Advancing grain growth models for transparent alumina ceramics

Understanding grain growth as a function of grain boundary energy through simulations informed by in-situ measurements is the motivation for this proposal. We will measure grain boundary velocity as a function of grain boundary character using scanning 3D X-ray diffraction (scanning 3DXRD) during in-situ sintering of undoped alumina. 3DXRD is necessary to spatially resolve the crystallographic orientations across the sample (to measure grain boundary character and positions as a function of time). Because the grains will be small (1−10 μm, slightly larger than is typically desirable for resolvability), we require scanning 3DXRD, which has a higher spatial resolution than conventional 3DXRD dictated by the beam cross-section (150−200 nm^2). The results will be integrated into a computational methodology using a Cauchy-Crofton/graph-based approach, and, more generally, develop a modern predictive understanding of grain growth that takes grain boundary energies into consideration.