Return Radius and volume of recrystallized material in Ostwald Ripening

Abstract

Within the framework of the LSW theory of Ostwald ripening the amount of volume of the second (solid) phase that is newly formed by recrystallization is investigated. It is shown, that in the late stage, the portion of the newly generated volume formed within an interval from time $t_0$ to $t$ is a certain function of $t/t_0$ and an explicit expression of this volume is given. To achieve this, we introduce the notion of the {\it return radius} $r(t,t_0)$, which is the unique radius of a particle at time $t_0$ such that this particle has -- after growing and shrinking -- the same radius at time $t$. We derive a formula for the return radius which later on is used to obtain the newly formed volume. Moreover, formulas for the growth rate of the return radius and the recrystallized material at time $t_0$ are derived.