TY - JOUR
T1 - A high-strength silicide phase in a stainless steel alloy designed for wear-resistant applications
AU - Bowden, D.
AU - Krysiak, Y.
AU - Palatinus, L.
AU - Tsivoulas, D.
AU - Plana-Ruiz, S.
AU - Sarakinou, Eleni
AU - Kolb, U.
AU - Stewart, D.
AU - Preuss, M.
PY - 2018/4/10
Y1 - 2018/4/10
N2 - Hardfacing alloys provide strong, wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant coatings for extreme environments such as those within nuclear reactors. Here, we report an ultra-high-strength Fe-Cr-Ni silicide phase, named π-ferrosilicide, within a hardfacing Fe-based alloy. Electron diffraction tomography has allowed the determination of the atomic structure of this phase. Nanohardness testing indicates that the π-ferrosilicide phase is up to 2.5 times harder than the surrounding austenite and ferrite phases. The compressive strength of the π-ferrosilicide phase is exceptionally high and does not yield despite loading in excess of 1.6 GPa. Such a high-strength silicide phase could not only provide a new type of strong, wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant Fe-based coating, replacing more costly and hazardous Co-based alloys for nuclear applications, but also lead to the development of a new class of high-performance silicide-strengthened stainless steels, no longer reliant on carbon for strengthening.
AB - Hardfacing alloys provide strong, wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant coatings for extreme environments such as those within nuclear reactors. Here, we report an ultra-high-strength Fe-Cr-Ni silicide phase, named π-ferrosilicide, within a hardfacing Fe-based alloy. Electron diffraction tomography has allowed the determination of the atomic structure of this phase. Nanohardness testing indicates that the π-ferrosilicide phase is up to 2.5 times harder than the surrounding austenite and ferrite phases. The compressive strength of the π-ferrosilicide phase is exceptionally high and does not yield despite loading in excess of 1.6 GPa. Such a high-strength silicide phase could not only provide a new type of strong, wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant Fe-based coating, replacing more costly and hazardous Co-based alloys for nuclear applications, but also lead to the development of a new class of high-performance silicide-strengthened stainless steels, no longer reliant on carbon for strengthening.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85045255561&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-018-03875-9
DO - 10.1038/s41467-018-03875-9
M3 - Article (Academic Journal)
C2 - 29636474
AN - SCOPUS:85045255561
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 9
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
M1 - 1374
ER -