EDITORIAL

Computer Modeling and Microstructures

The 25th Annual Convention of the Inter- national Metallographic Society, co-chaired by Japnell D. Braun and Garry W.E. Johnson, was held in Denver on August 2-5, 1992. It was a time to reflect on the advancements of both the Society and the field of materials characterization over the past quarter cen- tury. Besides reflecting on things past, the meeting featured a view of the future in the symposium, Computer Modeling and Micro- structures, a growing research area of impor- tance, held on August 2. A wide variety of modeling techniques, employing modern high-speed computers, is being utilized to not only advance our understanding of microstructural evolution, growth, and sta- bility, but also to actually predict microstruc- tures, their properties, and behavior. The work presented at the symposium covered a wide scale of view, from atomic dimensions (including radiation effects and dislocation interactions) to grain structure (both two- and three-dimensional), through macro- structural features of cast alloys. The diver- sity of approaches considered was striking. In every case, computer modeling confirmed

many existing ideas about microstructures while revealing new aspects leading to en- hancement of our understanding of mi- crostructures or our ability to predict micro- structural formation, behavior, or properties.

While the ultimate goal of complete pre- diction of all aspects of microstructure, prop- erties, and behavior from first principles is still far in the future, the symposium demon- strated that researchers in this field have taken some solid first steps in this direction. As modeling techniques develop and eco- nomical computer power continues to surge forward, it is certain that these research efforts will bear fruit. Of course, the exper- imental characterization of materials will re- main vitally important to these computa- tional efforts. We expect that this work will spawn a closer interaction between com- puter modelers and metallographers, to the benefit of both disciplines.

Khalid Mansour Elliot A. Clark Symposium Co-Chairs

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