Maraging steel: Difference between revisions

'''Maraging steels''' (a [[portmanteau]] of "[[martensitic]]" and "aging") are [[steel]]s ([[iron]] [[alloys]]) that are known for possessing superior strength and toughness without losing [[malleability]], although they cannot hold a good cutting edge. ''Aging'' refers to the extended heat-treatment process. These steels are a special class of low-[[carbon]] ultra-high-strength steels that derive their strength not from carbon, but from precipitation of intermetallic compounds. The principal alloying element is 15 to 25 [[Mass fraction (chemistry)#Mass concentration|wt.%]] [[nickel]].<ref name=degarmo>{{citation|last=Degarmo|first=E. Paul|last2=Black|first2 =J. T.|last3=Kohser|first3=Ronald A.|title=Materials and Processes in Manufacturing|publisher=Wiley|page=119|year=2003|edition=9th|isbn=0-471-65653-4}}</ref> Secondary alloying elements, which include [[cobalt]], [[molybdenum]], and [[titanium]], are added to produce [[intermetallic]] [[precipitates]].<ref name=degarmo/> Original development (by Bieber of Inco in the late 1950s) was carried out on 20 and 25 wt.% Ni steels to which small additions of Al, Ti, and Nb were made; a rise in the price of cobalt in the late 1970s led to the development of cobalt-free maraging steels.<ref name=sha-guo>{{cite book | title=Maraging Steels: Modelling of Microstructure, Properties and Applications | first1=W | first2=Z | last1=Sha | last2=Guo | publisher=Elsevier | date=2009-10-26}}</ref>