Simulations of anisotropic grain growth in single phase materials using Q-state Monte Carlo

Abstract

The Q-state Monte Carlo, Potts model is used to investigate 2D, anisotropic, grain growth in single-phase materials using hexagonal grain elements. While many factors can affect the microstructure anisotropy, this research focusses on the role played by grain boundary energy anisotropy. Specifically, for each computed grain orientation and surface normal, the corresponding surface energy is assigned through a mapping process using Wulff plots. Various Wulff plot geometries are considered, and their respective impact on the grain growth anisotropy is evaluated. In addition to demonstrating the utility of this method for use with anisotropic grain growth models, this work advances the state of the art by providing a means of quantifying the degree of anisotropy through the use of statistics generated by frequency distributions of normalized grain radii.