Abstract
The surprisingly low magnetic transition temperatures in austenitic stainless steels indicate that in these Fe-based alloys magnetic disorder might be present at room temperature. Using a first-principles approach, we have obtained a theoretical description of the stacking fault energy in alloys as a function of composition and temperature. Comparison of our results with experimental databases provides a strong evidence for large magnetic fluctuations in these materials. We demonstrate that the effects of alloying additions on the structural properties of steels contain a dominant magnetic contribution, which stabilizes the most common austenitic steels at normal service conditions.
- Received 20 September 2005
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.117210
©2006 American Physical Society