A generalized Cahn-Hilliard equation incorporating geometrically linear elasticity (Q540141)

Global existence in space dimensions one and two is established for the elastic Cahn-Hilliard equation which describes the isothermal segregation of a two-phase solid including elastic effects. Denoting the order parameter (corresponding to the mass fraction of one phase), the chemical potential, the displacement, and the strain by \(\chi\), \(\mu\), \({\mathbf u}\), and \(\varepsilon({\mathbf u})\), respectively, their evolution with respect to space and time is given by \[ \partial_t \chi= \text{div}(L\nabla \mu), \quad \mu=-\gamma\Delta\chi+ \psi'(\chi)+ \partial_\chi \widehat{W}(\chi,\varepsilon({\mathbf u})) \quad\text{in }\Omega\times (0,T), \] and \[ 0=\text{div}\big(\partial_\varepsilon \widehat{W}(\chi,\varepsilon({\mathbf u}))\big) \quad\text{in }\Omega\times (0,T), \] where \(\Omega\) is a bounded open subset of \(\mathbb R^D\). This system is supplemented with homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions for \(\chi\) and \(\mu\) and either zero mass flux or traction for \(\varepsilon\). The entropic part of the free energy is singular as \(\chi\) approaches either zero or one and reads \[ \psi(\chi)= k_B \theta(\chi \ln\chi+ (1-\chi) \ln{(1-\chi)})+ \frac{\theta_c}{2}\chi (1-\chi) , \quad \chi\in [0,1]. \] The choice of the elastic energy \(\widehat{W}\) differs from that of previous works and allows in particular the two phases to have different elastic moduli. Though \(\widehat{W}\) is defined implicitly for any space dimension, an explicit formula is available in dimensions one and two. Uniqueness is shown under the additional assumption that the elastic moduli are equal. Numerical simulations showing the influence of having different elastic moduli in the two phases are provided.