Coupled plastic flow and phase transformation under compression of materials in a diamond anvil cell: Effects of transformation kinetics and yield strength

The large-strain problem on phase transformations (PTs) under compression in a diamond anvil cell is studied in detail using the finite-element method. The combined effect of transformation kinetics and ratios of the yield strengths of low-and high-pressure phases is examined. Some experimental phenomena (e.g., plateaus in pressure distribution and plastic flow to the center of a sample) are reproduced. Results are applied to interpretation of experimental data and characterization of strain-induced PTs. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3677977]