Cobalt and the Toughness of Steel

Abstract

In developing compositions for new ultra-high strength steels it is important to understand the effects of alloying additions on the microstructure, strength and fracture resistance. Cobalt has been widely used in the development of high toughness ultra-high strength steels and the effects of cobalt on the strength of steels has been studied extensively but there is remarkably little known about how cobalt influences toughness. In this article are reviewed the effects of cobalt on the toughness of steel. The literature suggests that cobalt in solid solution will act to raise the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature but that it can act to increase the upper-shelf toughness of steel.