The effects of vacancy depletion and solute-atom depletion upon the evolution of the precipitation-free zone near to a grain boundary were examined by using Monte Carlo simulations and Kawasaki dynamics. Solute depletion caused by the precipitation of a stable phase at grain boundaries led to a well-defined precipitation-free zone whose width grew according to a t1/2 power law. The average size of the precipitates near to the precipitation-free zone boundary did not change significantly from that within the grain. Vacancy depletion did not give a well-defined precipitation-free zone boundary, and the average size of the precipitates changed gradually as a function of distance from the boundary.

The Effects of Solute and Vacancy Depletion on the Formation of Precipitation-Free Zone in a Model Binary Alloy Examined by a Monte Carlo Simulation. H.Okuda, S.Ochiai: Materials Transactions, 2004, 45[5], 1455-60