Superior fracture toughness in a high-strength austenitic steel with heterogeneous lamellar microstructure

The development of steels with a combination of high strength, ductility, and toughness has been highly desirable for structural applications. Here we achieve high fracture toughness (129 MPa m½) in a high-strength (∼1.5 GPa yield strength) and ductile (∼37% uniform elongation) austenitic stainless steel. Through cold rolling, flash annealing, and tempering processes, the steel displays a heterogeneous lamellar microstructure that is comprised …