Role of second-phase particle morphology on 3D grain growth: A phase-field approach

The incorporation of second-phase particles in polycrystalline materials is one of the most efficient and practical methods for the retardation of grain growth during high-temperature heat treatment. To obtain a more systematic understanding of the related pinning effect, we employ a multi-order-parameter phase-field grain-growth model to simulate 3D grain growth in the presence of inert second-phase particles. We compare the pinning efficacy of the second-phase particles depending on the particle size, distribution, morphology, and the number of alignment directions. The dependence of the number of average neighboring grains on the spatial distributions of the inert second-phase particles is also evaluated.

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