Steel is a versatile material that can be used for a variety purposes. In fact, it’s estimated that over 55 percent of the average car is made of steel. Its versatility is determined by the type of alloy elements that are used to create it, since these factors affect the overall strength endurance, durability, and performance. For instance, the method that the manufacturer cools the metal can have a significant effect on its microstructure, and consequently its overall properties. It can also be manipulated to attain specific properties like yield strength, machinability and resistance to corrosion.
Steel is iron which has had other elements added to it in order to improve its physical properties and make it suitable for specific uses. The proportions of the additional alloying elements determines which class of steel it is part of and its overall performance in various applications.
For instance, stainless steel contains at least 11% chromium. This makes it resistant to corrosion. This makes it ideal for a range of applications such as cutting-edge kitchen equipment or cutlery. Tool steel is a preferred material due to its high hardness and resistance to scratching. It’s also used for hand tools and machine dies. Carbon steels also lend themselves to a variety of applications due to their superior ductility. Electrical steel is a special steel grade that contains silicon (typically 3%) This increases its magnetic properties, as well as reducing losses from eddy-current. This makes it ideal for laminations and transformer cores of electric motors.
