The effects of tensile deformation on the amount of hcp phase formed during a 3 hour isothermal aging at 800 °C is studied using in-situ X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. It is shown that the start of the isothermal martensitic transformation during aging of this material is delayed by prior plastic deformation. Nevertheless, the total amount of hcp phase present in the microstructure at the beginning of aging increases at a continuously decreasing rate due to stress-assisted transformation. This behavior is attributed to the relieving of internal stresses produced by plastic deformation prior to aging. Finally, during the last stage of aging, the amount of hcp phase in the microstructure increases as a result of isothermal martensitic transformation. It is suggested that the presence of mechanically-induced hcp phase during aging inhibits the thermally activated nucleation process that leads to the isothermal martensitic transformation.
