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Everything You Should Know About Steel Types and Their Properties

Nov 15, 2021

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Steel stands among primary construction materials used in plenty of industries ranging from engineering to medicine. As a raw material, it’s an alloy made of iron, carbon, and other constituents that altogether define the properties of the final product.

If you want to buy steel materials, you should consider their chemical and physical characteristics based on your business needs. You have to do so because there are plenty of steel alloys with different properties matching specific purposes.

Steel Composition


In essence, steel is made of iron and up to 2.14% carbon. However, today the steel market offers steel types that combine many more elements besides iron and carbon.

This time, we will categorize them based on their chemical composition:

Carbon Steel


Carbon steel makes up the most steel products on the market and includes several subgroups according to carbon composition:

  • Low – 0.05-0.25%.

  • Medium – 0.26-0.60%.

  • High – 0.61-1.50% and up to 2.14%.


High carbon steel is much harder than its low-carbon variation. Alongside carbon, such alloy may also contain trace amounts of phosphorus, sulfur, manganese, and silicon.

Why use this type of steel? Due to extreme strength and hardness, carbon steel is an ideal material for producing durable tools to deal with immense amounts of pressure.

Alloy Steels


Alloy steel combines a myriad of elements, including but not limited to silicon, boron, nitrogen, chromium, zirconium, niobium, tungsten, and titanium.

These elements impact the final price of the steel alloy, its properties, and possible applications. Thus, you can buy many alloy steel materials for different applications:

  • Heat-resistant steel, designed to withstand over 900°F.

  • Low-carbon structural steel made for cement reinforcements.

  • Improvable steels (suitable for tempering and hardening).


Steels also vary depending on their microstructure:

  • Ledeburite steel. It contains carbides that add to its heat resistance, hardness, strength, and cutting characteristics.

  • Hypoeutectoid steel. It contains less than 0.8% carbon.

  • Eutectoid steel. This type of steel contains 0.9% carbon.

  • Super-hard hypereutectoid steel. It contains 0.9-2% carbon.


Quality of Steel


You may find steel materials of different quality. Mid-end steels like A284Gr.D, GradeC, or A57036 are much more affordable and contain up to 0.6% carbon.

Meanwhile, high-end steels like 1008, 1010, A619, or G10080 come at higher prices. However, they are tougher, much more ductile, and you can easily weld them.

Mechanical, Physical, Technological, and Chemical Properties of Steel


You may want to buy steel (Metinvestholding) with properties suitable for your industry and range of applications. Otherwise, you may pick the wrong steel that will fail to meet your expectations. So check the main properties of steel below to choose the right combination.

Mechanical Properties



  • Tensile strength defines how much force you need to break the steel material.

  • Yield strength means resistance to deformation. It determines how much force is required to deform the material.

  • Ductility or elongation determines how much stretching force and deformation are required to tear or break the material. It helps calculate the maximum bend angle and elongation degree before the material breaks. The more you can bend the material without fracture, the more ductile it is.

  • This parameter defines how much impact stress the material can withstand before it fractures.

  • Hardness defines how metal can resist scratching and local indentation. The Rockwell test is the most popular method to determine hardness. It measures how deep a dent a special indenter can leave on the metal surface. The smaller the damage, the harder the steel is.


Physical Properties


The physical properties of steel also help you decide what industries you can use it for. Here are three primary physical characteristics of steel:

Density


The density of steel defines how much mass fits into a particular volume and is measured in cubic pounds per inch.

Average carbon steel has a density of 0.291 lb/in3, which equals 490 lb/ft3. High density makes steel much more resistant to deformation and stress.

Thermal Conductivity


Thermal conductivity defines how fast a piece of steel can transfer heat. This parameter is crucial for heating systems, pipes, and radiators.

Electric Conductivity


Electric conductivity defines whether steel can transfer current well. For instance, high-carbon steel can conduct electricity much better than its low-carbon counterpart. Conductive steel makes excellent wires.

Chemical Properties


Chemical properties define how steel performs under different temperatures in different environments (air, water, soil, acid, etc.). Check three primary chemical properties of steel below:

Oxidation


When exposed to air, metals react with oxygen. High carbon content and temperature amplify metal oxidation, which often leads to corrosion.

For instance, blades made of high-carbon steel oxidize so aggressively that you need to keep them in oil to prevent rusting.

Corrosion Resistance


Corrosion resistance defines the ability of steel to withstand harsh environments and damage caused by exposure to oxygen. It varies depending on the environment. For instance, a piece of steel will rust much faster if you store it in a humid place or keep it buried in various soils.

Heat Resistance


Plain steel starts losing its properties when exposed to heat. Heat resistance defines what temperatures metal can tolerate without breaking, deforming, softening, expanding, melting, etc. Heat-resistant steel equipment should withstand at least 900°F.

Technological Properties


Technological properties of steel define whether the material is easy to process. There are four key parameters:

  1. Malleability. It defines the capacity of being deformed and shaped by applying continuous mechanical force. In other words, malleable steel is easy to forge, bend, and hammer.

  2. Fluidity. It defines the capacity of molten metal to flow and fill the voids or molds.

  3. Weldability. It is the ability to weld with other metals. It varies depending on the type of welding and steel alloy.

  4. Machinability. It defines how easily you can process steel with cutting tools to produce rolled metal products and various parts.


Applications of Steel


The mechanical and chemical properties of steel directly affect the range of its applications. You can easily decide where and how to use the steel by checking its grade.

For instance, heat-resistant steel grades come in handy for industries like aerospace, where metals are exposed to high temperatures. The same goes for weldable and corrosion-resistant steel grades – they are ideal for shipbuilding.

One can differentiate steel grades based on their applications:

Construction Steel


Construction steel makes an ideal material for producing metal structures, rebars, wall cladding sheets, etc.

It’s crucial to choose construction steel depending on your needs. For instance, if you need raw material for pipe piles, you can opt for moisture-resistant steel alloys. Other alloys resist oxidation when buried in soil, so you can use them for buried structures.

However, all construction steel alloys have to show high weldability and toughness since they’re supposed to resist high loads of mechanical pressure.

What’s the best steel for these applications? You can opt for mid-end low-alloy grades since they’re affordable and always available for sale.

Tool Steel


Tool steel is ideal for producing various hand and power tools, stamped and cast elements, and precision measuring devices. If you aim for indestructible tools with infinite service life, buy high-alloy, high-carbon steel without hesitation.

Structural Steel


Structural steel makes a perfect match for large mechanical units, metal structures, and various metal components. Experts recommend heavy-duty, free machining, wear-resistant, and other grades for these purposes.

Also, steel with low manganese content will suit these applications to the fullest. Alloying also helps produce steel with many properties suitable for particular industries.

You can also order custom steel materials with properties that perfectly match your needs. You can choose between corrosion-resistant, heat-resistant, well-melting, conductive, and many more steel grades.