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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
Martensitic transformations (MT) are one of the vastly studied phase transformations, yet some of the aspects such as nucleation, complex microstructure formation, crystallography and role of plastic deformation on the transformation are still ambiguous. Phase-field method (PFM), typically used for simulating the microstructure evolution during phase transformations, can give some insight into the above mentioned aspects associated with the MT. A 3D elasto-plastic phase field model, with input simulation data acquired from experimental works, has been developed to simulate the athermal as well as the stress-assisted MT occurring in carbon steels. The limits of applicability of the PFM has also been extended by employing the above model to study the various physical concepts associated with the MT, for e.g. martensitic embryo potency and its effect on the transformation, critical driving forces required for the transformation, plastic deformation and its role in the microstructure evolution, habit plane concepts as well as the variant rotations during the microstructure formation. The simulation results clearly feature several of the experimentally observed characteristics of the MT and also show the possible usage of the PFM as a tool to understand the underlying physical concepts of MT.
Host: Turab Lookman, T-4, txl@lanl.gov, 665-0419