Ductility of bulk nanocrystalline and ultrafine grain iron and steel

This paper reviews the ductility of nanostructured and ultrafine iron obtained using a variety of methods. Mechanical milling of powder and subsequent hot consolidation, one of the most popular methods offer high mechanical strength but poor ductility. Improvements made in the consolidation processes and the introduction of final heat treatments, in addition to new approaches such as spark plasma sintering and high pressure torsion, have increased the total plastic strain of nanostructured iron. The development of bimodal structures enables the existence of strain hardening and more uniform deformation. The paper also includes a steel study, which finds that the hardness of milled powder and the role of carbon atoms inside ferrite grains make it more difficult to improve the ductility of nanostructured samples. © (2010) Trans Tech Publications.