Microstructural Simulation of Grain Growth in Two-phase Polycrystalline Materials

A quantity of vital engineering materials is example of two-phase
materials in which each phase may be polycrystalline. In numerous cases, both
phases of these materials may undergo grain growth which may affect their
electrical and mechanical properties. Therefor, substantial efforts have been
devoted to understand the microstructural evolution of polycrystals to improve
their performance in microelectronic industries. Numerical method based on
Monte Carlo Potts model is used to investigate microstructural evolution of
two-phase polycrystalline materials in which grain growth in both cases is
controlled by grain boundary diffusion (n=4). It is shown that the
microstructural evolution of two-phase polycrystals eventually reaches an
asymptotic regime in which grain growth in both phases is coupled due to
Zener pinning and obeys a power-law relationship d~t1/n . This conclusion is
valid in a broad parameter range and is compatible with theoretical
predictions and laboratory experiments.