Steels: the first bulk nanostructured steel. Lecture 12 of 12
Channel: bhadeshia123
Date: 2020-10-03

The prefix `nano' refers to a billionth of some quantity, whereas `structure' refers to the way in which objects are organised. Nanostructure therefore is an arrangement of objects that are very small indeed. There are additional caveats in our case, because the individual objects are crystals that must fill space  so that the resulting agglomerates  can be used in engineering structures. In practice, this means that there is a huge density of intercrystalline interfaces that interrupt the ordered arrangements of atoms, making the steel  incredibly strong. However, engineering design requires an appropriate combination of properties, economic viability and the ability to scale-up production. As a consequence, the few applications of nanostructures that have had limited success, are described in this video.

The focus is on the world's first bulk nanostructured steel based on bainite.

Associated teaching materials can be found on:
http://www.phase-trans.msm.cam.ac.uk/teaching.html
H. K. D. H. Bhadeshia