Papers by Keyword: Grain Boundary Migration

Abstract: A novel set-up developed to continuously observe and measure stress driven grain boundary migration is presented. A commercially available tensile/compression SEM unit was utilized for in-situ observations of mechanically loaded samples at elevated temperatures up to 850°C by recording orientation contrast images of bicrystal surfaces. Two sample holders for application of a shear stress to the boundary in bicrystals of different geometry were designed and fabricated. The results of first measurements are presented.

Abstract: Stress induced grain boundary migration was experimentally investigated in aluminum bicrystals. Migration of planar symmetrical <100> and <111> tilt boundaries under a shear stress was observed to be accompanied by a lateral translation of the adjacent grains. This coupling proved to be the typical migration mode for all investigated boundaries, no matter whether low-or high angle, low Σ CSL coincidence or non-coincidence boundary. The migration-shear coupling was also observed for asymmetrical tilt boundaries. Measurements of the temperature dependence of coupled boundary migration revealed that there is a specific misorientation dependence of the migration activation parameters. Contrary to expectations, a high angle Σ7 tilt boundary moved under an applied stress, but produced practically no shear during its migration.

Abstract: Uniaxial compression tests were conducted on Al-2.3mass%Cu and Al-4.6mass%Cu alloys under strain rates and temperatures ranging from 1.0×10^-4s^-1 to 5.0×10^-2s^-1 and 723K to 803K, respectively. Texture measurements reveal that main component of the fiber texture changes from {001} + {011} to {001} depending on the deformation conditions. EBSD measurements reveal that grain structure separates into large grains without subgrains and small and large grains with subgrains after the deformation at 803K under a strain rate of 5.0×10^-2s^-1 up to a strain of -1.0 in Al-4.6massCu alloy.

Abstract: Texture formation during uniaxial compression at elevated temperatures in Fe-3mass%Si and 430 stainless steel is studied. The behavior is analyzed in relating to the understanding on the texture development in Al-Mg solid solution alloy at high temperatures. It is found that the fraction of {001} (compression plane) is much higher than that of {111} both in Fe-3%Si and 430 steel, which is different from the deformation at room temperature. In Fe-3%Si, the fraction of {001} becomes higher at higher temperatures and with lower strain rates. EBSD measurement suggests that the development of {001} is attributed to the preferential growth of {001} oriented grains. In the case of 430 steel, no obvious deformation condition dependence of {001} development is seen, probably due to the fine particles pinning the grain boundaries.

Abstract: Discontinuous precipitation is a solid-state transformation involving the decomposition of a supersaturated matrix into two phases arranged periodically as alternate lamellae or rods, which is accompanied by a grain boundary migration. The rate-limiting step of this process is supposed to be boundary diffusion of solute along grain boundaries. However, volume diffusion is generally present as well, and its influence on the occurrence of the discontinuous precipitation reaction is at present not well understood. We investigate this problem using a phase-field model in which the bulk diffusivity, surface diffusivity and grain boundary mobility can all be varied independently. The main results are that (i) when volume diffusion is the dominant mechanism, a close analogy is observed between the precipitate growth and the growth of a crystalline finger in a channel, and (ii) both the geometry of the precipitate’s tip and the growth velocity are strongly influenced by the relative magnitudes of the bulk and surface diffusivities as well as by the grain boundary mobility. Steady-state growth is possible only for a finite range of precipitate spacings, which is limited for low spacings by a fold singularity and for large spacings by an oscillatory or a tip-splitting instability. The values of these limits are found to depend on the supersaturation as well as on the ratio of bulk and surface diffusivities.

Abstract: In this study, solid state diffusion welding behavior of titanium alloys was investigated. Formation mechanism of diffusion welding process in six stages is proposed, which is based on cavitation process. The specimens were diffusion welded at elevated temperature under a hydrostatic pressure in an inert environment and the results confirmed the formation mechanism at each corresponding stage. This includes clear evidence of void closure and grain boundary migration at the final stage.

Abstract: The precipitation behaviors of fine MnS and other second phase particles in hot band, decarburized sheet and 875 oC annealed sheet before secondary recrystallization of conventional grain oriented electrical steel were investigated. It is indicated that the small particles as inhibitors would dissolve in the matrix during cold rolling, and precipitate again in following annealing treatment. The particles inside grains would keep retarding the grain boundary migration. It was found that the particle densities in all grains were quite different before initiation of secondary recrystallization and might be grain orientation dependent, in which Goss grains showed higher particle density. It is expected that the grain boundaries would move towards the grains with lower particle density more easily and promote the rapid growth of Goss grains. The reason for difference of particle densities in different grains is quite complicated. The influence of possible different dislocation densities and the different precipitation behaviors of second phase particles are mentioned.

Abstract: Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) was conducted at room temperature to a high strain level of ~24 in high purity copper. Tensile testing, Transition Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) were used to characterize the microstructure and property evolution with the increase of ECAP strain. It was found that tensile yield strength and the stored energy increases upon ECAP processing until a peak reached at 8~12 passes of ECAP, and their saturation was observed at higher ECAP passes. Continuous recrystallization phenomenon in microstructure was observed, where dislocation free crystallites with large misorientation to their surrounding matrix and smaller than the nuclei for discontinuous recrystallization were observed embodied in the matrix of deformed structure with high dislocation density. A two-step process was observed for the formation of these small crystallites, first the condensing of dislocation tangles into a narrow boundary, mostly low angle boundary; And second local migration (in sub-micrometer range) of short grain boundaries, in strong contrast to the dramatic migration of long large angle grain boundaries during discontinuous recrystallization to swallow the deformed matrix, was observed leading to vanish of small subgrains.

Abstract: Nanomaterials, due to their fine grain sizes, exhibit enhanced mechanical properties. However, their low stability at also relatively low temperatures might limit their future applications. In the present work, a statistical model has been proposed in order to study grain growth processes in nanomaterials. The Hillert’s approach has been extended by incorporating two mechanisms of growth for an individual grain: grain boundary migration – GBM - (diffusion based - continuous) and grain-rotation coalescence – GRC - (discontinuous). The influence of the grain size distribution on the grain growth process has been studied. The results show that the inclusion of GRC mechanisms results in a departure from the parabolic law of grain growth. Such a deviation has also been observed experimentally, especially in nanomaterials. The results reveal that grain growth rate increases with higher dispersion of the fine grains and the rotation mechanism can initiate growth even with low dispersion. This causes a steady increase in the coefficient of variation which, after some time interval, decays to homogeneity. This paper also demonstrates that the average rotation mobility which is a consequence of the varying misorientation angle contributes up to about 50% of the overall average boundary mobility.

Abstract: In this study a series of 3D models for curved [100] grain boundaries (GBs) in pure α-iron have been constructed. Each model consisted of a spherical grain, with an initial size of about 9 nm, surrounded by a large single-crystal. Different orientations have been assigned to the grain and the matrix in order to obtain interfaces with misorientation angles in the range of 5-45 degrees in steps of 5 degrees. The molecular dynamics with Embedded Atom Method (EAM) potential have been performed for investigation of the temporal changes in GB migration and grain rotations at temperature of 1000 K. The relationship between GB misorientation and its mobility has been found. It was also discovered that the density of the material decreases with a reduction of GB area. The effect of a triple junction on the interface motion has been also studied by introducing a bi-crystal matrix instead of a singlecrystal one. The results are discussed in terms of grain growth investigations in nanometals.