Modeling of microstructure changes in Fe-Cr-Co magnetic alloy using the phase-field method

During the last decade, the phase-field method has emerged in many fields if materials science as a powerful tool to simulate and predict complex microstructure development. In this study, the microstructure changes during thermomagnetic treatment and step aging of the Fe-Cr-Co magnetic alloy are modeled using phase-field methods. Using phase-field simulation, the model reasonably represented microstructural changes in the Fe-Cr-Co system quantitatively. In particular, it is shown that gradual step aging is important to obtain the lamellar microstructure that provides excellent permanent magnetic properties. Modeling of microstructure development with the framework of the phase-field method is shown to be a very effective strategy to predict and analyze complex microstructure formation.