Types of Steel Materials and Their Uses
Steel is a versatile metal that can be used for a variety of applications. Steel is a component in over 55% of all cars. Its flexibility is determined by the kind of alloy elements used to create it, since these factors affect the overall strength, durability, and performance. The method in which metal is cooled can have significant effects on its microstructure, and consequently, its overall properties. It is manipulated to attain specific properties such as machinability, yielding strength, and resistance to corrosion.
Steel is iron which has had other elements alloyed to it to improve its physical properties and make it suitable for certain uses. The proportions of the other alloying elements determines which category of steel it belongs to and its overall performance in various applications.
For example, stainless steel contains at least 11% chromium. This makes it impervious to corrosion. This characteristic is what makes it suitable for a broad range of uses, including kitchen utensils and cutlery. Tool steel, meanwhile is extremely high in resistance to abrasion and hardness that makes it a favorite for hand tools and machine dies. Furthermore, the high weldability and ductility of carbon steels make them suitable for a broad array of applications. Electrical steel is a steel grade that is composed of silicon (typically 3%) This enhances the magnetic properties and decreases the loss of eddy current, making it ideal for transformer cores as well as electric motor laminations.