Ultra-large-scale phase-field simulation study of ideal grain growth

Grain growth, a competitive growth of crystal grains accompanied by curvature-driven boundary migration, is one of the most fundamental phenomena in the context of metallurgy and other scientific disciplines. However, the true picture of grain growth is still controversial, even for the simplest (or ‘ideal’) case. This problem can be addressed only by large-scale numerical simulation. Here, we analyze ideal grain growth via ultra-large-scale phase-field simulations on a supercomputer for elucidating the corresponding authentic statistical behaviors. The performed simulations are more than ten times larger in time and space than the ones previously considered as the largest; this computational scale gives a strong indication of the achievement of true steady-state growth with statistically sufficient number of grains. Moreover, we provide a comprehensive theoretical description of ideal grain growth behaviors correctly quantified by the present simulations. Our findings provide conclusive knowledge on ideal grain growth, establishing a platform for studying more realistic growth processes.Grain growth: Simulations elucidate statistical behaviorGrain growth under ideal conditions is simulated by phase-field simulations in ultra-large time and space scales to elucidate the statistical behaviors. A team led by Tomohiro Takaki at Kyoto Institute of Technology in Japan performed large scale phase-field simulations to study ideal grain growth behavior. The time and space scales used in the simulations are more than ten times larger than those in previous reports, enabling them to reach a true steady-state with a statistically significant number of grains. A comprehensive theoretical description was derived to understand the ideal grain growth behavior based on the simulations. The knowledge provided by these findings may offer a model to understand the effects of complicated factors present in real materials and thus establish a platform to study more realistic grain growth phenomena in the future.

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