Phase separation in confined geometries: Solving the Cahn-Hilliard equation with generic boundary conditions (Q5934213)

A line system of the Cahn-Hilliard equation for a confined system with generic boundary conditions modeling hard walls is set-up. The line system yields a stiff set of ordinary differential equations. This is solved by an implicit time discretization scheme developed for the purpose. The linear stability is also studied. Guided by stability analysis and the local error of the method, an automatic step control is introduced. This made the study, of the changes of the order parameter field occurring on time scales varying over many orders of magnitude, possible. Applicability of the method is demonstrated by investigating in spinodal decomposition in two-dimensional systems. The paper is interesting and promises further applications.