This study consideres application of the digital image correlation method for estimating the relative deformations of composite materials obtained with the use of thermal treatment by laser radiation. The use of this technology made it possible to determine the mechanical properties of materials containing macroscopic austenite regions distributed in the martensite matrix according to a given law. The evolution of strain fields that occur when a load is applied to the samples under study is determined. The influence of the shapes and sizes of regions with high plastic properties (austenite) on the integral mechanical characteristics of composite materials has been studied.

We have measured the temperature dependence of the resistivity and magnetization of a special steel of the Fe–Cr–Ni austenite–martensite class in a wide temperature range (77–1100 K). It is found that at temperatures 77–170 K, the resistivity of the material almost remains unchanged, but upon a further increase in temperature, the resistivity sharply increases, which is probably a result of disordering. In addition, anomalous behavior of resistivity with vanishing spontaneous magnetization is observed at 910 K, which is associated with the ferromagnet–paramagnet phase transition. Comparison of the measured ρ( T ) dependence with the analogous dependence for 12Kh18N10T austenite stainless steel has not revealed features typical of Fe–Cr–Ni steel.