Low-density steels

Abstract

Fe-Mn-Al-C steels, previously developed in the 1950s for replacing Fe-Cr-Ni steels as oxidation or corrosion resistance steels or cryogenic temperature steels, are currently revisited due to two reasons. From an engineering point of view, the specific weight of the steels is reduced when a large amount of light element Al is added, resulting in the so-called low-density or lightweight steels. From an academic point of view, the metallurgical theories of the steels are not well established. The low-density or lightweight steels are expected to have potential applications for structural parts in the automotive industry. This chapter discusses the basic metallurgy, processing strategies, strengthening mechanisms and mechanical properties of these steels from the published literature over a period of many years and suggests avenues for future applications of these alloys in the automotive sector.