Influence of grain boundary energy on the grain size evolution in nanocrystalline materials

A study for the effect of grain boundary (GB) energy on the evolution of grain size in nanocrystalline (NC) materials was given. Incorporating an empirical relation for GB energy with a generalized parabolic law, numerically, an evolution of grain size was investigated. Subsequently, a combination of grain-size dependent GB energy with the generalized parabolic growth law allows an analytic description for the average grain size as a function of annealing time. Satisfactory agreement of the model predictions with the experimental results obtained from grain growth occurring in NC Ni-P and Ni-W alloys and oxygen-doped nickel was achieved.