Influence of solute segregation and drag on properties of migrating interfaces Original Research Article

Recent models on solute segregation and drag search for steady-state solutions of the diffusion equation in the region of a migrating interface and adjacent semi-infinite grains. Such solutions are limited to model massive transformations, for which the chemical composition of the parent grains and that of the product grains are the same. Simulation of diffusive transformations in transient systems with grains of different chemical composition is a hot issue. In the present model the steady-state solution of the diffusion equation is investigated only in the interface. The coupling with the diffusion equation in the adjacent grains is ensured by proper boundary conditions. For simulation of transient diffusive phase transformations it is very convenient if the interface can be treated as a sharp interface with a known effective mobility and prescribed boundary conditions at the interface. In this paper it is shown that solute segregation and drag can be taken into consideration by the effective mobility of a sharp interface and by proper boundary conditions at the sharp interface. The effective interface mobility reflects Gibbs energy dissipation due to rearrangement of solvent atoms and to trans-interface diffusion and drag of solute atoms in the migrating interface. Trans-interface diffusion and drag of solute atoms are also reflected by the jump of the chemical potential of the solute across the interface, which represents a boundary condition for coupling with the diffusion equation in the adjacent grains. Finally, it is shown that the incorporation of the effects of trans-interface diffusion and drag of solute atoms does not make the simulation more complicated provided that some necessary calculations are performed in preprocessing.