Microscopic computer simulations of directional coarsening in face-centered cubic alloys Original Research Article

We carried out Monte Carlo simulations of phase separation in a three-dimensional binary alloy with misfitting phases subjected to uniaxial external stress. A lattice of cylindrical or plate-like precipitates is formed at the mesoscale, as observed in real alloys. The rate of precipitate growth is much slower than the conventional R(t)∼t1/3 behavior in systems with no elastic misfit. Once a well-defined precipitate microstructure is formed, the reversal of external applied load has only a small effect.