Modeling the grain growth kinetics by cellular automaton

Modeling and control of microstructure and grain size during thermal processing operations are essential for tailoring the properties of polycrystalline materials. In the present work, a cellular automaton model, with advanced features for continuous tracking of grain boundary and precise estimation of curvature, has been developed. The model predicted topological features during the grain growth were found to closely resemble experimental observations in succinonitrile polycrystals. The quantitative predictions of the model, namely parabolic growth behavior and the time invariant nature of grain size distributions accurately described by the Weibull distribution function, were extensively validated. It is shown that the present model provides a robust and comprehensive method of describing the grain growth behavior in polycrystalline materials. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.