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Publication 06-CNA-11

Texture Evolution Via Continuous Time Random Walk Theory

Maria Emelianenko
Deparatment of Mathematical Sciences
Carnegie Mellon Univeristy
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
masha@cmu.edu

Dmitry Golovaty
Department of Theoretical and Applied Mathematics
The University of Akron
Akron, OH 44325
dmitry@math.uakron.edu

David Kinderlehrer
Deparatment of Mathematical Sciences
Carnegie Mellon Univeristy
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
davidk@cmu.edu

Shlomo Ta'asan
Deparatment of Mathematical Sciences
Carnegie Mellon Univeristy
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
shlomo@andrew.cmu.edu

Abstract: Under standard processing conditions, many materials possess polycrystalline microstructures composed of a large number of small monocrystalline grains separated by grain boundaries. The energetics and connectivity of the grain boundaries network plays a crucial role in defining the properties of a material across a wide range of scales. A central problem in materials science is to develop technologies capable of producing arrangements of grains-textures-that provide for a desired set of material properties.

One of the most challenging aspects of this problem is to understand the role of topological reconfigurations during coarsening. In this paper, we study mesoscopic behavior of a one-dimensional grain boundary system and investigate the possibility of modeling texture evolution. We suggest a stochastic framework based on the theory of continuous time random walks that may be used to model this system. We compare the predictions of the corresponding evolution equations with simulations and discuss their limitations and possible extensions to higher-dimensional cases.

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