Grain-boundary melting transition in an atomistic simulation model

Molecular-dynamics simulations on the structure and energy of a bicrystal model reveal an interfacial melting transition at a temperature distinctly lower than bulk melting. Below the transition, thermal disorder occurs but interfacial width remains essentially unchanged; above the transition, the interfacial region behaves like a melt while its width grows significantly with temperature. © 1986 The American Physical Society.