Strain-induced martensitic transformation in a dilute CuFe alloy—micromechanical modeling and experiments

The strain induced martensitic transformation (MT) of Fe precipitates in a Cu matrix is investigated experimentally and by numerical simulations. The influence of the grain size of the Fe particles on the stability against MT is quantified. The grain size of the Fe precipitates strongly alters the magnetic properties of the material. A continuum mechanical model based on a thermodynamic concept is presented which allows the estimation of the mechanical part of the driving force (MDF) for strain-induced martensitic transformation. The influence of distinct transformation mechanisms (i.e. Kurdjumov-Sachs and Pitsch) on the MDF is studied.