Glossary
DICTRA
DICTRA is the leading software package in the field of computational kinetics. It is capable of simulating and solving numerically a wide variety of scientific and industrial applications that involve diffusion in multicomponent alloys, assuming that thermodynamic equilibrium holds locally at all phase interfaces. One of the strengths of DICTRA is its ability to allow the user to define the boundary conditions in a flexible way. The software is also suitable for treating problems involving a moving boundary.
Boundary Conditions in DICTRA
Computational simulations of phase transformations require that volume is subdivided into two half spaces, one for the growing phase, and other for the shrinking phase. These two spaces, as well as their respective diffusion problems, are treated separately. In the DICTRA program, geometries such as linear, cylindrical, ellipsoidal, or spherical are possible.
Applications of DICTRA
Examples of problems that may be treated with DICTRA include:
1. One-phase problems
1.1. Homogenization of alloys
1.2. Carburizing and decarburizing of steel in austenitic state
2. Moving boundary problems
2.1. Carbide dissolution during austenitizing of steel
2.2. Solidification of alloys
2.3. Growth of intermediate phases in alloys
2.4. Reactions in clad steels
3. Diffusion in dispersed systems
3.1. Carburizing of superalloys
3.2. Carburizing of high-speed steels
4. Cooperative growth
4.1. Growth of pearlite in alloyed steels
5. Deviation from local equilibrium
5.1. Calculations under paraequilibrium conditions
6. Diffusion in complex phases
6.1. Diffusion in systems with B2 ordering