Modeling Grain Boundaries using a Phase Field Technique
  We propose a two dimensional frame-invariant phase field model of grain impingement and coarsening. One dimensional analytical solutions for a stable grain boundary in a bicrystal are obtained, and equilibrium energies are computed. We are able to calculate the rotation rate for a free grain between two grains of fixed orientation. For a particular choice of functional dependencies in the model the grain boundary energy takes the same analytic form as the microscopic (dislocation) model of Read and Shockley. 
Ryo Kobayashi, James A. Warren, W. Craig Carter