The influence of austenite texture on the martensitic transformation of an austenitic stainless steel.

Uniaxial tensile tests on a highly textured, fully austenitic stainless steel were performed in the transverse and rolling directions. Differences in overall material and transformation behavior were observed: transformation from the austenite phase to the martensite phase during a test in the transverse direction occurred at a higher strain and stress and reached a lower ultimate fraction of martensite as compared to the rolling direction. The ‘Stress induced transformation’ theory was combined with the measured austenite texture prior to deformation to explain the observed behavior. XRD measurements of the austenite texture after deformation in the rolling and transverse direction were performed to support the theory.