The deep understanding of the martensitic microstructure in directionally solidified Ni-Mn-Ga alloys is crucial for optimizing the magnetic field-induced strain obtained through magnetic field-induced martensite variant reorientation. Although previous studies have systematically characterized the typical micro-configurations and orientation relationships of the strongly textured seven-layer modulated (7M) martensite, the underlying formation basis of these microstructural features remains insufficiently understood. In this work, the characteristics of microstructural morphology and orientation correlation of the 7M martensite in directionally solidified Ni₅₀Mn₃₀Ga₂₀ alloy were systematically characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). On this basis, the formation basis of the typical microstructure was analyzed based on the transformation orientation relationship between austenite and martensite phases. Furthermore, the twinning relations between martensitic variants were theoretically predicted and classified using the phenomenological theory of martensite crystallography (PTMC). The fundamental reason for the existence of six variant groups and a total of 24 variants within a single austenite grain lies in the multiple transformation paths corresponding to the six sets of {101}A habit planes of the cubic austenite under the transformation routes of Pitsch orientation relationship. The spatial arrangement of lamellar interfaces within different variant groups can manifest as horizontal, vertical, or inclined types, which originates from the geometric position difference of the {101}A orientation relationship planes relative to the directional solidification direction when viewed along the <001>A direction. Further PTMC analysis indicates that 14 types of twinning relations are theoretically possible between 7M martensite variants. The experimentally observed Type I, Type II, and compound twins can all be categorized as conventional twin types. The analysis method used in this work, based on the martensitic transformation orientation relationship, shows good applicability in explaining the martensitic microstructural morphology and variant distribution in Ni-Mn-based alloys. However, the phenomenological theory of martensite transformation is primarily used to predict all theoretically possible twin types between martensite variants and cannot directly determine the specific twinning relations observed in experiments.
根据马氏体相变的几何非线性理论[24-25], 相邻马氏体变体在马氏体相变过程中的相变畸变张量(Transformation stretch tensor)满足运动学兼容性条件, 并进一步得到孪生方程, 其中, Ui 和 Uj 为不同马氏体变体的转变畸变张量, R 为这两个变体的旋转变形, a 为剪切矢量, n 为平行于孪晶面法线的矢量。该方程有解时, 对称矩阵的顺序特征值须满足条件, 式(1)给出了 a 和 n 的解[24-25]。
,
,
式中: , , 为特征值的对应特征向量; 为使向量 n 标准化的标量; k=。该方程的两个解代表两对共轭的孪晶关系, 与母相坐标系下的孪晶要素具有如式(2)和式(3)的对应关系。此外, 孪晶关系中另一个孪晶要素切变量s=[24]。
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