Model-based simulation of normal grain growth in a two-phase nanostructured system

To systematically study normal grain growth in a two-phase volume-conserved system, a modified Potts model is proposed, in which the driving forces for grain boundary migration are the interfacial energy between two phases and the boundary energy inside each phase. Model-based simulation results show that the grain growth kinetics follows a power law with a temperature-independent exponent and that the normalized grain size distribution is lognormal and time invariant. Also, a simple theoretical model is used to predict the potential microstructure in a two-phase system due to the competition between interfacial and grain boundary energies. A critical ratio (∼2.6) of the grain boundary energy to the interfacial energy is found for a common two-phase system.