Low-density nanostructured bainitic steel with fast transformation rate and high impact-toughness

A low-density, nanostructured bainitic steel has been designed and tested demonstrating a rapid transformation rate at low temperature, and an excellent combination of strength and ductility. Steels of this kind usually have reasonable fracture toughness but poor Charpy impact properties. In the present work, we demonstrate Charpy toughness values in excess of 20 J at ambient temperature for tensile strength levels in excess of 2000 MPa. Alloying with aluminium has the additional advantage of reducing the density of the steel. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.