On the orientation relationship between a2 precipitates and the B2 phase in a Ti-47at.%Al-2at.%W-0.5at.%Si alloy

An k -phase Mn-Al-C single crystal was grown and annealed to obtain an intermediate stage of the k M transformation. The crystal was analysed by transmission electron microscopy, and direct evidence for the operation of the shear mode was obtained. The transformation occurs in two steps from the hcp structure ( k ) over the orthorhombic structure ( k ' phase) to the tetragonal phase. The study reveals the morphologies of k ' and , the necessity for reordering during the second transformation step ( k ' M ) which is not a purely martensitic transformation, and the selection of variants which is controlled by stresses through the selection of one k ' variant.