Heterogeneities of grain boundary arrangement in polycrystals

Data on mutual arrangements of different types of grain boundaries in polycrystals are presented. The heterogeneity in grain boundary distribution, namely, the effect of gathering low-angle or special tilt grain boundaries is found in pure aluminum thin films, in sheets of Fe-3% Si alloy and in Al₂O₃ doped with MgO or MgO and Y₂O₃. The local texture, i.e., formation of colonies or clusters of close-oriented grains is considered as a reason of this heterogeneity. The influences of grain boundary gathering on the transport properties of polycrystals and on the crack propagation are discussed. A new concept of effective grain size is suggested to analyze the relationship between material microstructures and material properties.