The Cahn-Hilliard field model provides a useful computational tool for exploring nucleation and phase separation. We investigate thermal gradient and boundary effects on multi-phase structure in the Cahn-Hilliard equation using direct simulations based on finite differences. We find two distinctly different time dependencies for the propagation speed of interfaces in 50% volume fraction spinodal systems and 25% volume fraction droplet systems - based on a temporal power law or an exponential form. We also discuss metrics for characterising shape distortions, directions of preferential growth, and denuded layer thickness in the presence of thermal gradients.
Keywords: Cahn-Hilliard; interface layers; spinodal decomposition; nucleation; thermal gradient; simulation; finite-difference.
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