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ALLOY STEELS
TECHNICAL GUIDE N 2
ALLOY STEELS
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ALLOY STEELS
By David Valle; Metalrgica Madrilea, S. A.
Steel is the alloy of iron with a content of carbon between 0.2% and 1.8% by weight,
depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but
various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, nickel and
others, to improve the properties of the steel. Steels are among the most commonly
used alloys, offering designers an excellent combination of good properties and
competitive price.
Alloy steel is steel alloyed with a variety of elements in total amounts of between
1.0% and 50% by weight. Alloy
steels are divided into two groups:
increase hardenability,
improve strength,
temperature),
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Common alloy elements used in steel are manganese, silicon, chromium, nickel,
molybdenum and vanadium. In certain occasions other elements could be used,
such as boron, aluminum, copper, titanium, tungsten, zirconium, selenium, lead,
bismuth and others.
Carbon: It is the basis alloy element in steels. It is the primary hardening element in
steel. Increase carbon content increases hardness and tensile strength up to about
0.85% C. Ductility and weldability decrease with increasing carbon.
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surface quality. With a content of 0.2 to 0.7 the silicon increases strength. Higher
percentages improve magnetic properties.
Molybdenum when added to low alloy steels, increases the toughness and
improves high temperature strength. Molybdenum may produce secondary
hardening during the tempering of quenched steels. It enhances the creep strength
of low-alloy steels at elevated temperatures.
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Sulphur causes hot shortness and decreases ductility and resilience, especially in
the transverse direction. Sulphur content also decrease weldability. Sulphur is found
primarily in the form of sulphide inclusions. Hot shortness is reduced by the addition
of manganese, which combines with the sulphur to form manganese sulphide.
Sulphur levels are normally controlled to low levels.
When added in small amounts sulphur improves machinability but does not cause
hot shortness.
Titanium is used to retard grain growth and for carbide stabilisation, and thus
improve toughness. Titanium causes sulfide inclusions to be globular rather than
elongated, thus improving toughness and ductility in transverse bending.
It combines with carbon to form titanium carbides, which are quite stable and hard to
dissolve in steel, this tends to minimise the occurrence of inter-granular corrosion,
Reduces martensitic hardness in chromium steels
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Niobium increases the yield strength and, to a lesser degree, the tensile strength of
carbon steel, even when it is added in small amounts. Niobium can also have a
moderate precipitation strengthening effect. Niobium promotes a fine-grain
microstructure that improves strength and toughness. Niobium also has the effect of
strengthening steels and alloys for high temperature service.
Vanadium promotes fine grain structure and, in consequence, increases the yield
strength and the tensile strength of carbon steel while retaining ductility, even when
it is added in small amounts. Vanadium increases the toughness at high
temperatures. Usually vanadium content is around 0.15%.
Vanadium stables carbides and is one of the primary contributors to precipitation
strengthening in microalloyed steels.
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Vanadium together with other carbide and nitride forming elements, such as niobium
and titanium, combine with carbon and/or nitrogen to form a fine dispersion of
precipitated particles in the steel matrix.
BIBLIOGRAFA
Pero-Sanz Elorz, Jos Antonio; ACEROS; 1 ed. CIE-DOSSAT 2000, S.L.; Madrid
2004.
Steel castings handbook; Sixth edition; Steel Founders' Society of America; December 1995
FOR
ENGINEERS;
4Rev
edition;
Butterworth