J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2020, Vol. 45: 215-229.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2019.11.011

• Research Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Multiphase-field modelling of concurrent grain growth and coarsening in complex multicomponent systems

P.G. Kubendran Amosa,*(), Ramanathan Perumala,b, Michael Selzera,b, Britta Nestlera,b   

  1. a Institute of Applied Materials (IAM-CMS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Strasse am Forum 7, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
    b Institute of Digital Materials Science (IDM), Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Moltkestr. 30, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany
  • Received:2019-08-13 Revised:2019-09-27 Accepted:2019-11-01 Published:2020-05-15 Online:2020-05-27
  • Contact: P.G. Kubendran Amos

Abstract:

Phase-field modelling of microstructural evolution in polycrystalline systems with phase-associated grains has largely been confined to continuum-field models. In this study, a multiphase-field approach, with a provision for introducing grain boundary and interphase diffusion, is extended to analyse concurrent grain growth and coarsening in multicomponent polycrystalline microstructures with chemically-distinct grains. The effect of the number of phases and components on the kinetics of evolution is investigated by considering binary and ternary systems of duplex and triplex microstructures, along with a single phase system. It is realised that the mere increase in the number of phases minimises the rate of concurrent grain growth and coarsening. However, the effect of components is substantially dependent on the respective kinetic coefficients. This work unravels that the disparity in the influence of phases and components is primarily due to the corresponding change introduced in the transformation mechanism. While the raise in number of phases convolutes the diffusion paths, the increase in number of component effects the rate of evolution through the interdiffusion, which introduces interdependency in the diffusing chemical-species. Additionally, the role of phase-fractions on the transformation rate of triplex microstructure is studied, and Correspondingly, the interplay of interface- and diffusion-governed evolution is elucidated. A representative evolution of three-dimensional triplex microstructure with equal phase-fraction is comparatively analysed with the evolution of corresponding two-dimensional setup.

Key words: Concurrent grain growth and coarsening, Duplex and triplex microstructure, Microstructural coarsening, Multiphase grain growth, Multiphase-field modelling