Faceting of low-angle 〈1 0 0〉 tilt grain boundaries in aluminum

The faceting of symmetrical 〈1 0 0〉 tilt grain boundaries with rotation angles 8.4°, 12.0°, 14.3° and 16.0° was investigated in situ in a hot-stage scanning electron microscope at elevated temperatures. The observed transition “faceted-curved boundary” was found to depend on misorientation angle and temperature. This behavior is attributed to the anisotropy of grain boundary energy with respect to boundary inclination.