Observations and analysis of martensitic phase transformation on CuZnAl single crystals

Abstract
In order to improve the understanding of the mechanisms of the martensite phase transition, "in-situ" observations of CuZnAl single crystals under biaxial tensile tests are performed with an optical microscope and a numerical camera associated with an image processing program. The volume fraction of the different variants of martensite and their associated strains are measured. The dependence of the loading path on the choice of the activated martensite variants and on the kinetics of the phase transition is emphasised. Finally, a modelling of the uniaxial experimental curves is presented.