Simulation of recrystallization using molecular dynamics; Effects of the interatomic potential

Recrystallization is governed by the migration of high angle grain boundaries traveling through a deformed material driven by the excess energy located primarily in dislocation structures. A method for investigating the interaction between a migrating grain boundary and dislocation boundaries using molecular dynamics (MD) was recently developed.

During simulations migrating high angle grain boundaries interact with dislocation boundaries, and individual dislocations from the dislocation boundaries are absorbed into the grain boundaries. Results obtained previously, using a simple Lennard-Jones (LJ) potential, showed surprisingly irregular grain boundary migration compared to simulations of grain boundary migration applying other types of driving forces.

Inhomogeneous boundary-dislocation interactions were also observed in which the grain boundaries locally acquired significant cusps during dislocation absorption events. The study presented here makes comparisons between simulations performed using a LJ- and an embedded atom method (EAM) aluminum potential.

The results show similarities which indicate that it is the crystallographic features rather than the atomic interactions that determine the details of the migration process.