Principles of Microstructural Design in Two-Phase Systems

Abstract

When a polycrystal is in chemical equilibrium, the microstructure evolves as a result of grain growth under the capillary driving force arising from the interface curvature. As the growth rate of an individual grain is the product of the interface mobility and the driving force, the growth of the grain can be controlled by changing these two parameters. According to crystal growth theories, the growth of a crystal with a rough interface is governed by diffusion and its interface mobility is constant. In-contrast, the growth of a crystal with faceted interfaces is governed by the interface reaction and diffusion for driving forces below and above a critical value, respectively. As the growth rate is nonlinear for the regime of interface reaction control, the grain growth is nonstationary with annealing time. Calculations reveal that the types of nonstationary growth behavior including pseudo-normal, abnormal, and stationary are governed by the relative value of the maximum driving force, gmax, to the critical driving force for appreciable growth, gc. Recent experimental observations showing the effects of critical processing parameters on microstructural development also support the theoretical prediction. The principles of microstructural design are deduced in terms of the coupling effects of gmax and gc.