Role of strength and plasticity in metal brittleness

It is proposed the quantitative measure of steel ability to resist a transition from ductile to brittle state based on an analysis both of the strength and ductility characteristics for a wide range of structural steels. It has been shown that the brittleness of steel is determined not the value of a residual strain, but the relation between the level of brittle strength RMC and yield strength value, taking into account work hardening exponent. A possibility of optimizing the set of properties of strength and plasticity to achieve the best indicator of steel resistance to brittle fracture has been substantiated.