Please, can anybody send a link (if it exists) where I can learn what is the difference between FactSage, ThermoCalc or Pandat (or others) when calculating phase diagrams? Or to summarize the pros and cons.
I did not find any comparison or list of advantages or disadvantages of these programs. I found only info that each soft is based on CALPHAD (and each soft is the best one).
Thanks.
Miro.
Dear Miroslav Boca,
In my opinion, the significant differences between commercialized CALPHAD-method based software are their "databases" and "user interfaces".
First of all, you need to check the sufficiency of each software's database related with your study. You may find summary of databases for each software on their webpages;
https://www.crct.polymtl.ca/fact/documentation/
https://thermocalc.com/content/uploads/Brochures_and_Flyers/Current/marketing-database-overview.pdf
I haven't had a chance to use Pandat but I can clearly say that both FactSage and ThermoCalc have essential compounds, solutions, multicomponents, etc. for steelmaking studies, so I can recommend both of them for the calculations in this field.
The other issue is user interfaces, which is a matter of opinion and depend on the expectation of user. Therefore it varies from person-to-person. For example, most people think that ThermoCalc has a more user-friendly interface compared with the FactSage, but it is just the contrary, as for me. So, it would be better if you try demo versions of these software.
Kind regards,
Emre
Dear colleagues,
I agree with the previous comment.
The software should be choosen as a function of materials you are working on. This choice is mainly driven by the databases.
Do not forget that open source Gibbs energy minimizers are also available : Open Calphad, Py Calphad, Thermochimica...
See the paper by Markus Piro:
https://mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/thermo/thermo-01-00018/article_deploy/thermo-01-00018.pdf?version=1631170144
Regards
I agree with all the above comments, especially in what concerns the choice of the set of databases that match your application. All these software packages are based on essentially the same methodology. In terms of user friendliness, I tend to give a preference to Factsage. Please notice that all these software packages can do much more than calculating phase diagrams.
This paper shows a comparison for a specific situation.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03019233.2020.1827672
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