Discontinuous Finite Element Modeling of Grain Growth Behavior in Various Anisotropy of Surface Energy and Interface Mobility

Abstract

In this paper, a discontinuous finite element solution to the phase-field equations for the microstructure evolution of polycrystalline material is presented. The mathematical formulation and numerical implementation are discussed. Numerical studies are conducted on the interactions between multiple grain seeds with different orientations during solidification. The discontinuous numerical scheme is validated by the results reported in literature. The combined impacts from free surface energy and interface mobility on the microstructure formation of interface are investigated using the presented model. Results show that the anisotropy of surface energy and mobility play dominant roles in the growth rate of grains with different orientation, and hence determine the final interface morphology of crystals.