The invention relates to a stainless steel blank for making a Damascus patterned article, wherein the steel blank is made from at least two different nitrogen alloyed stainless steels having a chromium content of 11-25 weight %, of which at least one of the steels comprises nitrogen in an amount of 0.10-5.0 weight % and, optionally, at least one of the steels comprises nitrogen in an amount of 0.01-0.5 weight %.

An object of the present invention is to provide a metal elastic element which is suitable for sensing or the like of a fluid pressure change and exhibits favorable resilience even in the case of receiving a sudden pressure change, and also provide a diaphragm using the same. A metal elastic element of the present invention is composed of a two-phase stainless steel having a -phase and an -phase, wherein the area ratio of the -phase is 40% or less, and the two-phase structure is a marble-like metal structure. In the invention, it is preferred that the element has a fiber texture in which <111> and <110> are preferentially oriented parallel to the thickness direction.

A method of processing fully austenitic stainless steels, comprising the following steps: (1) performing a solution treatment on a raw material with a certain chemical composition, and cooling to get samples, the raw material contains: 00.2% of C, 00.2% of N, not more than 0.03% of P, not more than 0.001% of S, 0.5%1% of Si, 1.0%2.0% of Mn, 15%17% of Cr, 5%7% of Ni by weight, the remaining is Fe, and the content of C and N should not be zero simultaneously with a total content of both at 0.15%0.2%; and (2) performing hot-working for deformation of the samples obtained in step (1), to get a fully austenitic stainless steel. The stainless steel prepared by the hot-working deformation of the present invention has a yield strength of 2 to 3 times of that before hot-working deformation and an elongation of 1.05 to 1.2 times of that before hot-working deformation.

An austenitic alloy for high temperature use, particularly for use in resistance heating elements. The alloy includes primarily the elements Fe, Ni, and Cr, and it has the following main composition, given in weight %, Ni 38-48, Cr 18-24, Si 1.0-1.9, C <0.1, and the balance Fe. The alloy provides good hot form stability, good oxidation resistance, and a relatively high electrical resistance coupled with a low change in resistance as a function of temperature.

The present invention provides a simple, single step and time efficient method and apparatus for developing ultrafine grained microstructure stainless steel having enhanced wear resistance, corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, cellular response and hem-compatibility for bio-implant applications. The processed stainless steel showed 50% reduction in corrosion, high resistance against localised pitting and 50% reduction in wear in simulated body fluid. In addition, the processed steel demonstrated better cell viability, significantly lower platelet adhesion and plasma adsorption signifying high thrombo-resistance and thereby making it highly desirable for bio-implant applications. The present invention eliminates the long processing steps and do not need any specialized equipments and also eliminates the post process treatments.

The present invention provides a simple, single step and time efficient method and apparatus for developing ultrafine grained microstructure stainless steel having enhanced wear resistance, corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, cellular response and hem-compatibility for bio-implant applications. The processed stainless steel showed 50% reduction in corrosion, high resistance against localised pitting and 50% reduction in wear in simulated body fluid. In addition, the processed steel demonstrated better cell viability, significantly lower platelet adhesion and plasma adsorption signifying high thrombo-resistance and thereby making it highly desirable for bio-implant applications. The present invention eliminates the long processing steps and do not need any specialized equipments and also eliminates the post process treatments.

Methods of selectively cooling and quenching surface regions of high-strength transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steel are provided. The method may comprise selectively cooling at least one region of an exposed surface of a hot-formed press-hardened component comprising a high-strength steel. Prior to selective cooling, the component has a microstructure comprising about 5% by volume retained austenite in a matrix of martensite. The selective cooling is conducted at a temperature of about 40 C. and forms at least one quenched region comprising about 2% by volume austenite. The TRIP steel may be zinc-coated and having a surface coating comprising zinc and substantially free of liquid metal embrittlement (LME). Zinc-coated hot-formed press-hardened components, including automotive components, formed from such methods are also provided.

Methods of selectively cooling and quenching surface regions of high-strength transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steel are provided. The method may comprise selectively cooling at least one region of an exposed surface of a hot-formed press-hardened component comprising a high-strength steel. Prior to selective cooling, the component has a microstructure comprising about 5% by volume retained austenite in a matrix of martensite. The selective cooling is conducted at a temperature of about 40 C. and forms at least one quenched region comprising about 2% by volume austenite. The TRIP steel may be zinc-coated and having a surface coating comprising zinc and substantially free of liquid metal embrittlement (LME). Zinc-coated hot-formed press-hardened components, including automotive components, formed from such methods are also provided.

A steel sheet for hot stamping includes a steel structure represented by an area fraction of bainite, fresh martensite and tempered martensite: 80% or more in total, and a product of a number density (pieces/m.sup.2) of carbides and a proportion of carbides precipitated into prior austenite grains in carbides: 0.50 or more.

An ultra-high strength maraging stainless steel with nominal composition (in mass) of C0.03%, Cr: 13.0-14.0%, Ni: 5.5-7.0%, Co: 5.5-7.5%, Mo: 3.0-5.0%, Ti: 1.9-2.5%, Si: 0.1%, Mn: 0.1%, P: 0.01%, S: 0.01%, and Fe: balance. The developed ultra-high strength maraging stainless steel combines ultra-high strength (with b2000 MPa, 0.21700 MPa, 8% and 40%), high toughness (KIC83 MPa.Math.m) and superior salt-water corrosion resistance (with pitting potential Epit0.15 (vs SCE)). Therefore, this steel is suitable to make structural parts that are used in harsh corrosive environments like marine environment containing chloride ions, etc.