Grain-orientation-dependent phase transformation kinetics in austenitic stainless steel under low-temperature uniaxial loading

Deformation-induced martensites generally follow the principle on selection of their variants in intrinsic crystallographic orientations with regard to parent grains, which should be significantly affected by cooperative rotation matrix. In this paper, microstructural changes related deformation-induced transformation from metastable γ austenite ε and α′ 304 austenitic stainless steel upon uniaxial tensile loading at 180 K was investigated employing in-situ synchrotron-based high-energy X-ray diffraction technique. The detailed information low-temperature phase kinetics analyzed terms grain change volume, stress partitioning, dislocation density, were further compared experimental observations for room temperature deformed specimen almost without stress-induced martensite. elastic strain measured newly formed martensite quite low (only ~200 μɛ) due relaxation, evidencing role nucleation accommodation. minor statistical evolution texture all constituent phases, combination martensitic variant principle, enables us reveal complex interactions deformation transformation, finding that firstly originated [0 0 1]//LD-oriented grains matrix, while initially [1 1 grains. Furthermore, interplay phases enhanced toward 1] during K, could elucidated influence transformed specific slip systems.