Interactions between grain boundary and compositional domain boundary during spinodal decomposition in nanocrystalline alloys

Due to the large grain boundary (GB) volume fraction in nanocrystalline materials, interactions between GB and compositional domain boundary (CDB) play an important role in determining the nanoscale-modulated domain structures during spinodal decomposition. In the present paper, the phase field crystal model is employed to investigate the interactions between GB and CDB. Simulation results show that CDB coarsening can drive the GB migration and bring the impingement of particles with different orientations; the large volume fraction of GB can increase the dislocation volume fraction in CDBs but does not change its proportion in the whole defects number; the crossover point of the coarsening dynamic comes from the block effect of GB with large volume fraction.     

Isotropic averaging for cell-dynamical-system simulation of spinodal decomposition

Formulae have been developed for the isotropic averagings in two and three dimensions. Averagings are employed in the cell-dynamical-system simulation of spinodal decomposition for inter-cell coupling. The averagings used in earlier works on spinodal decomposition have been discussed.     

A soluble kinetic model for spinodal decomposition

We compare the two-dimensional voter model with approximate theories for spinodal decomposition. The cluster size distribution and the short-time dynamics of the voter model are studied by means of a Monte Carlo simulation. The time-dependent structure factor and the long-time scaling of the voter dynamics are known analytically.This paper is dedicated to Nico van Kampen on the occasion of his 67th birthday.     

Early stages of decomposition of alloys (spinodal or nucleation)

Progress in theory and experiment on the early stage of decomposition of alloys is reviewed. In the first half of this paper, theoretical treatments on decomposition of alloys by spinodal and nucleation mechanism and also continuum theories and the discrete lattice theories are comparatively reviewed. In the latter half of this paper, experimental results on Al-Zn, Ni-Al, Cu-Co and Al-Ag alloys are discussed.     

调幅分解及形核对相分离作用机理研究

以SCN-30wt%H₂O, SCN-50 wt%H₂O和SCN-80 wt%H₂O三组透明体系, 在恒温场下实现了形核和调幅分解两种过程; 在此基础上, 施加温度梯度, 研究了第二相液滴的迁移运动规律. 结果表明, 相分离在临界成分体系以调幅分解方式进行, 在另外两种体系中以形核长大方式进行; 调幅分解与形核过程相比, 反应进行得更快, 液滴长大到同一尺寸所需时间仅为形核所需时间的1/3—1/2. 且临界成分体系有更大的不混溶间隙, 所以第二相液滴具有更多迁移时间, 揭示了偏晶体系相分离过程中在临界成分处易获得壳-核组织的内在机理. 在单向温度场中, 测量了不同半径的液滴迁移速率, 并且与理论Marangoni迁移速率值作比较, 发现液滴迁移速率和Marangoni理论迁移速率符合较好. 说明了在较好地抑制自然对流条件下Marangoni迁移对于相分离过程起主要作用.     

Phase-field study for the splitting behaviour of precipitate under applied stress

This paper employs the phase-field method to study the splitting behaviour of a single coherent particle under an applied uniaxiai stress. It finds that the splitting behaviour is greatly influenced by the initial shape of precipitates, the bulk free energy condition, the degree of supersaturation and the ratio of the interfacial energy to the elastic strain energy, etc. The simulated results demonstrate that the aspect ratio of the particle determines whether the splitting can occur and how many split plates can be obtained. The splitting of particle is sensitive to the interracial energy, i.e. the splitting becomes more and more difficult with increasing the ratio of the interracial energy to the elastic strain energy. And increasing the magnitude of the applied stress is favourable to the splitting. The splitting process is also explained from the point of view of the corresponding diffusion potential.     

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.     

The nonlinear Cahn-Hilliard equation: Transition from spinodal decomposition to nucleation behavior

The behavior of the nonlinear Cahn-Hilliard equation for asymmetric systems,c _t =²(±c+Bc ²+c ³-² c) within the unstable subspinodal region is explored. Energy considerations and amplitude equation methods are employed. Evidence is given for a transition from periodically structuredspinodal behavior to nucleation behavior somewhere within the traditional spinodal. A mechanism for describing a time-dependent lengthening of the dominant wavelength is explored.     

多晶材料晶粒生长粗化过程的相场方法模拟

基于采用晶体有序化程度参量ψ和晶体学取向θ来表示多晶粒结构的相场模型,利用自适应有限元方法模拟了多晶材料等温过程中的晶粒粗化现象.模拟结果显示,在曲率作用下,通过晶界迁移弯曲晶界逐渐平直化,小晶粒逐渐被大晶粒吞并,当晶界之间的取向差较小时,满足一定能量和几何条件的两晶粒在界面能作用下会发生转动,合并为单个晶粒.模拟结果与实验结果符合较好.因此,该相场模型可以很好地用来模拟固态相变中多晶材料的生长粗化等现象. 关键词： 相场 晶界迁移 晶粒转动 粗化     

Grain boundary interdiffusion in the case of concentration-dependent grain boundary diffusion coefficient

The grain boundary diffusion in a binary system which exhibits a grain boundary phase transition is considered in the framework of Fisher's model. The kinetic law of the growth of the grain boundary phase and the distribution of the diffusant near the grain boundary are calculated. The method of determining of the concentration dependence of the grain boundary diffusion coefficient from the experimentally measured penetration profiles of the diffusant along the grain boundaries is suggested. The experimental results on Zn diffusion in Fe(Si) bicrystals, Ni diffusion in Cu bicrystals and grain boundary grooving in Al in the presence of liquid In are discussed in light of the suggested model.     

Phase field simulation of spinodal decomposition under external magnetic field

A computational model was developed to simulate the spinodal decomposition process of ferromagnetic alloys under an external magnetic field. In this model, the temporal evolution of the modulated structure was described by a phase field method, and the magnetic configuration was solved by using a micromagnetic method. The spinodal decomposition and coarsening processes of a single magnetic particle and an A-B hypothetical system under an external magnetic field were simulated using the proposed model. The simulation results show that the precipitated particles were elongated along the direction of the external magnetic field. The dependence of the modulated structure of an A-B hypothetic system on external magnetic field is much more sensitive than that of the single particle structure. The simulation results also demonstrate that the modulation of the external magnetic field is effective even if the spinodal decomposition has been completed and a stable modulated structure was formed.     

第一性原理方法研究He掺杂Al晶界力学性质

基于密度泛函理论方法,本文开展了氦掺杂AlΣ3((111)/180°)晶界数值模拟拉伸试验.计算结果表明,He在晶界中最低杂质形成能为2.942 eV,偏析到晶界的偏析能为0.085 eV;在拉伸条件下,清洁Σ3晶界的理论拉伸强度为9.65 GPa,拉伸断裂从晶界界面开始;而He掺杂后,晶界的理论拉伸强度下降到7.14 GPa,在断裂发生前应力曲线中出现平台效应,拉伸断裂从包含He杂质的界面开始.通过对比键长和电荷密度分布,本文认为He的满壳层电子结构一方面导致了He与Al之间 关键词： He 晶界 第一性原理计算 力学性质     

多晶凝固及后续调幅分解过程的晶体相场法模拟

采用晶体相场模型,模拟了二元合金多晶凝固及后续调幅分解全过程.结果表明,晶体相场模型可完整再现包括形核、生长、粗化、晶界形成等多晶生长过程以及圆满完成从凝固到调幅分解的多相变过程. 关键词： 晶体相场模型 多晶凝固 调幅分解 组织演化     

Simulation of grain boundary effect on characteristics of ZnO thin film transistor by considering the location and orientation of grain boundary

The grain boundaries (GBs) have a strong effect on the electric properties of ZnO thin film transistors (TFTs). A novel grain boundary model was developed to analyse the effect. The model was characterized with different angles between the orientation of the grain boundary and the channel direction. The potential barriers formed by the grain boundaries increase with the increase of the grain boundary angle, so the degradation of the transistor characteristics increases. When a grain boundary is close to the drain edge, the potential barrier height reduces, so the electric properties were improved.     

不同对称性下晶界结构演化及微观机理的晶体相场法研究

采用晶体相场法研究了单轴拉伸下三角相双晶变形过程及机理, 并重点分析了小角对称与非对称晶界和大角对称与非对称晶界在变形过程中的演化及微观机理, 变形过程中应力方向与初始晶界方向平行. 结果表明, 小角对称晶界由柏氏矢量夹角呈60°的两种刃型位错组成, 变形过程中不同类型的位错运动方向相反, 并各自与另一晶界上同一类型位错相互吸引以致部分位错发生湮没; 小角非对称晶界上的位错类型单一, 在应力作用下先沿水平方向攀移, 后各自分解成柏氏矢量约呈120°的两位错, 并通过位错运动和湮没最终形成理想单晶; 大角晶界在应力的作用下先保持水平状态而后锯齿化并发射位错, 伴随着位错运动和湮没, 最终大角非对称晶界发生分解, 而大角对称晶界则重新平直化, 表明大角对称晶界比大角非对称晶界更稳定, 这与实验和分子动力学模拟结果一致. 关键词： 晶体相场 双晶 晶界 对称性     

Phase-field study of the second phase particle effect on texture evolution of polycrystalline material

The second phase particle effect on texture evolution of polycrystalline material is studied through phase-field method. A unique field variable is introduced into the phase-field model to represent the second phase particles. Elastic interaction between particles and grains is also considered. Results indicate that in the presence of second phase particles the average particle diameter turns smaller than in the absence of these particles and retards texture formation by pinning effect. The second phase particles change the strain energy profile, which tremendously influences the pinning effect.     

Theory of grain boundary motion during high-temperature DIGM

A theory of diffusion induced grain boundary migration (DIGM) is presented for high temperatures where volume diffusion of solute atoms out of the grain boundary is important. It is shown that due to the presence of a gradient term in the expression for the free energy of solid solution, even a relatively small discontinuity in the solute distribution across the gain boundary provides enough driving force for grain boundary migration. From the expression obtained for the grain boundary velocity the coefficient for the Ni diffusion across the grain boundaries in a Cu(Ni) polycrystal has been estimated.     

Non-linear dynamics of spinodal decomposition

We develop a new technique describing the non linear growth of interfaces. We apply this analytical approach to the one dimensional Cahn-Hilliard equation. The dynamics is captured through a solvability condition performed over a particular family of quasi-static solutions. The main result is that the dynamics along this particular class of solutions can be expressed in terms of a simple ordinary differential equation. The density profile of the stationary regime found at the end of the non-linear growth is also well characterized. Numerical simulations are compared in a satisfactory way with the analytical results through three different fitting methods and asymptotic dynamics are well recovered, even far from the region where the approximations hold. Received 16 October 2001 / Received in final form 15 March 2002 Published online 2 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: josseran@lmm.jussieu.fr RID="b" ID="b"UMR CNRS 7607     

Effect of grain boundary sliding on the toughness of ultrafine grain structure steel: A molecular dynamics simulation study

Molecular dynamics simulations are carried out to investigate the mechanisms of low-temperature impact toughness of the ultrafine grain structure steel. The simulation results suggest that the sliding of the {001}/{110} type and {110}/{111} type grain boundary can improve the impact toughness. Then, the mechanism of grain boundary sliding is studied and it is found that the motion of dislocations along the grain boundary is the underlying cause of the grain boundary sliding. Finally, the sliding of the grain boundary is analyzed from the standpoint of the energy. We conclude that the measures which can increase the quantity of the {001}/{110} type and {110}/{111} type grain boundary and elongate the free gliding distance of dislocations along these grain boundaries will improve the low-temperature impact toughness of the ultrafine grain structure steel.     

An atomic scale characterization of coupled grain boundary motion in silicon bicrystals

The mechanical response of symmetric tilt grain boundaries (GBs) in silicon bicrystals under shear loading are characterized using molecular dynamics simulations. It is seen that under shear, high-angle GBs namely Σ5 and Σ13 having a rotation axis [0 0 1] demonstrate coupled GB motion, such that the displacement of grains parallel to the GB interface is accompanied by normal GB motion. An atomic-scale characterization revealed that concerted rotations of silicon tetrahedra within the GB are the primary mechanisms leading to the coupled GB motion. Interestingly, so far, this phenomenon has only been examined in detail for metallic systems. A distinguishing feature of the coupled GB motion observed for the silicon symmetric tilt bicrystals as compared to metallic bicrystals is the fact that in the absence of shear, spontaneous coupled motion is not observed at high temperatures.