The sliding rate and stress distribution on the boundary was evaluated for the case where the sliding of a grain boundary containing particles was accommodated by grain-boundary diffusion, by taking the particle rotation and the intrinsic boundary viscosity into account. The particle rotation enhanced the sliding rate, and could occur in the reverse direction with respect to the grain-boundary sliding. An investigation was made of the sliding behavior for various particle shapes and boundary viscosities. A similar analysis was also conducted for the shear deformation of regular hexagonal grains.

Viscous Grain-Boundary Sliding with Rotating Particles or Grains. B.N.Kim, K.Hiraga, K.Morita, H.Yoshida, B.W.Ahn: Acta Materialia, 2009, 57[19], 5730-8