A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T F O F M I N I N G A N D METALLURGICAL E N G I N E E R S

Technical Publication No. 1338

(CLASSC , IRONA N D STEEL DIVISION,
NO. 280)

Mechanism of Martensite Formation

BY ALDENB. GRENINGER,"
> ~ E K E EAND
R, A L E X A ~ E
R.RTROIANO,~
JUNIOR
MEMBER
A.I.M.E.
(New York Meeting. February 1941)

different ingots were prepared in this

THEcrystallographic mechanism for the manner; the largest crystal of this group is
austenite-to-martensite transformation has illustrated in Fig. I. Back-reflection Laue
been deduced from the results of the patterns were obtained from martensite
follo~vingnew experimental determinations:
(I) the accurate evaluation of the lattice
relationship between austenite and indi-
vidual crystals of martensite-and thus the
relationship between the martensite lattice
and the martensite plate, and (2) the
measurement and analysis of the change in
positions that a volume of austenite under-
goes when it transforms into a crystal of
martensite. For the latter study, a new tool
was developed, the stereographic analysis
of shear.
Lattice relalionship.-Thirty-five sepa-
rate so-gram melts of an alloy containing
about 2 2 per cent nickel and 0.8 per cent
carbon were prepared in a high-vacuum FIG. I.-MARTENSITE CRYSTAL I N NICKEL
STEEL.X 6.
furnace. This aUoy is all-austenite a t room White area is a single crystal of martensite.
temperature; grain size was about I cm. Etched with Nital. Details of specimenprep-
Specimens of the alloy were cooled to aration are given in the paper.
about -70°C. to form a few inartensite
crystals, and suitable specimens were crystals (and the matrix austenite) both
ground and polished on a surface parallel before and after tempering. The locations
to a single martensite plate, exposing the of the basal-plane pole of martensite was
martensite crystal for an area of I mm. or checked by means of oscillating crystal
more. Four martensite cystals from four X-ray patterns.
All four crystals studied yielded the same
Manuscript received a t the office of t h e Institute
Sept. 27, 1940.
* Assistant Professor of Metallurgy. Graduate
+
solution ( 0.5"), and these relationships
School of Engineering, Harvard University. Cam- are expressed in gnomonic projection in
b r ~ d g e .Mass. Fig. 3.* The narrow dark-etching bands
t Assistant Professor of Metallurgy, University of
Notre Dame. Notre Dame, Ind. often visible in martensite "needles" were
r T h e entire manuscript. consisting of 38 pages of
t e s t and I I figures, is available in t h e form of micro- found to be parallel to ( 112 ] and thus are
film (images I inch high on standard 35-mm. motion
picture film) or photoprints (6 X 8 inches in size) undoubtedly twin bands in the martensite
readable with unaided eyes. For pa er, write Amerl-
can Documentation Institute, 0 k c e s of Science crystal.
Service 2101 Constitution Avenue Washington.
D. C.. Bsking for Document No. 151; a n d remitting " F i s I through 1 1 appear in t h e complete paper.
69 cents for microfilm o r S5.10 for photoprint copy. Only jigs. I . 3 a n d 6 are shown here.
Copyright, 1941, b y t h e American Institute of Mining a n d Metallurgical Engineers, Inc.
METALS TECHNOLOGY, June 1941. Printed i n U. S. A.
2 MECHANISM OF MARTENSITE FORMATION
The Martensite Shear.-If a sdtable
specimenof metastable austenite is polished
metallographically and cooled to some
subatmospheric temperhture to form small
FIG. 3.-ORIENTATION RELATIONSEWS BETWEEN AUSTENITE AND MARTENSITE IN NICKEL STEEL.
Relationships are projected gnomonically. Plane of projection is the plane of the martensite plate.
amounts of martensite, the martensite
may then be seen as a relief effect on the
polished surface. A careful inspection of
many of these "needles" in relief led us
to the conclusion that the relief is caused
by a deformation that closely resembles
homogeneous shear and that the shear
must be in the plane of the martensite
plate. Accordingly, the visible martensite
shears for 1 2 martensite crystals were
analyzed by methods outlined in Appendix
A. The results obtained for the direction
of shear and the shear angle are shown
by the small arrows and numbers on the
primitive circle of Fig. 6; the average shear
angle was 10.75'. Continuation of the
stereographic manipulation yielded the
following important result: When the aus-
tenite lattice was 'deformed stereographi-
cally in accordance with the average
experimentally, determined direction and
angle of shear, it was found that a second
shear could transform this triclinic lattice
into a pseudo-body-centered tetragonal
lattice of the same orientation and almost
the same parameter as martensite (having
an atomic volume equal to .that of aus-
tenite). Furthermore, this second shear is
on the (112) martensite plane in the [ I I ~ ]
direction; these are the elements for twin
gliding for this lattice. This second shear
must be confined to the volume of the
triclinic lattice produced by the first shear
and thus must take place in layers of about
18 atomic planes and can have no effect
upon the visible relief that is produced
by the first shear. The deformation of the
austenite lattice by means of these two
shears is illustrated stereographically in
Fig. 6.
The Crystallographic bfecha~t.isnt.-The
experimental results have been reworded
into an exposition of laws governing the
movement of atoms in a martensite trans-
formation. The martensite crystal is
formed from austenite almost entirely by
means o f two homogeneous shears. The
function of the first shear is to create a
lattice containing a unique set of parallel
atomic planes whose interplanar spacings
and atom positions are the same as those
of a set of planes in the martensite lattice, a
 ALDEN B. GRENINGER AND ALEXANDER R. TROIANO 3

second shear on this unique plane will then readjustments. I t is possible to predict both
generate the martensite lattice. T h e selec- lattice relationships and orientation habits

Z0

---___

I
FIG. 6.-STEREOGRAPRICPROJECTION ILLUSTRATING TRANSFORMATION FROM AUSTENITE TO
MARTENSITE BY M E A N S OF TWO HOMOGENEOUS SHEARS.
Plane of projection is plane of martensite plate (plane of shear No. I). Small arrows and figures
a t right represent experimentally determined directions and angles of shear for shear No. I . Trial
shears A and B are directions for shear No. I assumed for purposes of calculating orientation and
spacing changes of planes in austenite lattice. Squares, triangles and ovals designate I I O O ] , ~ I I I I
and [ I 1 0 ) austenite poles, respectively. Austenite and martensite poles were plotted from experi-
.
mental data of Fig. 3. Travel of each austenite ole as a result of shear No. I is along an equatorial
line; additional shift resulting from shear No. 2 is along a great circle joining the pole of the second
shear plane (see Tables I and 2). Numbers attached to indices of axial planes of martensite are: ( I )
numerators-interplanar spacings calculated from shear data; (2) denominators-actual inter-
planar spacings of " unexpanded martensite" lattice.
tion of the planes and directions for the two for a n y martensite transformation occur-
shears is governed b y considerations of ring a t lowest temperature (near roonl
minimum shear angle and minimum temperature or below).