Flash Bainite Steel Technology

This is a major materials breakthrough in that it delivers hugely improved performance for steel.   The claim is made that it will actually make steel competitive directly with aluminum.  I do not think it will make steel corrosion proof, but that is another issue well understood with good solutions for high value applications.

By the by, do note that a green coated rebar now shows up for concrete decking on sensitive structures.  It effectively cannot be degraded by rust, unlike galvanized steel which has been the traditional standard.

What is clear is that this stuff will actually revolutionize steel manufacturing.  Note that the whole quench process is cut to ten seconds.  That alone is a revolution.  We can produce thin skins that are stronger than any other metal and do it cheaply.  Somehow that will turn it all upside down once a mill picks up on it and applies the method throughout the whole production chain.  The edge will be enormous and will drive all competitors to adopt the tech.

The military will now be able to strip even more weight out of their vehicles and improve mobility.  It should also make

Flash Bainite

Flash 4130 beats 12560J 0.30-calAP by 668fps.  Tested at 0 degrees... the hard way.

http://www.bainitesteel.com/default.asp

Flash Bainite is the Strongest, Most Ductile, Lean Alloyed, Readily Weldable, Least Expensive Ultra Strength METAL known to man. A50 tensile ranges from 1100 to 2080MPa (160-302ksi) with 8 to 9% elongation.  Total elongation up to 10-11% is not uncommon.  Flash 4130 at 1900MPa and 9% elongation exceeds titanium-6Al-4V's strength to weight ratio making it pound per pound stronger at only 56% the volume. Flash4130 is just 10% the cost of Ti-64.

"Off the shelf" plate and tubing can be made into Flash Bainite. Triple the strength of Chrome Moly, Flash 4130 is pound for pound 2X stronger than the best aluminums. If you are "lightweighting" structure with aluminum, Flash Bainite will do a better job at less weight and lower cost.

Environmentally friendly, this process consumes only a Kwatt of energy per Kg of steel processed. Water is used instead of polluting oils or molten salt. Traditional Time Temperature Transformation and Continuous Cooling Curves do not apply to common steels transformed with this process.  Many of the world's leading metallurgists have reviewed Flash Processing and fully agree.  Flash Processing is unique technology to make lean alloyed steel stronger and more ductile than ever before.

Flash Bainite Armor has proven at six ballistic testing labs to be pound for pound the strongest, most ballisitcally resistant, readily weldable metal known to man.  For tthe same level of protection against 0.30-cal AP at 0 obliquity AND 20mm FSP, the choice is 10psf of Flash 4130, at least 16psf of 5083 Al, or even heavier 6061-T6 Al.  Early tests indicate Flash 4130 does not suffer adiabatic shear plugging.  This means against 0 obliquity AP, Flash 4130 requires only 2/3 the thickness (thus 2/3 the weight) of RHA or High Hard.  At 5-10psf, Flash 4130 has vastly superior AP protection over Ti-64.  Flash 4130 beats all 10 psf metal armors against 20mm FSP.  Data doesn't lie ... Flash 4130 is far more than "just High Hard"

Metal Matrix Composites are known to increase mechanical and ballistic properties of aluminum and magnesium.  The flaw is that Al and Mg, even with their very low density, are pound for pound very weak metals.   Flash 4130 is a naturally occurring Iron-Based Metal Matrix Composite.  The homogeneous combination of ductile bainite, strong martensite, and chromium carbides is unmatched in performance.

"Too good to be true", Flash Bainite has suffered very harshly from "Not Invented Here" (or even 18 miles south of here!).   US Army ATC and others' data exists to back every claim.  Any reports contrary are from ill-informed and those who can't overcome misguided passion for weak, unprotective aluminum.

Flash Bainite is the highest overall performing, readily weldable Armor ever.... and at the lowest cost.Forget weak and parasitic designs of a 1/2-3/4"aluminum hull to bolt on your B-Kit. A 7-10psf aluminum hull stops handguns at NIJ Level II. 10psf Flash 4130 is NIJ Level III to stop rifle shot. Challenges Welcome!

Flash Bainite (new type of steel) is the Strongest, Most Ductile, Lean Alloyed, Readily Weldable, Least Expensive Ultra Strength METAL known to man

JUNE 10, 2011

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/06/flash-bainite-is-strongest-most-ductile.html

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Flash Bainite is the Strongest, Most Ductile, Lean Alloyed, Readily Weldable, Least Expensive Ultra Strength METAL known to man. A50 tensile ranges from 1100 to 2080MPa (160-302ksi) with 8 to 9% elongation. Total elongation up to 10-11% is not uncommon. Flash 4130 at 1900MPa and 9% elongation exceeds titanium-6Al-4V's strength to weight ratio making it pound per pound stronger at only 56% the volume. Flash4130 is just 10% the cost of Ti-64. 

Cola Bainite Steel process - Rollers carried steel sheets through flames as hot as 1100 degrees Celsius and then into a cooling liquid bath. The typical temperature and length of time for hardening varies by industry, most steels are heat-treated at around 900 degrees Celsius for a few hours. Others are heated at similar temperatures for days. Cola's entire process took less than 10 seconds. 

The resulting steel was 7 percent stronger than martensitic advanced high-strength steel. [Martensitic steel is so named because the internal microstructure is entirely composed of a crystal form called martensite.] Cola further claimed that his steel could be drawn – that is, thinned and lengthened – 30 percent more than martensitic steels without losing its enhanced strength.

Cola's process forms martensite microstructure inside the steel. But they also saw another form called bainite microstructure, scattered with carbon-rich compounds called carbides.

Flash Bainite is a steel with a unique microstructure containing bainite, martensite and carbides.

"Off the shelf" plate and tubing can be made into Flash Bainite. Triple the strength of Chrome Moly, Flash 4130 is pound for pound 2X stronger than the best aluminums. If you are "lightweighting" structure with aluminum, Flash Bainite will do a better job at less weight and lower cost. 

Ohio State University engineers verified the claims of increase the strength of steel by seven percent and can make cars and other products 30% lighter while keeping the same strength. For armor it can provide the equal of the best protection with a 20% weight reduction.

* 20,000 ton per year capacity by July, 2011

* 40-48 inch prototype sheets (3/16 and 1/4 inch thickness) available since Q1 2011

* starting with defense market and then expanding

* Environmentally friendly, this process consumes only a Kwatt of energy per Kg of steel processed. Water is used instead of polluting oils or molten salt. 

The most obvious use of Bainitic High Strength Steel (BHSS) is in sheet form in the transportation industry. The increased ductility of a bainitic microstructure will allow stamping of part configurations never possible with existing martensitic Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS). A significant number of complex stamped components will soon be manufactured in much thinner gages of steel due to the excellent formability of BHSS. Imagine an automobile whose stiffness has been increased yet weighs hundreds of pounds less.

Another area of increased use will be in the field of civil engineering. Steel building components can be manufactured to rely on much higher tensile strengths than previously thought possible. Wall studs, bar stock, angle iron, and I-beams are just some of the shapes that can be converted to bainite using this process. Significantly lighter roof trusses could be completely constructed from thinner gauge bainitic members that rely on greater tensile strengths. Tensioning components such as wire and re-bar may positively impact the bridge and highway building industries. Just imagine how much less steel could be used in a suspension bridge if architects could rely on much higher tensile strength cables. 

Other areas as diverse as household appliances to stronger armor plating to space craft will be able to take advantage of Bainitic High Strength Steel.