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Dryad

Multiscale simulation data for demonstrating the analogy between grain boundaries and Brownian ratchets

Data files

Sep 02, 2024 version files 346.40 MB
Sep 19, 2024 version files 375.52 MB

Abstract

We demonstrate that grain boundaries (GBs) behave as Brownian ratchets, exhibiting direction-dependent mobilities and unidirectional motion under oscillatory driving forces or cyclic thermal annealing. We observed these phenomena for nearly all non-symmetric GBs but not for symmetric ones. Our observations build upon molecular dynamics and phase-field crystal simulations for a wide range of GB types and driving forces in both bicrystal and polycrystalline microstructures. We corroborate these simulation results through in situ experimental observations. We analyze these results with a Markov chain model and explore the implications of GB ratchet behavior for materials processing and microstructure tailoring.