Multi-phase-field study of the effects of anisotropic grain-boundary properties on polycrystalline grain growth

Numerical studies of the effects of anisotropic (misorientation-dependent) grain-boundary energy and mobility on polycrystalline grain growth have been carried out for decades. However, conclusive knowledge has yet to be obtained even for the simplest two-dimensional case, which is mainly due to limitations in the computational accuracy of the grain-growth models and computer resources that have been employed to date. Our study attempts to address these problems by utilizing a higher-order multi-phase-field (MPF) model, which was developed to accurately simulate grain growth with anisotropic grain-boundary properties. In addition, we also employ general-purpose computing on graphics processing units to accelerate MPF grain-growth simulations. Through a series of simulations of anisotropic grain growth, we succeeded in confirming that both the anisotropies in grain-boundary energy and mobility affect the morphology formed during grain growth. On the other hand, we found the grain growth kinetics in anisotropic systems to follow parabolic law similar to isotropic growth, but only after an initial transient period.