A model coupling plasticity and phase transformation with application to dynamic shear deformation of iron

A simple model that brings together well-established thermo-mechanical models of plasticity with those of martensitic phase transformation into a single thermodynamic framework is proposed. The presentation is in one space dimension, but the framework is general so that the model may be extended to higher dimensions. The model is used to study recent experiments on the α⇔∊α⇔∊ martensitic phase transformation of pure iron under dynamic, shear-dominant loading conditions. It is shown that the model fitted to established thermodynamic data and selected experiments is able to reproduce the experimental observations in a wide range of loading rates ranging from quasistatic to 104 s−1 as well as a wide range of phenomena ranging including overall rate hardening and thermal softening. In doing so, the model also provides new insight into the α⇔∊α⇔∊ phase transformation in iron.