First-principles study of solid-solution hardening in steel alloys

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.