High-Temperature Structure and Properties of Grain Boundaries

Abstract

The evolution of polycrystalline microstructures under the driving forces of temperature and stress, i.e., during grain growth and plastic deformation, is controlled by the high-temperature structure and dynamical behavior of grain boundaries (GBs). These microstructural processes, driven by temperature and/or stress, involve three distinct types of dynamical GB phenomena, namely GB diffusion, GB migration and GB sliding. All three are known to depend strongly on the GB energy. A better understanding of microstructural evolution in terms of the behavior of the individual interfaces therefore requires insight on the interrelation among GB structure, GB energy and these dynamical GB processes.