Multiscale modeling in thermal materials processing

Abstract

An important aspect in most thermal systems involved in manufacturing and materials processing is that of modeling different length and time scales that arise and then coupling these to simulate the complete process. The changes in the material occur mainly at micro-and nanoscale levels, whereas the products being fabricated and the operating conditions are usually at the macro-or engineering scale. Depending on the dimensions, different transport regimes may arise, with different analysis and experimentation being needed at different scales. The overall modeling and simulation is then employed to determine the quality of the fabricated product, the effect on the environment, process efficiency and optimal conditions. This paper focuses on such materials processing applications where multiple length and time scales are of interest. It presents the modeling at the different scales and then addresses the question of coupling the different models to obtain the overall model for the system or process. Both numerical and experimental methods to obtain results at the small length scales are discussed.