Correlation among grain boundary character,carbide precipitation and deformation in Alloy 690

The correlation among grain boundary character, carbide precipitation and deformation in the grain boundary engineering (GBE) treated Alloy 690 samples with and without pre-deformation aged at 715^oC for 15?h was analysed by scanning electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction. The fraction of low Σ coincidence site lattice (CSL) grain boundary was enhanced by GBE treatment. The fraction of Σ3 grain boundary decreased, and most of Σ9 and Σ27 grain boundaries disappeared in the deformed GBE samples. After aging treatment, bigger carbide precipitated at coherent Σ3 grain boundary, however, most of plate-like carbide precipitated at incoherent Σ3 grain boundary disappeared in the pre-deformed GBE samples. The larger carbide precipitated on the random grain boundary in the 5% pre-deformed sample, while smaller carbide can be observed in the 15% pre-deformed sample. During the in situ tensile test of the aged GBE samples, grain boundary carbide migrated with the grain boundary migration. The slip bands go across Σ3 grain boundary directly, but cannot go across other grain boundaries. The high density of carbide plate precipitated near incoherent Σ3 and Σ9 grain boundaries can resist the evolution of slip bands. Compared to the Σ3 and Σ9 grain boundaries, Σ27 and random grain boundaries are more easily to form microcrack during deformation. The initiation of grain boundary microcrack not only related to the character of grain boundary but also related to the character of nearby grain boundaries. The phase interface of carbide and matrix is another region to initiate the microcrack.     

Twinning structure of M23C6 carbide precipitated at twin-related grain boundaries in Alloy 600

The microstructure features of carbides precipitated at twin boundary and Σ9 grain boundary (GB) in nickel-based Alloy 600 after aging at 715?°C for different time were investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The carbides precipitated at incoherent twin boundary and Σ9 GB were identified as M₂₃C₆. The bar-like carbides grow parallel to each other and into each side of grain nearby incoherent twin boundary, while only growth into one side nearby Σ9 GB is observed. The carbides precipitated at incoherent twin and Σ9 GBs contain twins. The carbides have (1?1?1) _matrix // (1?1?1) _M23C6 orientation relationship with the nearby matrix. Based on the experimental results, the formation of twinning microstructure features in the M₂₃C₆ is discussed.     

The Effect of Triple Junctions on Grain Boundary Motion and Grain Microstructure Evolution

The theory of steady state motion of grain boundary sytems with triple junctions and the main features of such systems are considered. A special technique of in-situ observations and recording of triple junction motion is introduced, and the results of experimental measurements on Zn tricrystals are discussed. It is shown, in particular, that the described method makes it possible to measure the triple junction mobility. It was found that the measured shape of a moving half-loop with a triple junction agrees with theoretical predictions. A transition from triple junction kinetics to grain boundary kinetics was observed. This means that triple junctions can drag boundary motion. It is demonstrated that the microstructural (granular) evolution is slowed down by triple junction drag for any n-sided grain. The second consequence pertains to six-sided grains. For a boundary system with dragging triple junctions there is no unique dividing line between vanishing and growing grains with respect to their topological class anymore, like n = 6 in the Von Neumann-Mullins relation.     

Triple Junction Mobility: A Molecular Dynamics Study

We present a molecular dynamics simulation study of the migration of individual grain boundary triple junctions. The simulation cell was designed to achieve steady state migration. Observations of the triple junction angle and grain boundary profiles confirm that steady state was achieved. The static, equilibrium grain boundary triple junction angles and the dynamic triple junction angles were measured as a function of grain size and grain boundary misorientation. In most cases, the static and dynamic triple junction angles are nearly identical, while substantial deviations were observed for low boundary misorientations. The intrinsic, steady-state triple junction mobilities were extracted from measurements of the rate of change of grain boundary area in simulations with and without triple junctions. The triple junction velocity is found to be inversely proportional to the grain size width. The normalized triple junction mobility exhibits strong variations with boundary misorientation, with strong minima at misorientations corresponding to orientations corresponding to low values of . The triple junctions create substantial drag on grain boundary migration at these low mobility misorientations.     

The stability of triple junctions during the grain boundary diffusion process

The grain boundary diffusion in a system with triple junctions is considered in such a geometry, in which the flows of diffusing atoms meet at the triple line. The solutions of the diffusion equation is given in the frameworks of Fisher's model and under the assumption of quasi-stationary distribution of the diffusing atoms along the grain boundaries. The change of the mechanical equilibrium at the triple junction due to the increase of the concentration of solute atoms is considered. It is shown that under some circumstances the triple junction looses its stability with respect to migration in the direction to the diffusion source. The stability diagrams in the segregation-diffusivity parameter space are plotted.     

Grain Boundary Migration in Metals: Recent Developments

Current research on grain boundary migration in metals is reviewed. For individual grain boundaries the dependence of grain boundary migration on misorientation and impurity content are addressed. Impurity drag theory, extended to include the interaction of adsorbed impurities in the boundary, reasonably accounts quantitatively for the observed concentration dependence of grain boundary mobility. For the first time an experimental study of triple junction motion is presented. The kinetics are quantitatively discussed in terms of a triple junction mobility. Their impact on the kinetics of microstructure evolution during grain growth is outlined.     

On the Origin and Energy of Triple Junction Defects Due to the Finite Length of Grain Boundaries

King [1] established that due to the discrete nature of their dislocation structure, finite length grain boundaries (GBs) in polycrystalline materials possess discrete values of misorientation angle. For a GB with a length that is not a multiple of the GB period, this leads to the formation of specific disclinations at their junctions with neighboring GBs, which compensate the difference between the misorientations of finite and infinite boundaries. In the present paper the origin of these compensating disclinations within GB triple junctions is elucidated and their strength is calculated using the disclination-structural unit model. It is shown that for a GB with length of about 10 nm the junction disclinations can have a strength value not more than 1°, in contrast to King's calculations that indicate much larger values. Elastic energies of triple junctions due to compensating disclinations are calculated for both equilibrium and non-equilibrium structures of a finite length GB, which differ by the position of the grain boundary dislocation network with respect to the junctions. The calculations show that triple junction energies are comparable to dislocation energies, and that compensating disclinations can play a significant role in the properties of nanocrystalline metals with grain sizes less than about 10 nm.     

Misorientation Dependence of the Grain Boundary Energy in Magnesia

Geometric and crystallographic data obtained from a well annealed magnesia polycrystal have been used to specify the five macroscopic degrees of freedom for 4665 grain boundaries. The results indicate, that for this sample, the five parameter grain boundary character space is fully occupied. A finite series of symmetrized spherical harmonics has been used to approximate the misorientation dependence of the relative grain boundary energy. Best fit coefficients for this series were determined by assuming that the interfacial tensions at each triple junction are balanced. The grain boundary energy function shows Read-Shockley behavior at small misorientations and a broad minimum near the 3 misorientation. Furthermore, misorientations about the ‹100› axis create boundaries with relative energies that are less than those created by misorientations about the ‹110› or ‹111› axes.     

γ-α相变中不同晶界特征下铁素体生长形貌的相场模拟

利用多相场模型模拟了奥氏体(γ)-铁素体(α)相变过程中不同晶界特征下铁素体晶粒的形貌与生长动力学.模型中通过能量梯度系数和耦合项系数的协同变化定量表达晶界能与晶界迁移率的各向异性,同时固定相场界面宽度来保证计算精度.模拟结果显示:随着原奥氏体晶界能与铁素体-奥氏体晶界能比值σ_(γ,γ)/σ_(α,γ)的增加,三叉相界面处的平衡角β减小,铁素体晶粒沿原奥氏体晶界与垂直于奥氏体晶界方向的生长速率差变大.铁素体与奥氏体晶粒间的晶粒取向越接近,铁素体生长越缓慢.模拟结果可描述铁素体晶粒生长形貌的多样性,与实验结果符合.     

Theory of Triple Junctions Mobility in Crystals with Impurities

We consider the steady state migration of the triple junction in the tricrystal with impurities which segregate strongly at the grain boundaries. If the mobility of impurities inside grain boundaries is much higher than the rate of impurity atoms jumps from the grain boundary into the bulk, the triple junction migration causes the divergence of the impurity content at the triple point. We show that this divergence can be relaxed either by the non-equilibrium segregation at the growing grain boundary or by the formation of the inclusion of the impurity-rich phase at the triple point. In the former case the dihedral angle at the triple point differs considerably from its equilibrium value and is strongly temperature-dependent. However, the triple junction cannot be described as an individual object with its own mobility. In the latter case of the cavity formation at the triple point the triple junction can be characterized by its own mobility. It is shown that the dependence of the triple junction migration rate on the driving force is approximately linear at the low migration rates and highly nonlinear at high migration rates. Moreover, there is the maximal allowable steady-state migration rate of the system triple junction-inclusion. For the higher migration rates the jerky motion of the triple junction occurs. Both models are in a good agreement with the experimental data.     

具有人工晶界的Sr2FeMoO6粉末磁电阻的温度特性

利用固相反应合成了纯相的Sr2FeMoO6多晶块体，并通过机械球磨方法引入了人工晶界，研究了具有此种晶界的Sr2FeMoO6粉末磁电阻的温度特性．X射线衍射分析表明，机械球磨过程没有改变Sr2FeMoO6的晶体结构，但却在晶粒间界处引入了SrMoO4绝缘相，其量随着球磨时间的增加而增加．不同磁场下的磁电阻测量结果表明，由于一定量SrMoO4绝缘相的存在，晶粒间的绝缘隧穿势垒得到加强，更有利于自旋极化电子在晶粒间的隧穿，从而提高了Sr2FeMoO6多晶粉末的低温磁电阻值．然而随着温度的升高，磁电阻值迅速下降，表现出较强的温度依赖关系．这种现象是由于随着温度的升高，电子在晶界局域态间的非弹性跳跃逐渐增强引起的，而晶界局域态是由在晶界附近的大量缺陷构成．分析表明，晶界状态对Sr2FeMoO6多晶粉末磁电阻的温度特性有十分重要的影响．     

Dependence of grain boundary character distribution on the initial grain size of 304 austenitic stainless steel

Abstract

In order to study the dependence of the grain boundary character distributions (GBCD) on the grain size, annealing treatment was carried out on 304 austenitic stainless steel with different initial grain sizes. The evolution of the GBCD was analysed by electron backscatter diffraction. The experimental results showed that abnormal grain growth (AGG) occurred when grain size was small. With a smaller initial grain size, the number density of abnormally large grains and the fraction of low-Σ CSL boundaries increased but the size of abnormally large grains decreased and the random boundaries presented a continuous network. With a larger initial grain size, the fraction of low-Σ CSL boundaries also increased as well as the size of abnormally large grains but the number density of abnormally large grains decreased and the connectivity of random boundary network was disrupted by low-Σ CSL boundaries, especially Σ3ⁿ (n = 1, 2, 3) boundaries. However, with a very large initial grain size, normal grain growth (NGG) occurred, which had no effect on the fraction of low-Σ CSL boundaries and the connectivity of random boundary network.     

Significant decrease in interfacial energy of grain boundary through serrated grain boundary transition

The mechanism of serrated grain boundary formation and its effect on liquation behaviour have been studied in a wrought nickel-based superalloy – Alloy 263. It was newly discovered that grain boundaries are considerably serrated in the absence of γ?′-phase or M₂₃C₆ at the grain boundaries. An electron energy-loss spectroscopy study suggests that serration is triggered by the discontinuous segregation of C and Cr atoms at grain boundaries for the purpose of relieving the excessive elastic strain energy. The grain boundaries serrate to have specific segments approaching one {111} low-index plane at a boundary so that the interfacial free energy of the grain boundary can be decreased, which may be responsible for the driving force of the serration. The serrated grain boundaries effectively suppress grain coarsening and are highly resistant to liquation due to their lower wettability resulting from a lower interfacial energy of the grain boundary.     

Stability of travelling wave solutions for coupled surface and grain boundary motion

We investigate the spectral stability of the travelling wave solution for the coupled motion of a free surface and grain boundary that arises in materials science. In this problem a grain boundary, which separates two materials that are identical except for their crystalline orientation, evolves according to mean curvature. At a triple junction, this boundary meets the free surfaces of the two crystals, which move according to surface diffusion. The model is known to possess a unique travelling wave solution. We study the linearization about the wave, which necessarily includes a free boundary at the location of the triple junction. This makes the analysis more complex than that of standard travelling waves, and we discuss how existing theory applies in this context. Furthermore, we compute numerically the associated point spectrum by restricting the problem to a finite computational domain with appropriate physical boundary conditions. Numerical results strongly suggest that the two-dimensional wave is stable with respect to both two- and three-dimensional perturbations.     

Correlation of Grain Boundary Character with Wetting Behavior

Wetting of grain boundaries (GB's) by liquid Cu in an Fe-30wt%Mn-10wt%Cu alloy has been studied as a function of the five macroscopic degrees of freedom (DoF's) of grain boundary character. These were chosen to consist of two grain boundary normals (or bounding planes) and a twist angle. The five DoF's of 975 GB's were determined by electron backscattering patterns and serial sectioning, after annealing at 1120°C, and each GB was categorized as being either wet, dry, or mixed (i.e. partly wet and partly dry). Interpretation of the wetting behavior by means of a model of GB energy, which includes consideration of the five macroscopic DoF's, led to correct predictions of wet and dry behavior in 80% of the GB's studied.     

Phase-field study of spinodal decomposition under effect of grain boundary

Grain boundary directed spinodal decomposition has a substantial effect on the microstructure evolution and properties of polycrystalline alloys. The morphological selection mechanism of spinodal decomposition at grain boundaries is a major challenge to reveal, and remains elusive so far. In this work, the effect of grain boundaries on spinodal decomposition is investigated by using the phase-field model. The simulation results indicate that the spinodal morphology at the grain boundary is anisotropic bicontinuous microstructures different from the isotropic continuous microstructures of spinodal decomposition in the bulk phase. Moreover, at grain boundaries with higher energy, the decomposed phases are alternating α/β layers that are parallel to the grain boundary. On the contrary, alternating α/β layers are perpendicular to the grain boundary.     

The Effect of Voltage Bias on the EBIC Contrast Present at Varistor Grain Boundaries

Conductive mode scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies of electrically active grain boundaries in a bismuth + antimony doped zinc oxide based varistor have been carried out using the grain boundary—electron beam induced current (GB-EBIC) configuration. EBIC contrast consistent with negatively charged grain boundary planes flanked by compensating positively charged space-charge regions was found at all the grain boundaries investigated. Grain boundaries showing both type I (symmetric) and type II (asymmetric) EBIC contrast were identified and the effect of an applied voltage bias on the EBIC contrast was studied. It was found that, by applying a small voltage bias of around ±30 mV to a grain boundary showing type I contrast, the EBIC signal on either side of the grain boundary could be suppressed.Equally, when a small voltage bias of appropriate polarity was applied to a grain boundary showing type II contrast, an electrically symmetrical grain boundary barrier structure was restored indicating that these interfaces can show electrical activity in the space-charge regions on both sides of the grain boundary plane and demonstrating a common origin for types I and II contrast.     

Grain Boundary Wetting Statistic in Zn/Ga System and its Application to Grain Boundary Energy Spectrum Estimation

The grain boundary statistic in zinc polycrystals in contact with saturated Ga(Zn) melt has been studied. The misorientation angle distributions for zinc thin foil and zinc plates were obtained. The influence of the misorientation angle value on the wetting probability p of grain boundaries was observed. The grain boundary energy distribution parameters were obtained by using the p() relationship. The dihedral angles in triple lines of non-wetted zinc samples were also measured and their distribution was used to obtain the grain boundary energy distribution function. The parameters obtained by two different methods correspond to one other.