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Title: Grain boundary phases in bcc metals

Journal Article · · Nanoscale
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/C8NR00271A· OSTI ID:1439659

We report a computational discovery of novel grain boundary structures and multiple grain boundary phases in elemental bcc tungsten. While grain boundary structures created by the - surface method as a union of two perfect half crystals have been studied extensively, it is known that the method has limitations and does not always predict the correct ground states. Here, we use a newly developed computational tool, based on evolutionary algorithms, to perform a grand-canonical search of high-angle symmetric tilt boundary in tungsten, and we find new ground states and multiple phases that cannot be described using the conventional structural unit model. We use MD simulations to demonstrate that the new structures can coexist at finite temperature in a closed system, confirming these are examples of different GB phases. The new ground state is confirmed by first-principles calculations.Evolutionary grand-canonical search predicts novel grain boundary structures and multiple grain boundary phases in elemental body-centered cubic (bcc) metals represented by tungsten, tantalum and molybdenum.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1439659
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-130828; NANOHL; AT2030110
Journal Information:
Nanoscale, Vol. 10, Issue 17; ISSN 2040-3364
Publisher:
Royal Society of Chemistry
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (7)

Local electronic descriptors for solute-defect interactions in bcc refractory metals journal October 2019
Structure prediction drives materials discovery journal April 2019
Observations of grain-boundary phase transformations in an elemental metal journal March 2020
Understanding and predicting damage and failure at grain boundaries in BCC Ta journal October 2019
Linear Complexions: Metastable Phase Formation and Coexistence at Dislocations journal March 2019
Free energy of grain boundary phases: Atomistic calculations for Σ 5 ( 310 ) [ 001 ] grain boundary in Cu journal September 2018
Structure Prediction Drives Materials Discovery text January 2019

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