Abstract
Group-IV transition metal zirconium is used in nuclear and chemical industries as a choice material for operating in extreme environments. At ambient-conditions, zirconium has a stable hexagonal-close-packed structure (α-phase), but under high-pressures it transforms into a simple-hexagonal structure (ω-phase). Experimental studies involving high-pressures have reported retention of ω-phase upon recovery to ambient-pressures, which is undesirable since the ω-phase is brittle compared to the α-phase. Understanding the α-to-ω transformation is relevant for enhancing the applicability of transition metals. In this work using in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction, we show that deformation twins in the α-phase lower the transformation pressure and increase the amount of retained ω-phase. Our analysis concludes that the characteristics of the stress fields associated with the twins promote the α-to-ω transformation while making the reverse transformation energetically unfavorable. This work reveals a plausible way to design Zr microstructure for high-pressure applications via controlling twinning and retained ω-phase.
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