Distribution of plates sizes tell the thermal history in a simulated martensitic-like phase transition

TL;DR

This paper presents a 2D phenomenological model of martensitic transformation, linking plate size distribution to thermal history and demonstrating how incomplete reverse transformations create thermal memory effects.

Contribution

It introduces a novel 2D model that explains how plate size distributions reflect thermal history and the effects of arrested reverse transformations in martensitic-like phase transitions.

Findings

Plate size decreases with lowering temperature during transformation.

Incomplete reverse transformation leads to larger plates and depletion of intermediate sizes.

The model explains thermal memory effects observed in experiments.

Abstract

A phenomenological 2D model, simulating the martensitic transformation, is built upon existing experimental observations that the size of the formed plates -in direct transformation- decreases as the temperature is lowered; then they transform back in reversed order. As such, if a reverse transformation is incomplete ("arrested"), the subsequent direct one will show anomalously large number of big size plates-old plus newly formed- but consequentially a depletion of intermediate sizes, due to geometrical constraints, phenomenon that generates thermal memory.