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What does cell walls mean in the context of lath martensite? Are they grain boundaries?

Quote (page 66 Structure and properties of engineering alloys - Smith): In the lath martensite of low-carbon steels, there is a high density of individual dislocations and many cell walls.

Sorry for the stupid question, I don't find any image to understand it.

Thank you for your time.

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    $\begingroup$ The general idea is the same. Grains in a metal typically refer to irregular blobs revealed by etching or some other method. I'd think of a cell wall as being more like the boundary of a crystal structure. Lath martensite would be criss-crossed needle like crystals of martensite. researchgate.net/profile/Emre_GULER/publication/42389007/figure/… $\endgroup$
    – MaxW
    Commented Feb 13, 2017 at 3:18

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According to this Wikipedia page:

Martensite, named after the German metallurgist Adolf Martens (1850–1914), most commonly refers to a very hard form of steel crystalline structure, but it can also refer to any crystal structure that is formed by diffusionless transformation.1 It includes a class of hard minerals occurring as lath- [emphasis mine] or plate-shaped crystal grains.

Lath basically means the shape of a woven screen when viewed close up, or like a grid of alternating appearance.

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  • $\begingroup$ Hi @airhuff, I'd like to know the meaning of cell walls. $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 12, 2017 at 22:55
  • $\begingroup$ Though you've done a pretty good job of explaining, I wish I could see more context from your book. I'm pretty sure that you are correct in describing it as grain boundaries in this context. Rather than being flat and smooth, there is more of this lath-like structure due to the individual dislocations which, again, I think are essentially grain boundaries. I apologize that I missed the crux of your question; I'm not sure if this comment answers exactly what you are looking for either. $\endgroup$
    – airhuff
    Commented Feb 12, 2017 at 23:03
  • $\begingroup$ Take a look down in my Wikipedia link for the photo of martensite steel. $\endgroup$
    – airhuff
    Commented Feb 12, 2017 at 23:04
  • $\begingroup$ This might also shed some light. $\endgroup$
    – airhuff
    Commented Feb 12, 2017 at 23:16

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