Mechanically strong and ductile load–carrying materials are needed in all sectors, from transportation to lightweight design to safe infrastructure. Yet, a grand challenge is to unify both features in one material. We show that a plain medium-manganese steel can be processed to have a tensile strength >2.2 gigapascals at a uniform elongation >20%. This requires a combination of multiple transversal forging, cryogenic treatment, and tempering steps. A hierarchical microstructure that consists of laminated and twofold topologically aligned martensite with finely dispersed retained austenite simultaneously activates multiple micromechanisms to strengthen and ductilize the material. The dislocation slip in the well-organized martensite and the gradual deformation-stimulated phase transformation synergistically produce the high ductility. Our nanostructure design strategy produces 2 gigapascal–strength and yet ductile steels that have attractive composition and the potential to be produced at large industrial scales.

A novel steel combining the “quenching and tempering (Q&T)” process was exploited that can achieve the enhancement of austenite by interface migration during tempering the martensitic matrix mixed with films of austenite. A high uniform elongation (12%) combined with high yield tensile strength (1500 MPa) was obtained, which showed distinct advantages over all the other advanced high strength steels under development for a lightweight car body. Furthermore, the effect of austenite on enhancement of ductility in “Q&T” steels with a martensite matrix was elucidated, which suggested that the ductility was promoted by enhancing boundary sliding and delaying work hardening of the martensitic matrix.

We present here an analysis on omega transition process during martensitic transformation. Martensitic transformation occurred during deformation at room temperature, avoiding the influence of auto-tempering on metastable omega phase. Based on the crystallographic relationships of twinned crystals, the twin interface of twinned martensite was characterized by considering the effect of direction of incidence electron beam on diffraction patterns through pole figures. Omega phase only existed at the boundaries of twinned martensite with single variant. It was proposed that lattice invariant twin shear during the dynamic transformation of twinned martensite promoted the formation of omega phase.