Although steel has been the workhorse of the automotive industry since the 1920s, the share by weight of steel and iron in an average light vehicle is now gradually decreasing, from 68.1 per cent in 1995 to 60.1 per cent in 2011 (refs 1, 2). This has been driven by the low strength-to-weight ratio (specific strength) of iron and steel, and the desire to improve such mechanical properties with other materials. Recently, high-aluminium low-density steels have been actively studied as a means of increasing the specific strength of an alloy by reducing its density. But with increasing aluminium content a problem is encountered: brittle intermetallic compounds can form in the resulting alloys, leading to poor ductility. Here we show that an FeAl-type brittle but hard intermetallic compound (B2) can be effectively used as a strengthening second phase in high-aluminium low-density steel, while alleviating its harmful effect on ductility by controlling its morphology and dispersion. The specific tensile strength and ductility of the developed steel improve on those of the lightest and strongest metallic materials known, titanium alloys. We found that alloying of nickel catalyses the precipitation of nanometre-sized B2 particles in the face-centred cubic matrix of high-aluminium low-density steel during heat treatment of cold-rolled sheet steel. Our results demonstrate how intermetallic compounds can be harnessed in the alloy design of lightweight steels for structural applications and others.

Brittle intermetallic compound makes ultrastrong low-density steel with large ductility

Current state of Fe-Mn-Al-C low density steels

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1088/1468-6996/14/1/014205

Fe–Al–Mn–C lightweight structural alloys: a review on the microstructures and mechanical properties

Ductility, i.e., uniform strain achievable in uniaxial tension, diminishes for materials with very high yield strength. Even for the CrCoNi medium-entropy alloy (MEA), which has a simple face-centered cubic (FCC) structure that would bode well for high ductility, the fine grains processed to achieve gigapascal strength exhaust the strain hardening ability such that, after yielding, the uniform tensile strain is as low as ∼2%. Here we purposely deploy, in this MEA, a three-level heterogeneous grain structure (HGS) with grain sizes spanning the nanometer to micrometer range, imparting a high yield strength well in excess of 1 GPa. This heterogeneity results from this alloy's low stacking fault energy, which facilitates corner twins in recrystallization and stores deformation twins and stacking faults during tensile straining. After yielding, the elastoplastic transition through load transfer and strain partitioning among grains of different sizes leads to an upturn of the strain hardening rate, and, upon further tensile straining at room temperature, corner twins evolve into nanograins. This dynamically reinforced HGS leads to a sustainable strain hardening rate, a record-wide hysteresis loop in load-unload-reload stress-strain curve and hence high back stresses, and, consequently, a uniform tensile strain of 22%. As such, this HGS achieves, in a single-phase FCC alloy, a strength-ductility combination that would normally require heterogeneous microstructures such as in dual-phase steels.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/115/28/7224.full.pdf

Dynamically reinforced heterogeneous grain structure prolongs ductility in a medium-entropy alloy with gigapascal yield strength

Conventional alloys are usually based on a single host metal. Recent high-entropy alloys (HEAs), in contrast, employ multiple principal elements. The strength of HEAs is considerably higher than traditional solid solutions, as the many constituents lead to a rugged energy landscape that increases the resistance to dislocation motion, which can also be retarded by other heterogeneities. The wide variety of nanostructured heterogeneities in HEAs, including those generated on the fly during tensile straining, also offer elevated strain-hardening capability that promotes uniform tensile ductility. Citing recent examples, this review explores the multiple levels of heterogeneities in multi-principal-element alloys that contribute to lattice friction and back stress hardening, as a general strategy towards strength-ductility synergy beyond current benchmark ranges.

/pdf/tailoring-heterogeneities-in-high-entropy-alloys-to-promote-if22vlqygr.pdf

Tailoring heterogeneities in high-entropy alloys to promote strength-ductility synergy.

Effect of aging on the microstructure and deformation behavior of austenite base lightweight Fe-28Mn-9Al-0.8C steel

Novel ferrite-austenite duplex lightweight steel with 77% ductility by transformation induced plasticity and twinning induced plasticity mechanisms

Novel ultra-high-strength (ferrite + austenite) duplex lightweight steels achieved by fine dislocation substructures (Taylor lattices), grain refinement, and partial recrystallization

The microstructural evolution with varying intercritical-annealing temperatures of medium-Mn (α + γ) duplex lightweight steels and its effects on tensile properties were investigated in relation to the stability of austenite. The size and volume fraction of austenite grains increased as the annealing temperature increased from 1123 K to 1173 K (850 °C to 900 °C), which corresponded with the thermodynamic calculation data. When the annealing temperature increased further to 1223 K (950 °C), the size and volume fraction were reduced by the formation of athermal α′-martensite during the cooling because the thermal stability of austenite deteriorated as a result of the decrease in C and Mn contents. In order to obtain the best combination of strength and ductility by a transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) mechanism, an appropriate mechanical stability of austenite was needed and could be achieved when fine austenite grains (size: 1.4 μm, volume fraction: 0.26) were homogenously distributed in the ferrite matrix, as in the 1123 K (850 °C)—annealed steel. This best combination was attributed to the requirement of sufficient deformation for TRIP and the formation of many deformation bands at ferrite grains in both austenite and ferrite bands. Since this medium-Mn lightweight steel has excellent tensile properties as well as reduced alloying costs and weight savings, it holds promise for new automotive applications.

Effect of Austenite Stability on Microstructural Evolution and Tensile Properties in Intercritically Annealed Medium-Mn Lightweight Steels

Ferrite + austenite duplex lightweight steels have been actively developed by adding low-density Al for overcoming a limitation of stiffness deterioration by a traditional approach to obtain a weight reduction. Multiple-stage deformation mechanism in lightweight steels, i.e., simultaneous formation of deformation-induced martensite and deformation twin and additional plasticity by twinning, has been nominated as an attractive strategy, but shows a steady flow behavior with early plastic instability. Here, we present a newly designed Fe-0.3C-9Mn-5Al steel in order to obtain an optimal level of stability of austenite and a resultant outstanding combination of tensile strength and ductility, e.g., 874 MPa and 72%, together with sufficiently high strain hardening. These enhanced properties are attributed to the decreased austenite stability by controlling the austenite size and alloying partitioning due to variation in austenite fraction inside duplex microstructures. The present work gives a promise for structural applications requiring both reduced specific weight and remarkable deformability.

Jai Hyun Kwak

Papers

Effect of aging on the microstructure and deformation behavior of austenite base lightweight Fe-28Mn-9Al-0.8C steel

Novel ferrite-austenite duplex lightweight steel with 77% ductility by transformation induced plasticity and twinning induced plasticity mechanisms

Novel ultra-high-strength (ferrite + austenite) duplex lightweight steels achieved by fine dislocation substructures (Taylor lattices), grain refinement, and partial recrystallization

Effect of Austenite Stability on Microstructural Evolution and Tensile Properties in Intercritically Annealed Medium-Mn Lightweight Steels

Dramatic improvement of strain hardening and ductility to 95% in highly-deformable high-strength duplex lightweight steels.