Strengthening of cobalt-free 19Ni3Mo1.5Ti maraging steel through high-density and low lattice misfit nanoscale precipitates

The concept of low lattice misfit and high-density of nanoscale precipitates obtained through solution treatment was adopted to obtain ultrahigh strength maraging steel without compromising elongation. An “ultrahigh strength-high toughness” combination was successfully obtained in 19Ni3Mo1.5Ti maraging steel with ultimate strength of ~1858 MPa and static toughness of ~110 MJ m−3. Maraging steel had extremely high density (2.3 × 1024 m−3) of nanoscale precipitates with minimum lattice misfit of less than 1% at the solutionization temperature of 820 °C. Two kinds of nanoscale precipitates, namely, η-Ni3(Ti,Mo) and B2-Ni(Mo,Fe) contributed to ultrahigh strength. The size of nanoscale precipitates governed the movement of dislocations, cutting versus by-passing. Theoretical estimate of ordering and modulus contribution to strengthening suggested that ordering had a dominant influence on strength. The toughness was closely related to the characteristic evolution of nanoscale precipitates such that the high density of nanoscale precipitates contributed to increase of elastic deformation and low lattice misfit contributed to increase of uniform deformation. The nanoscale size and low lattice misfit of precipitates were the underlying reasons for the high-performance of maraging steel. Moreover, the combination of high-density of nanoscale precipitates and low lattice misfit is envisaged to facilitate the futuristic design and development of next generation of structural alloys.