On computer simulation methods to model Zener pinning Original Research Article

We compare the ability of three types of microstructural model to simulate particle pinning by performing simulations using the front tracking model, the phase field model and the Monte Carlo Potts model. The same three-dimensional test geometries are simulated using each method and compared with theory. The pinning force acting on the migrating curved grain boundary is calculated and compared with theoretical predictions for each model. All three simulation methods correctly capture the physics of pinning and the simulations confirm that for static spherically symmetric boundaries, a catenoid shape is produced during particle bypass, as predicted by theory. The presence of triple lines and quadruple points changes the equilibrium boundary shapes; this does not affect the pinning forces greatly, whereas the pinning force is a strong function of the particle shape.