Theory of Thermal Grooving

A theory is presented which describes the development of surface grooves at the grain boundaries of a heated polycrystal. The mechanisms of evaporation-condensation and surface diffusion are discussed with the use of the Gibbs-Thompson formula and the assumption that the properties of an interface do not depend on its orientation. For the idealized case in which only one of the mechanisms is operative, the groove profile is shown to have a time-independent shape whose linear dimensions are proportional to t½ for evaporation-condensation, and to t½ for surface diffusion. The proportionality constants are evaluated, and criteria are developed which permit one to estimate which process predominates in practice. Order of magnitude agreement is obtained with estimates of actual grooving speeds and profiles.