Page 172 - AWSAR 2.0

148 || AWSAR Awarded Popular Science Stories - 2019
Overcoming the Strength- Ductility Trade-off in Low Alloy Steel for Superior Performance
Mr. Gaurav Bansal*
Email: bansal.gk@nmlindia.org
The twenty-first century has been projected as the century of materials, that is, the development of new materials and processes will determine the growth trajectory in the current century. The engineering materials, which are the backbone of human made structures and machine components, are broadly classified as (i) metals and alloys (ii) ceramics and glasses, and (iii) polymers. One such material in the first category is steel, which is an alloy containing up to 2 wt.% Carbon along with other elements, for example, Manganese, Silicon, Chromium, and Molybdenum. Steel is one of the most versatile materials used in different industrial sectors, mainly due to its cost-effectiveness and ease of recyclability as compared to other materials. The significance of steel for a country like
India is easily manifested in the recent announcement of the National Steel Policy 2017 for the enhancement of steel production capacity to 300 million tons (MT) by 2030 from its current capacity of ~125 MT. As India is aspiring to reach USD 5 trillion economies by 2024, an increase in demand for steel is highly expected. Also, as per the recent report of the global Steel Trade Monitor released in May 2019, the total import of steel in India was 8.95 MT. This requires, in addition to the capacity enhancement, the emphasis on indigenous development and production of high-end value-added steels for import substitution and to cater to the continual increase in the demand.
The applicability of steel is mostly governed by its capacity to withstand a
* Mr. Gaurav Bansal, PhD Scholar from CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, is pursuing his research on “Development of Low Carbon Bainitic Steels”. His popular science story entitled “Overcoming the Strength-Ductility Trade-off in Low Alloy Steel for Superior Performance” has been selected for AWSAR Award.