Computer simulation of grain growth-II. Grain size distribution, topology, and local dynamics

Abstract

The microstructures produced by the grain growth simulation technique described in the previous paper are analyzed. The grain size distribution function is found to be time invariant when the grain size, R, is scaled by the mean grain size, R ̄, and is shown to fit the experimental data better than either the log-normal function or the grain size distribution function suggested by Hillert. The grain size distribution peaks at approximately R ̄ and has a maximum at ~2.1 R ̄. The topological class distribution (number of edges per grain) is monitored and found to reproduce the existing experimental data. Similarly, the experimentally observed linear relationship between edge class number and the means of the individual edge class distributions is reproduced. The mean curvature per grain is also measured. Finally, the temporal evolution of the sizes of individual grains is monitored to provide a link between the observed grain size distribution function and the macroscopic grain growth kinetics. © 1984.