Software platform for materials design with support for ICME

Purpose and goal

Development of new materials is a slow process that can take 10-15 years. The goal of the project was to develop a software platform for systematic materials design based on ICME (Integrated Computational Materials Engineering) to decrease the development time for new materials with improved properties. By shortening the development time of a material from original idea to market introduction, the competitiveness of Swedish materials industry can be strengthened significantly. The goal is also linked to sustainability aspects in which one example is the supply of raw materials.

Results and expected effects

The existing software platform Thermo-Calc has been expanded for systematic materials design with support to ICME. This project has been focused on high-strength steels and related relevant design variables. In the future it is planned that the software platform will be expanded to include a package of models relevant for other materials and it should be possible for users of Thermo-Calc to implement their own models. Swedish materials industry has an opportunity in their material design and ICME activities to be leading and take advantage of this advanced tool.

Approach and implementation

The implementation has been divided into 8 stages: 1. Design of graphical interface, 2. Identify and implement models for relevant design variables, 3. Visualization of design variables, 4. Sensitivity analysis, 5. Export to higher levels in the ICME chain, 6. Enable users to implement models, 7. Evaluation and 8. Documentation. All of these stages have been considered and Thermo-Calc now has a new computational and visualization activity where one can calculate and optimize material properties. Two examples on materials design are described in the report.