Tales of the Abnormal

Most engineering materials consist of tiny crystallites (grains) separated by grain boundaries. The sizes and orientations of the grains influence many of the solid’s properties. During annealing, it is possible for a few grains to grow at a much faster rate than the others and eventually consume the microstructure. Our goal is to harness laboratory-based 4D (i.e., 3D space- plus time-resolved) imaging to shine light on this abnormal process, as well as the role of second phase particles in promoting it. On the basis of our time-resolved data, we advance a totally new explanation for "particle-assisted abnormal grain growth,” with relevance to the processing of materials that are simultaneously polycrystalline and polyphase.

Key Learnings:

• Learn how nondestructive, correlative imaging can provide a wealth of insights on microstructure evolution, including grain growth.
  
• Examine the data processing workflows that are necessary to bridge the imaging modalities, lengthscales, and timescales.