Monte Carlo modeling of recrystallization processes in α-uranium

Starting with electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) data obtained from a warm clock-rolled α-uranium deformation microstructure, a Potts Monte Carlo model was used to simulate static site-saturated recrystallization and test which recrystallization nucleation conditions within the microstructure are best validated by experimental observations. The simulations support prior observations that recrystallized nuclei within α-uranium form preferentially on non-twin high-angle grain boundary sites at 450 °C. They also demonstrate, in a new finding, that nucleation along these boundaries occurs only at a highly constrained subset of sites possessing the largest degrees of local deformation. Deformation in the EBSD data can be identified by the Kernel Average Misorientation (KAM), which may be considered as a proxy for the local geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) density.