Computer simulation of microstructural dynamics

Abstract

Since many of the physical properties of materials are determined by their microstructure, it is important to be able to predict and control microstructural development. A number of approaches have been taken to study this problem, but they assume that the grains can be described as spherical or hexagonal and that growth occurs in an average environment. Authors have developed a new technique to bridge the gap between the atomistic interactions and the macroscopic scale by discretizing the continuum system such that the microstructure retains its topological connectedness, yet is amenable to computer simulations. Using this technique authors have studied grain growth in polycrystalline aggregates. The temporal evolution and grain morphology of our model are in excellent agreement with experimental results for metals and ceramics.