Patent ID: 7865341

Claim:
A method for computer-assisted modeling behavior of a steel volume having a volumetric surface, comprising: resolving a thermal conduction equation and a phase change equation to determine a subsequent state of the steel volume; operating a computer based on an instantaneous initial state of the steel volume and an instantaneous influence quantity via the volumetric surface on the steel volume, wherein at least one influence quantity includes a local influence for a plurality of surface elements of the volumetric surface and the local influence operates via the plurality of surface elements on the steel volume; identifying a local energy content of the steel volume where the initial state and the determined subsequent state for a plurality of volume elements of the steel volume comprise local proportions of modeled phases of the steel and a quantity, wherein the modeled phases of the steel comprise austenite and a first further phase which can transform between austenite and the first further phase, and the initial state and the determined subsequent state for at least one of the volume elements further comprise a local distribution in concentration of a mobile alloy element in the steel; determining which concentrations of the mobile alloy element are present on both sides of a first phase boundary between austenite and the first further phase for the at least one of the volume elements based upon the phase change equation; resolving a first Stefan problem; determining, based on the resolution of the Stefan problem, if the distribution in concentration of the mobile alloy element changes in an austenitic zone of the at least one of the volume elements and if the first phase boundary is displaced; and determining the local proportions of the phases based on the position of the first phase boundary defined by the extent of the displacement of the first phase boundary.