Combined multi-scale analyses on strain/damage/microstructure in steel: Example of damage evolution associated with ε-martensitic transformation

We studied damage evolution behavior associated with ε-martensite in a Fe-28Mn alloy. Visible factors of damage evolution associated with ε-martensite are considered to be strain distribution, microstructure, micro-void and crack. Combinatorial use of replica digital image correlation, electron backscattering diffraction, and electron channeling contrast imaging enables to clarify the distributions of strain, microstructure and damage. Through quantitative damage analysis, damage evolution behavior was classified into three regimes: (i) incubation regime, (ii) nucleation regime, and (iii) growth regime. In the incubation regime, an interaction of ε/ε-martensite plates and impingement of ε-martensite plates on grain boundaries caused plastic strain localization owing to plastic accommodation. In the nucleation regime, accumulation of the plastic strain on the boundaries caused microvoid formation. The damage propagated along with the boundaries through coalescence with other micro-voids, but the propagation was arrested by crack blunting at non-transformed austenite. In the growth regime, the arrested damage grew again when a further plastic strain was provided sufficiently to initiate ε-martensite near the damage.