Rubber effect and stabilization of martensites in noble metal based alloys

In a previous paper, it has been pointed out that the rubber effect and stabilization of the martensite phase are caused by short range reordering during aging [K. Marukawa, K. Tsuchiya, Scripta Metall. Mater. 32 (1995) 77]. This view was further examined by experimental and theoretical studies. It has been found that the change in electrical resistivity produced by aging is well correlated with magnitudes of these effects. The relation between the short range order parameters and the representative quantities of these effects was formulated on the basis of thermodynamics. Quantitative evaluation was performed by numerical calculations utilizing the Monte Carlo method. It was found that the rubber effect is prominent when the aging temperature is in the vicinity of the order–disorder transition temperature. It was also shown that in most cases disordering or lowering in the long range order causes the stabilization.