A modular JSON schema for representing the spatial and temporal evolution of microstructures in computational materials-science workflows.
Part of the MiMeDat ecosystem.
For the complete modular metadata schema, see the main
MiMeDat Schema repository.
The MiMeDat Microstructure Module defines how microstructural states are represented inside the MiMeDat schema.
It focuses on the microstructure as an evolving, structured data object rather than as a single static input or solver-specific output. The module provides a schema-level representation for storing, validating, exchanging, and reusing microstructure information independently of the software used to generate it.
The current implementation focuses on structured-grid, voxelized microstructures and supports:
- time-ordered microstructure snapshots,
- representative volume element/grid information,
- grain-level descriptors,
- voxel-level descriptors,
- field quantities associated with evolving microstructural states.
The Microstructure Module represents microstructure evolution as an ordered array of snapshots. Each snapshot describes one microstructural state at a specific time or workflow step.
The module follows the hierarchy:
Microstructure Module
│
├── Snapshot
│ ├── id
│ ├── time
│ ├── grid
│ ├── grains
│ └── voxels
│
├── Snapshot
│ └── ...
│
└── ...
This structure allows the module to capture both the spatial organization of one microstructure state and its temporal evolution across multiple snapshots.
Each snapshot is organized into three complementary levels.
| Level | Description |
|---|---|
| Grid | Describes the spatial frame of the snapshot, including grid status, physical size, and spacing. |
| Grains | Stores grain-wise information such as grain identifiers, phase identifiers, orientations, grain volumes, and optional parent-grain relationships. |
| Voxels | Stores voxel-wise information such as voxel identifiers, grain and phase membership, centroid coordinates, voxel indices, orientations, voxel volumes, and optional field quantities. |
Together, these levels make the microstructure readable at both the grain-resolved and voxel-resolved scale.
The Microstructure Module schema is provided in this repository as:
Microstructure_Module.json
The schema defines:
- required and optional fields,
- object hierarchy,
- accepted data types,
- snapshot structure,
- grid, grain, and voxel descriptors,
- validation rules for schema-conformant microstructure objects.
The schema follows the JSON Schema standard and can be checked using any compatible JSON Schema validator.
Example data objects will be added to demonstrate how the Microstructure Module can be used in practice.
Planned examples include:
| Example | Description |
|---|---|
| Initial microstructure | A single undeformed structured-grid microstructure. |
| Microstructure evolution | A multi-snapshot object representing temporal evolution. |
| Grain-resolved example | A snapshot emphasizing grain identifiers, phases, orientations, and grain volumes. |
| Voxel-resolved example | A snapshot emphasizing voxel IDs, centroid coordinates, grain membership, phase membership, and field data. |
Main MiMeDat schema
microstructure_sensitive_mechanical_metadata_schema.json
Microstructure Module schema
Microstructure_Module.json
Main MiMeDat Schema repository:
https://github.com/YousefRezek/MiMeDat-Schema
Microstructure Module repository:
https://github.com/YousefRezek/MiMeDat-Microstructure-Module
Yousef Rezek, Ronak Shoghi, Alexander Hartmaier
MiMeDat: A Modular, Workflow-Centric, Code-Agnostic Schema for FAIR Data Objects Capturing Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical Data in Multi-Tool Processing–Structure–Properties Workflows
The MiMeDat schema is under active development. The schema, documentation, and accompanying publication may evolve as the project progresses.
Yousef Rezek
Alexander Hartmaier
Institute for Computational Materials Engineering (ICAMS)
Ruhr University Bochum
Germany
Yousef Rezek
📧 yousef.rezek@rub.de
This repository is distributed under the license provided with the project.