Annealing twins in nanocrystalline fcc metals: A molecular dynamics simulation

We report fully three-dimensional atomistic molecular dynamics studies of grain growth kinetics in nanocrystalline Cu of 5 nm average grain size. We observe the formation of annealing twins as part of the grain growth process. The grain size and energy evolution was monitored as a function of time for various temperatures, yielding an activation energy for the process. The atomistic mechanism of annealing twin formation from the moving boundaries is described.