Gibbs energy modelling of the driving forces and calculation of the fcc/hcp martensitic transformation temperatures in Fe-Mn and Fe-Mn-Si alloys

Very recent, accurate dilatometric measurements of the fcc↔hcp martensitic transformation (MT) temperatures are used to develop a new thermodynamic description of the fcc and hcp phases in the Fe-Mn-Si system, based on phenomenological models for the Gibbs energy function. The composition dependence of the driving forces for the fcc→hcp and the hcp→fcc MTs is established. Detailed calculations of the MT temperatures are reported, which are used to investigate the systematic effects of Si additions upon the MT temperatures of Fe-Mn alloys. A critical comparison with one of the most recent thermodynamic analyses of the Fe-Mn-Si system, which is due to Forsberg and Ågren, is also presented.