Sie befinden Sich nicht im Netzwerk der Universität Paderborn. Der Zugriff auf elektronische Ressourcen ist gegebenenfalls nur via VPN oder Shibboleth (DFN-AAI) möglich. mehr Informationen...
► First-principles theory is capable to trace the solute hardening effect in Fe. ► Magnesium addition to iron yields a large solid solution hardening effect. ► Stainless steel grades containing a few percent of Mg are promising engineering materials.
Materials with excellent mechanical properties, such as light mass combined with remarkable hardness and toughness, are technologically important not least for automotive and other transport applications. Solid solution strengthening, due to dislocation pinning by impurities, is an effective route to enhance the intrinsic hardness of alloys. In the present work, we use advanced quantum theory to reveal the mechanical characteristics of iron alloys within and beyond their thermodynamic stability fields. Among the considered alloying elements, magnesium strongly reduces the density of the host alloys and significantly enhances the hardness. Our findings suggest that stainless steel grades containing a few percent of magnesium are promising engineering materials for high-strength and light-weight designs.