Phase-field crystal simulation of the evolution of voids in polycrystalline Au–Al bonds with elastic interaction and the Kirkendall effect

Abstract

In this paper, the modified phase-field crystal (MPFC) model is employed to study the evolution of Kirkendall voids in polycrystalline Au–Al bonds under mechanical loading. The MPFC model can simulate the structural evolution of deformed pure nanocrystalline materials considering instantaneous elastic interactions. Therefore, coupling a concentration field evolved by the Cahn-Hilliard equation with a density field evolved by the existing MPFC model makes it possible to study the phase transformation of a binary system in the presence of mechanical deformation. Using this modified model, we focus on the morphology evolution of the voids in Au–Al bonds under different mechanical loadings. The semi-implicit Fourier spectral algorithm is applied to solve the six-order coupling dynamics equations. The Kirkendall porosity of the diffusion couple is computed and analyzed. The effects of quasi-static and cyclic axial tensile loads on the morphology of voids, and porosity of the system are investigated. It is found that the morphology of Kirkendall voids that result from applying a quasi-static load is different from those that result from applying a cyclic load.