Coupled Surface Diffusion and Mean Curvature Motion: Axisymmetric Steady States with Two Grains and a Hole

TL;DR

This paper analyzes steady-state configurations of two grains with a hole in an axisymmetric setting, showing the existence of a continuum of solutions characterized by specific geometric and energetic parameters.

Contribution

It provides a mathematical characterization of steady states involving nodoids and catenoids in an axisymmetric grain system with boundary conditions from Mullins' model.

Findings

Steady states have exterior surfaces with constant mean curvature and grain boundary with zero mean curvature.

Existence of a continuum of solutions for certain boundary angles and parameters.

Explicit geometric forms like nodoids and catenoids describe the steady configurations.

Abstract

The evolution of two grains, which lie on a substrate and are in contact with each other, can be roughly described by a model in which the exterior surfaces of the grains evolve by surface diffusion and the grain boundary, namely the contact surface between the adjacent grains, evolves by motion by mean curvature. We consider an axi-symmetric two grain system, contained within an inert bounding semi-infinite cylinder with a hole along the axis of symmetry. Boundary conditions are imposed reflecting the considerations of W.W. Mullins, 1958. We focus here on the steady states of this system. At steady state, the exterior surfaces have constant and equal mean curvatures, and the grain boundary has zero mean curvature; the exterior surfaces are nodoids and the grain boundary surface is a catenoid. The physical parameters in the model can be expressed via two angles $\beta$ and $\theta_c$, which depend on the surface free energies. Typically if a steady state solution exists for given values of $(\beta, \theta_c)$, then there exists a continuum of such solutions. In particular, we prove that there exists a continuum of solutions with $\theta_c=\pi$ for any $\beta \in (\pi/2, \pi)$.