Phase-Field Simulation of Grain Boundary Evolution In Microstructures Containing Second-Phase Particles with...

Area of Science:

• Metallurgy and Materials Science
• Computational Materials Science

Background:

• Meso-scale thermal field interactions are vital for predicting microstructural evolution in thermomechanical processing.
• Crystal grain growth is a fundamental metallurgical phenomenon influenced by thermodynamic forces at grain boundaries.
• Second-phase particles impede grain boundary movement, altering coarsening behavior, especially when possessing different thermal properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To predict grain growth in a Ti6Al4V alloy with second-phase particles using a multi-phase field model.
• To investigate the influence of thermal gradients and particle thermal properties on grain coarsening.
• To couple a multi-phase field framework with the heat equation for accurate thermal-mechanical simulations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a multi-phase field model incorporating thermal gradient and curvature driving forces.
• Fully coupled the multi-phase field framework with the heat equation.
• Simulated grain growth in a Ti6Al4V alloy system with oxide and carbide precipitate inclusions.

Main Results:

• The model successfully predicted grain boundary behavior around pinning particles under thermal gradients.
• Particles with lower thermal conductivity significantly influenced grain coarsening dynamics.
• Observed effects include thermal shielding and the generation of thermal gradient driving forces.

Conclusions:

• The thermal gradient driving force is crucial for predicting detailed grain boundary behavior around particles.
• Second-phase particle thermal conductivity is a critical parameter affecting alloy microstructural evolution.
• This modeling approach provides insights into thermomechanical processing of metallic alloys.