  Purpose: The purpose of this work is to apply a recently proposed
constitutive model for mechanically induced martensitic transformations to the
prediction of transformation loci. Additionally, this study aims to elucidate
if a stress-assisted criterion can account for transformations in the so-called
strain-induced regime.
  Design/methodology/approach: The model is derived by generalising the
stress-based criterion of Patel and Cohen (1953), relying on lattice
information obtained using the Phenomenological Theory of Martensite
Crystallography. Transformation multipliers (cf. plastic multipliers) are
introduced, from which the martensite volume fraction evolution ensues. The
associated transformation functions provide a variant selection mechanism.
Austenite plasticity follows a classical single crystal formulation, to account
for transformations in the strain-induced regime. The resulting model is
incorporated into a fully-implicit RVE-based computational homogenisation
finite element code.
  Findings: Results show good agreement with experimental data for a
meta-stable austenitic stainless steel. In particular, the transformation locus
is well reproduced, even in a material with considerable slip plasticity at the
martensite onset, corroborating the hypothesis that an energy-based criterion
can account for transformations in both stress-assisted and strain-induced
regimes.
  Originality/value: A recently developed constitutive model for mechanically
induced martensitic transformations is further assessed and validated. Its
formulation is fundamentally based on a physical metallurgical mechanism and
derived in a thermodynamically consistent way, inheriting a consistent
mechanical dissipation. This model draws on a reduced number of
phenomenological elements and is a step towards the fully predictive modelling
of materials that exhibit such phenomena.
