INSITU OBSERVATIONS OF THE FORMATION OF MARTENSITE IN STAINLESS-STEEL

Specimens of stainless steel have been deformed at room temperature, or cooled to below Ms in an HVEM and the formation of martensite observed. The Ms temperature, orientation relationships and habit planes of the martensites formed in specimens thicker than 0.5 μm were found to be identical to those of the bulk material. It has been shown that the ε{lunate}-martensite occurs in regions where appropriately, but usually irregularly, spaced stacking faults are formed, while α-martensite nucleation is associated with dislocation pile-ups on the active slip plane. © 1979.