The mechanism of bcc α′ nucleation in single hcp ε laths in the fcc γ → hcp ε → bcc α′ martensitic phase transformation

High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations were conducted here to study the plastic deformation induced γ (fcc) → ε (hcp) → α′ (bcc) martensitic transformation in 304 stainless steels for the α′ nucleation from single hcp-ε laths. Results elucidate that the underlying microscopic mechanism for the α′ nucleation from single hcp-ε laths obeys the Bogers-Burgers-Olson-Cohen “3T/8-T/3” model. In particular, the atomic-scale observations clearly show the Kurdyumov-Sachs (K-S) lattice orientation relation (OR) and Pitsch OR at the γ/α′ interfaces, the lattice rotation inside an α′ martensitic inclusion, the transition lattice and the reverse shear-shuffling induced continuous lattice elastic deformation at the diffuse ε/α′ interface, which caters the 3T/8 and T/3 shears and sheds atomic process insight into the mechanism of the martensitic transformation.