All About Carbon Steel as a Manufacturing Material

What is Carbon Steel?

Carbon steel is a series of iron alloys whose main alloying element is carbon. Carbon steels are widely used in almost every industry and are generally classified into low, medium, and high-carbon varieties. Carbon content has a strong influence on the mechanical properties of steel. As the carbon content increases, the steel will typically have higher strength and lower ductility. Medium and high carbon steel are readily heat treated, which can further improve their mechanical properties. 

Link to Puhuasheng

What Are the Components of Carbon Steel?

Carbon steel consists of iron alloyed with small amounts of carbon (typically below 1 %, though it can be as high as 2 %), manganese, and silicon, with sulfur and phosphorus present mostly as impurities. Each element added to plain carbon steel plays a specific role in the final properties. For example, manganese is added primarily to help desulfurize steel. However, it can be added in slightly larger quantities, up to 1%, as a substitutional solute to help strengthen the steel. Silicon, on the other hand, is added primarily as a deoxidizer, and is primarily present as a residual element, though it can be added in small amounts for strengthening.

What Are the Different Types of Carbon Steels?

Plain carbon steels are often classified as low, medium, or high carbon steels based on the weight percent carbon in the alloy. The exact carbon levels for these three categories are not universally accepted and different standards-issuing organizations define slightly different category boundaries. However, this article sticks with the divisions defined by ASM International:

1. Low-Carbon Steel: Low-carbon steel is any steel with a carbon content of less than 0.2 %. Low-carbon steel, also referred to as mild steel, is one of the most common grades of carbon steel. This grade cannot be heat treated and can only be hardened by cold working. Low-carbon steel is readily welded. It is highly ductile, which can make it difficult to machine due to galling (a type of wear caused by adhesion between sliding surfaces) and the formation of long chips. Adding a small, controlled amount of sulfur can increase its machinability.
2. Medium-Carbon Steel: Medium-carbon steel refers to steel with a carbon content between 0.2 and 0.5 %. Medium-carbon steel has a good balance between strength, ductility, and wear resistance. This grade can be heat treated for additional strength. The higher the carbon content, the more heat-treatable the alloy. It can also be welded. However, special pre- and post-heating weld procedures are required to avoid forming brittle martensite in the heat-affected zone of medium-carbon steels.
3. High-Carbon Steel: High-carbon steel refers to steel with a carbon content larger than 0.5 % but less than 1 %. High-carbon steel, a type of tool steel, has the highest level of carbon content. This means it has the highest strength and hardness among the plain carbon steels. However, these properties come at the cost of increased brittleness. High-carbon steels are difficult to weld because of their propensity to form large amounts of brittle martensite in the weld heat-affected zone, increasing the potential for weld cracking.

What Are the Properties of Carbon Steel?

Carbon steel is an umbrella term used to describe a wide variety of steel compositions. The mechanical properties of a specific grade from each carbon steel category (cold-rolled carbon steel) have been listed in Table 1 below using the AISI numbering convention: 

For more Low-Carbon Steel T Postsinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.

Is low carbon steel sustainable?

Low carbon steel&#;s sustainability is a major advantage as it makes it a more desirable material. There&#;s an increasing focus on sustainability across the world, and consumers are looking for products that have less of a negative impact on the environment. Low carbon steel ticks this box as it produces fewer greenhouse gasses during its production. This means it has a lower carbon footprint than other steels. However, to be truly zero-carbon, it would need to be produced without any CO2 emissions at all. While this doesn&#;t look likely in the near future, the fact that there is now a more sustainable option is good news.

Additionally, low carbon steel can be recycled, conserving as much as 120 pounds of limestone, 1,400 pounds of coal, and 2,500 pounds of iron ore for every ton that gets reused. This reduces carbon emissions and waste, which ensures there&#;s less impact on the environment.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Y Post with Teeth. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.