Effect of nonlinear and noncollinear transformation strain pathways in phase-field modeling of nucleation and growth during martensite transformation

Abstract

Structural transformation: a less linear approach A method for modeling complex changes in the crystal structures of solids is developed by researchers in the USA. Yunzhi Wang from the Ohio State University and his colleagues’ model provides a more accurate description of crystal structure rearrangement during a phase change known as martensitic transformation. Even though this structural evolution has be modeled successfully using the phase-field microelasticity theory, the existing models do not incorporate some the more complex nonlinear transformation pathways that have been seen when using atomistic simulations. Wang and co-workers now extended phase-field microelasticity theory to include these complex pathways. They show that configuration and activation energies of a critical nucleus of the martensitic phase differ significantly when such nonlinear coupling is considered. This model has applications to understanding structural transformations in metals and ceramics.