The mechanism of HCP-FCC martensitic transformation: a diffraction approach

A new approach based on diffraction evidence for the involvement of shear at atomic level is proposed to elucidate the mechanism of martensitic transformation between HCP and FCC structures. This approach, as distinct from the convectional microstructural approach, can be especially useful in situations where the transformation strains are self-accomodating in nature such that there is no observable surface relief effect. The importance of this aproach is highlighted by comparing the theoretically predicted diffraction effects with those experimentally observed on single crystals of ZnS undergoing the HCP to FCC transformation