Maraging steel: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Steel known for strength and toughness}}

{{Steels}}

 

The common, non-stainless grades contain 17–19 wt% nickel, 8–12 wt% cobalt, 3–5 wt% molybdenum and 0.2–1.6 wt% titanium.<ref>{{cite web |last1=INCO |title=18% Nickel Maraging Steel – Engineering Properties |url=https://nickelinstitute.org/en/library/technical-guides/18-nickel-maraging-steel-engineering-properties-4419/ |website=Nickel Institute}}</ref> Addition of chromium produces stainless grades resistant to corrosion. This also indirectly increases [[hardenability]] as they require less nickel; high-chromium, high-nickel steels are generally [[austenite|austenitic]] and unable to transform to [[martensite]] when heat treated, while lower-nickel steels can transform to martensite. Alternative variants of nickel-reduced maraging steels are based on alloys of iron and manganese plus minor additions of aluminium, nickel and titanium where compositions between Fe-9wt% Mn to Fe-15wt% Mn have been used.<ref name=maraging2>{{citation|last1= Raabe|first1=D.|last2= Sandlöbes|first2 =S.|last3= Millan|first3=J. J.|last4=Ponge|first4=D.|last5=Assadi|first5=H.|last6=Herbig|first6=M.|last7=Choi|first7=P.P.| title= Segregation engineering enables nanoscale martensite to austenite phase transformation at grain boundaries: A pathway to ductile martensite

 

In the sport of [[fencing]], blades used in competitions run under the auspices of the [[Fédération Internationale d'Escrime]] are usually made with maraging steel. Maraging blades are superior for [[foil (sword)|foil]] and [[épée]] because crack propagation in maraging steel is 10 times slower than in carbon steel, resulting in less frequent breaking of the blade and fewer injuries.{{efn-lr|However, the notion that maraging steel blades break flat is a fencing [[urban legend]]. Testing has shown that the blade-breakage patterns in carbon steel and maraging steel are identical due to the similarity in the loading mode during bending. Additionally, a crack is likely to start at the same point and propagate along the same path (although much more slowly), as crack propagation in [[fatigue (material)|fatigue]] is a plastic phenomenon rather than microstructural.}}<ref name="Juvinall">{{cite book|title = Fundamentals of Machine Component Design |edition = Fourth |last1 = Juvinall |first1 = Robert C. |last2= Marshek |first2= Kurt M. |year = 2006 |publisher = John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |isbn = 978-0-471-66177-1 |page = 69}}</ref> Stainless maraging steel is used in [[bicycle]] frames (e.g. Reynolds 953 introduced in 2013)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Reynolds turns 120: The history of Reynolds Technology|url=https://www.reynoldstechnology.biz/the-history-of-reynolds-technology/|access-date=2022-12-29|website=www.reynoldstechnology.biz|date=20 December 2018 |language=en}}</ref> and [[golf]] club heads.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Maraging Steel in Golf Clubs|url=https://www.golfcompendium.com/2021/01/maraging-steel-golf-clubs.html|access-date=2022-12-29|website=Golf Compendium|language=en}}</ref> It is also used in surgical components and hypodermic syringes, but is not suitable for scalpel blades because the lack of carbon prevents it from holding a good cutting edge.

 

American musical instrument string producer [[Ernie Ball Inc.|Ernie Ball]] has made a specialist type of [[electric guitar]] [[Guitar string|string]] out of maraging steel, claiming that this alloy provides more output and enhanced tonal response.<ref>{{Cite web