Thermodynamics of grain boundary premelting in alloys. I. Phase-field modeling

The rich nature of the premelting transition of grain boundaries in solid solutions is analyzed. Part I of this paper uses a multi-phase field model, whereas Part II employs atomistic Monte Carlo simulations. To enable comparison, Cu-rich Cu–Ag solid solutions are chosen for study. In the phase-field model, a system composed of two grains and a liquid phase is treated with three phase field parameters and with a realistic bulk thermodynamic description of Cu–Ag alloys obtained with the CALPHAD approach. Several different computation methods are employed, both rigorous and approximate, to examine the premelting behavior and relate it to the so-called “disjoining potential” between the solid–liquid interfaces in the grain boundary region. Depending on the grain boundary energy, temperature and grain composition chosen, several different classes of premelting transitions have been detected. As the grain concentration approaches the solidus line, one class shows a premelted layer whose thickness diverges continuously to infinity (complete wetting). Another class shows a discontinuity of the premelted layer thickness, exhibiting a first-order thin-to-thick transition prior to continuous thickening to infinity at the solidus line. In other cases, a metastable grain boundary state can exist above the solidus line, indicating the possibility of superheating/supersatuation of the grains together with the grain boundary. The possibility of such transitions has been predicted previously for generic thermodynamics by many authors. The results of the current investigation are compared with the atomistic calculations for the Cu–Ag system in Part II of this work.