Conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) experiments have been carried out on thermally-aged binary Fe 1·30 wt% Cu and ternary Fe 1·28 wt% Cu 1·43 wt.% Ni alloys to study the structure of small (7–15 nm) copper precipitates in the α-Fe matrix. The experiments show that the precipitates have a twinned 9R close-packed structure, rather than the expected f.c.c. structure. It is believed that this structure is generated initially by a martensitic transformation from the metastable b.c.c. phase.

Transmission electron microscope investigations of the structure of copper precipitates in thermally-aged Fe—Cu and Fe—Cu—Ni

Martensite and equilibrium phases in CuZn and CuZnAl alloys

The general mechanism of martensitic nucleation by faulting from groups of existing dislocations, as proposed in Part I, is applied to the fcc → bcc, bcc → fcc, bcc → hcp, and related transformations, including mechanical twinning. Where thermodynamic data are available, the conditions at the observedMs temperatures are consistent with nucleation from a defect composed of four or five properly spaced lattice dislocations. Examples of nucleation by faulting on the planes predicted are found in published electron microscopy. The faults are observed at the types of sites where the required dislocation groups are expected. These include grain boundaries, incoherent twin boundaries, and inclusion particle interfaces. Having defined the function of a nucleation site, mechanisms of strain induced nucleation and autocatalysis are then considered.

A general mechanism of martensitic nucleation: Part II. FCC → BCC and other martensitic transformations

Crystallographic features of phase transformations in solids

In a combined theoretical and experimental study, the energies and structures of σ = 3, [011] tilt boundaries in Cu were investigated. Equilibrium atomistic structures and grain-boundary energies were calculated by static energy minimization using an embedded-atom potential. Cu bicrystals of the same boundary orientations were fabricated by welding of Cu single crystals. Grain-boundary energies were measured by the thermal grooving technique. The atomistic structure of the {211} twin boundary was investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The calculated grain-boundary energies γb plotted against the inclination of the boundary plane show a minimum for the {111} twin boundary and a second minimum at an inclination of about 82° to the {111} boundary. The calculated dependence of γb on inclination is confirmed by the measured energies over the entire range. Common to all calculated boundary structures is a microfaceting into {111} and {211} twin facets. The structures ...

I Cornelis

Papers

Phase transformations in metastable β′ CuZn alloys: II: Isothermal transformations

Phase transformations in metastable β′ CuZn alloys—I. Martensitic transformations

The variation of stacking order and structure-symmetry in copper-base martensites