Relationship between Particle Size and Martensitic Transformation in an Fe-30at%Ni Alloy

Abstract

We have investigated the effect of particle size on martensitic transformation by using single crystalline specimens of an Fe-30at%Ni alloy by scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation, X-ray diffraction(XRD), magnetic susceptibility and magnetization measurements. As a result, we have found that an athermal martensitic transformation changes to an isothermal martensitic transformation with decreasing particle size. Considering the result of the TTT diagram, we have estimated the driving force for the martensitic transformation and the cluster size for nucleation of the isothermal martensitic transformation based on the model previously proposed.