodynamics, microstructure simulations, machine learning, and multimodal characterization are accelerating the exploration and optimization of CCMats, while robust data infrastructures and automated synthesis workflows are emerging as essential tools for navigating their complex compositional space. By fostering cross-disciplinary knowledge transfer and embracing data-driven design, CCMats are poised to deliver next-generation materials solutions that address urgent technological, energy, and environmental demands. KW - Chemically complex materials KW - Structural stability KW - Functional performance KW - Design strategies KW - Sustainability PY - 2026 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-655598 UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359028626000033?via%3Dihub DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cossms.2026.101256 SN - 1359-0286 VL - 42 SP - 1 EP - 26 PB - Elsevier Ltd. CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-65559 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -