ALLOY & SPECIAL STEELS

General Categories of Alloy Steels

Carbon and Alloy Steels Stainless Steel Tool and Die Steels Cast Steels (Crucible Steels)

Effects of Alloying Elements in Steels

Boron: improves hardenability without the loss of (or even with some improvement in) machinability and formability

Calcium: deoxidizes steels, improves toughness and improve formability

and machinability Carbon: improves hardenability, strength, hardness and wear

resistance, as well as reduces ductility, weldability and toughness

Cerium: controls shape of inclusions and improves toughness in highstrength low alloy steels, as well as deoxidizes steels

 Chromium: improves toughness, hardenability, wear and corrosion

resistance and high-temperature strength. It also increases depth of hardness penetration resulting from heat treatment by promoting carburization Cobalt: improves strength and hardness at elevated temperatures Copper: improves resistance to atmospheric corrosion and to lesser extent increases strength with little loss in ductility, as well as also adversely affects hot-working characteristics and surface quality Lead: improves machinability, as well as causes liquid-metal embrittlement

 Magnesium: has the same effects as cerium

Manganese: improves hardenability, strength, abrasion resistance and machinability, as well as deoxidizes molten steel, reduce shot shortness, and decreases weldability Molybdenum: improves hardenability, wear resistance, toughness, elevated-temperature strength, creep resistance and hardness, as well as minimizes temper embrittlement Nickel: improves strength, toughness and corrosion resistance, as well as improves hardenability Niobium (columbium): imparts fineness of grain size and improves strength and impact toughness, as well as lowers transition temperature and decrease hardenability

 Phosphorus: improves strength, hardenability, corrosion resistance and machinability, as well as severely reduces ductility and toughness Selenium: improves machinability Silicon: improves strength, hardness, corrosion resistance, and electrical conductivity; it decreases magnetic-hysteresis loss, machinability and cold formability Sulfur: improves machinability when combined with manganese, as well as lowers impact strength and ductility and impairs surface quality and weldability

 Tantalum: has effects similar to those of niobium

Tellurium: improves machinability, formability and toughness Titanium: improves hardenability; it deoxidizes steels Tungsten: has the same effects as cobalt Vanadium: improves strength, toughness, abrasion resistance and hardness at elevated temperatures, as well as inhibits grain growth during heat treatment Zirconium: has same effects as cerium

1. Carbon and Alloy Steels

carbon and alloying steels are the most commonly used metals structural makeup and controlled processing of these steels make them suitable for many different functions basic product shapes include plate, sheet, bar, wire, tube, castings, and forgings increasing % of alloying elements in steels, increases properties they impart (different elements are added to give different properties elements pass on properties such as hardenability, strength, hardness, toughness, wear resistance, etc some properties are beneficial while others are detrimental

Carbon Steels
also known as plain carbon steels group by % of carbon content (weight basis) higher the carbon content greater the hardness, strength and wear resistance after heat treatment soft, tough, easily machined, welded & case hardened designation: e.g. 1040 steel - 0.40 wt % C types: Low-carbon steel (mild steels) Medium-carbon steel High-carbon steel

Low-carbon steel (mild steels) has less than 0.30 % carbon used in everyday industrial products like bolts, nuts, sheet, plate and tubes Medium-carbon steel has 0.30% to 0.60 % carbon used for jobs requiring higher strength such as machinery, automotive equipment parts, and metalworking equipment

High-carbon steel has more than 0.60 % carbon used parts that require the highest strength, hardness and wear resistance once manufactured they are heat treated and tempered

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Low carbon steel wires

Medium carbon steel nuts

High carbon steel nails

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Alloy Steels
contain significant amounts of alloying elements expensive

Types of Alloy Steels

High strength low alloy steels (HSLA) Microalloyed steels Nanoalloyed steels Bearing steels Cold forming steels

Chained steels

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High-Strength, Low-Alloy Steels (HSLA Steels)

developed to improve the ratio of strength to weight

commonly used in automobile bodies and in transportation industry (reduced weight makes for better fuel economy)
Carbon content 0.15-0.25 % Yield strength: 400-700 Mpa, Tensile strength: 500-800 Mpa % elongation: 18-25% Applications: Automobile industries
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Microalloyed Steels provide superior properties without the use of heat treating when cooled carefully these steels develop enhanced and consistent strength

Total alloying element content < 0.2% High strength with excellent weldabilty
Yield strength: 400-500 Mpa, Tensile strength: 600-650 Mpa % elongation: 20-22%
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Maraging steel
Martensite + Ageing Ultra high strength C: 0.03%, Ni: 18%, Co and Mn each 3-8%, small amount of Ti and Al Upon cooling martensite forms

Yield strength ~ 1800 Mpa

Very high cost Applications: Rocket casing, Aerospace

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High strength low alloy steel sheets

Microalloyed steel connecting rods

Nanoalloyed steel bicycle hub

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Bearing steel pipes

Cold forming steel front

Chained steel chain

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2. Stainless Steels
primarily know for their corrosion resistance, high strength, and ductility and chromium content

reason for name stainless is due to the fact that in presence of oxygen,
steel develops a thin, hard, adherent film of chromium Even if surface is scratched, protective film is rebuilt through

passivation
for passivation to occur, there needs to be minimum chromium content of 10 to 12 % by weight

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 tend to have lower carbon content since increased carbon content lowers the corrosion resistance of stainless steels since carbon reacts with chromium, it decreases the available chromium content which is needed for developing protective film using stainless steel as reinforcing bars, has become a new trend in concrete structures such as highways buildings and bridges more beneficial than carbon steels because it is resistant to corrosion from road salts and the concrete itself

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Applications Products of Stainless Steels

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3. Tool and Die Steels

generally alloyed steels medium to high carbon up to 25% total alloying elements design for high strength, impact toughness and wear resistance at normal and elevated temperatures used at temperatures up to 600C

specialty steels very expensive

quench and tempered very clean steels

applications like dies, drills, cutting blades, hot working dies, etc

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1. Ferritic Stainless steel Main alloying element: Cr (% Cr 17 x % C) > 12.7 Room temperature structure: BCC YS: 350 Mpa, TS: 550 Mpa, %el: 30 Less expensive

Less corrosion resistance

Poor high temperature properties compared to austenitic stainless steel Applications : transportation

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2.

Martensitic Stainless steel Room temperature structure: body centered tetragonal (BCT) (% Cr 17 x % C) < 12.7 12-14 % Cr and 0.15 % C max High strength and good machinability YS: 1200 Mpa, TS: 1300 Mpa, %el: 5

Applications: surgical instruments, high quality ball bearing

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2.

Austenitic Stainless steel Room temperature structure: FCC Cr ~ 18%, Ni ~ 8%, C<0.08% Ni: Austenite stabilizer Good Formability and excellent corrosion resistance High work hardening

Around 70% of the total stainless steel

Mn has similar effect as that of Ni YS: 240 Mpa, TS:600 Mpa, %el:65 Applications: utensils, chemical industries, sanitary fittings

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Desirable Properties of Tool Steels

Hardness - Resistance to Deforming & Flattening Toughness - Resistance to Breakage & Chipping Wear - Resistance to Abrasion & Erosion Corrosion - Resistance to Rusting and Pitting

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Alloying Elements in Tool Steels & their Effects

Carbon (C) Chromium (Cr) Molybdenum (Mo) Vanadium (V) Tungsten (W) Cobalt (Co) Manganese (Mn) +Strength, +Hardenability, -Toughness +Strength, +Hardenability, +Corrosion Resistance - Toughness +Strength, +Hardenability, +Toughness, +Hot Hardness +Hardenability, +Toughness, +Hot Hardness, +Wear +Strength, +Hardenability, +Hot Hardness, -Toughness +Hot Hardness, +Wear, -Toughness +Strength, +Hardenability, +Toughness

Nickel (Ni)

+Hardenability, +Toughness, +Corrosion Resistance

+ increases decreases
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Classification of Tool Steels

Tool Steel Cold Work Class of Alloys W (water hardening) O (oil hardening) A (air hardening) D (high C & Cr) S H Examples (industrial names) W1, W2, W5 O1, O2, O6, O7 A2, A4, A6, A7, A8, A9, A10, A11 D2, D3, D4, D5, D7 S1, S2, S4, S5, S6, S7 Chromium types: H10-H19 Tungsten types: H20-H39 Molybdenum types: H40-H59 Molybdenum types: M1, M2, M3-1, M3-2, M4, M6, M7, M10, M33, M34, M36, M41 Tungsten types: T1, T4, T5, T6, T8, T15 P6, P20, P21

Shock Resisting Hot Work

High Speed

M T P

Mold

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Classification of Tool Steels

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Cold Work Tool Steels

used at low temperature-sharpness include all W, O, A & D class of alloys

typical applications include cold working operations such as stamping

dies, draw dies, burnishing tools, coining tools and shear blades

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Shock Resisting Tool Steels

used at low temperature-toughness & impact toughness include all S class alloys toughest tool steels typically applications include screw driver blades, shear blades, chisels, knockout pins, punches, and riveting tools

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Hot Work Tool Steels

used at high temperature-toughness, high resistance to wear & cracking include all H class alloys typical applications include dies for forging, die casting, heading, piercing, trimming, extrusion and hot-shear and punching blades

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High Speed Tool Steels

used at high temperature-sharpness Include M1 to M52, T1 to T15 class of alloys can be hardened to 62-67 RC and can maintain it in service temperatures

as high as 540C, making them very useful in high-speed machinery

typical applications include end mills, drills, lathe tools, planar tools, punches, reamers, routers, taps, saws, broaches, chasers and hobs

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4. Cast Steels (Crucible Steels)

term originally applied to crucible steel (sometimes used to describe tool steels, which is misleading) fine variety of steel, originally made by smelting blister or cementation steel & pouring molten steel into moulds manufacture is essentially a refining process, which is dependent on preexisting furnace products cannot not subjected to further forging or rolling

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