A molecular dynamics study of the fcc-bcc phase transformation kinetics of iron

The kinetics of the face-centered cubic-body-centered cubic (fcc-bcc) phase transformation has been investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. Planar propagation of the fcc-bcc heterointerface was observed in the case of the Nishiyama-Wasserman relation, whereas needle-like growth along a particular orientation was observed at the Kurdjumov-Sachs interface. This difference is due to the pattern difference of the matching area between the fcc and bcc lattice at the interface, since the transformation started from a matching area along the Bain deformation path. (C) 2008 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.