Molecular dynamics simulations of martensitic transitions

Structural phase transformations in the ferromagnetic Fe-Ni alloys are discussed on the basis of first-principles and molecular dynamics simulations. In the molecular dynamics study, effective potentials have been used which were derived by the embedded-atom method. The simulations reproduce fairly well the austenitic transformation upon heating while, for the martensitic transformation upon cooling, a large number of lattice defects are needed. Shape-memory effects of the Fe-Ni alloys are also observed.