Influence of subgrain orientation on martensitic transformation in β1–Cu–Zn–Al-single crystals

In β1–Cu–Zn–Al single crystals the course of cyclic martensititic transformation ‘β1 parent phase↔γ′1 martensite’ induced by tensile stress were studied with use of X-ray topography, light microscopy and etch pits. Two groups of single crystals were studied. The first one (OR) contained single crystals of subgrain boundaries parallel to the direction of elongation [001], the second one (RA) consisted of single crystals of random subgrain boundaries orientations. Single crystals from the RA group cracked after about 300 cycles of martensitic transformation; single crystals from the OR group did not crack even after 1200 cycles. In OR single crystals changes of dislocation density inside the subgrains caused by cycling occurred much more slowly than in the RA single crystals. This has been related to the dislocation movement from inside the subgrains to their boundaries.