A constitutive equation is needed for the degree of transformation x. The following equation is suggested in [12]:
(11–13) |
where |
|
| |
G = melt shear modulus | |
m = a constant (usually equal to 1) |
This transport equation is strongly coupled with both amorphous and
semicrystalline phases through the trace of .
The degree of transformation x is governed by a highly
nonlinear advection equation. To reduce the level of nonlinearity in Equation 11–13, select a unit value for
m. At rest (quiescent condition), this equation indicates
that x evolves towards , which is seen as the upper limit of crystallization. To
facilitate the convergence of the solver, you can apply an evolution scheme on the
parameter
.
The time constant is the inverse of the Avrami constant under quiescent conditions
and depends on the temperature in nonisothermal flows. In [12], the temperature dependence of the Avrami constant is described using a Gaussian
function.
You can interpret the Avrami constant as an indication of the maximum
crystallization rate. Consequently, an inverse Gaussian function is used for the
temperature dependence of :
(11–14) |
where is the temperature that corresponds to the peak in the Gaussian
function,
is its width around
. The factor
takes the value of -1.
A large value of time constant means that the information is transported without
any change. To prevent the sudden use of a large time constant in the calculation,
an evolution scheme can be defined on . The degree of transformation can change only when the temperature
is close to
.