Phase Field Study of Second Phase Particles-Pinning on Strain Induced Grain Boundary Migration

A phase field model was presented to investigate the effect of particles-pinning on grain boundary migration in materials containing stored energy differences across the grain boundaries. The accuracy of the phase field framework was examined by comparing the simulated results with theoretical predictions. The pinning effects of coherent and non-coherent second phase particles on the boundary migration were studied in triple-grain models. 2D simulations with second phase particles of different sizes or different area fractions were performed. The effect of stored energy difference across the boundary on the particles-pinning was also investigated. The results showed that the pinning effect could be enhanced by the decrement of the particle size and the increment of particle area fraction. Increasing the stored energy difference across the grain boundary induced higher grain boundary migration velocity and weaker particles-pinning.