3DayPIPonMetallurgyforNonMetallurgist

from10th to12th April2017

SteelandCastIron

Mr.Rahul Gupta

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
Steels & Cast Irons are basically alloys of iron.
Carbon is the principal alloying element.
We use a large variety of Steel & Cast Iron parts in our day to
day life. Such as window grills, concrete reinforcement bars,
knifes, utensils, automobile bodies, auto components, dies,
cutting tools etc. The list is endless, such is their versatility.
Iron is the fifth most abundant element in the universe, hence
its abundance is assured. The functional demands of
components is so diverse that a single grade of steel or iron
cannot be used for all these applications.

Pune Chapter
Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF STEEL
ELASTICITY
The ability to deform under load, & return to the original shape
is elasticity.
Referring to the stress strain diagram, of steel, it should be
noted that steel undergoes very small elastic deformation
under very high loads. This makes steel a very useful material
for applications that are to withstand very high loads without
permanent deformation. This is a very important property for
all load bearing components. Typical examples being fasteners,
fabricated frames, springs etc.
As the strain induced under the application of load is very
small, very accurate measurements need to be made during
the tensile test.

Pune Chapter
Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
STRESS STRAIN DIAGRAM

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
MODULUS
The ratio of Stress to Strain is the Modulus.
The area under the elastic region of the stress strain curve is
equivalent to the energy absorbed during elastic deformation.
It should also be noted that the modulus is independent of
the final strength.
The greater is the modulus, lower is the deflection under load.
This is a very important property of steel.

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
PLASTICITY
The ability of material to undergo deformation permanently,
without fracture, is its plasticity.
The percentage elongation & reduction in area are a measure
of plasticity of any material. Greater are these values, greater
will be the plasticity.
Steels will have very good plasticity, especially the lower
strength grades. Generally as the strength increases, plasticity
reduces.

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
TENSILESTRENGTH&HARDNESS
The load at which a material breaks under tension is its
ultimate tensile strength [UTS]. There is a strong correlation
between the hardness & UTS of steels & irons as seen in fig.

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
TOUGHNESS
The toughness of steel is evaluated by impact tests. Sudden
overloading of a component subjects it to impact loading.
Only a tough material will survive in these conditions.
Generally lower hardness will result in higher toughness but
there is no direct correlation between hardness & toughness.
A fine grained material will exhibit high toughness as
compared to a coarse grained material of the same chemical
composition & hardness. Materials that have high elongation
& reduction in area during tensile testing will also have high
toughness values.

Pune Chapter
Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
TOUGHNESS

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
Microstruture has a very strong influence on toughness. In
Steels of equal hardness, those with a martensitic structure
will have the highest toughness values . The presence of
heavy inclusions, micro segregation, macro segregation,
carbides, intermetallic phases severely reduces the toughness
of steel.
The toughness of steels drops suddenly at low temperatures.
A steel that is tough at room temperature, will fail in a brittle
manner at low temperatures. Hence for low temperature
applications, the impact test should be conducted at low
temperatures. A series of impact tests at different
temperatures will establish the ductile to brittle transition
temperature for a particular material. In general lower carbon
steels will have lower impact transition temperatures & hence
can be used at lower temperatures.

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
Microstructure also has a strong influence on toughness. A
martensitic structure will result in the best toughness
properties. Nickel improves the toughness of steel
significantly at low temperatures .

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
FATIGUE PROPERTIES
Components subject to cyclic loading are known to fail at loads
well below their yield point. This is due to fatigue failure.
Generally for steels up to 400 BHN hardness, the high cycle
fatigue limit will be approximately 50 % of its tensile strength.
Hence steels with higher tensile strength will have higher
fatigue strength.
Defects in steel act as stress concentrators & consequently
reduce fatigue strength. Some of the common metallurgical
defects that must be controlled so as to prevent premature
fatigue failure are, Inclusions, Decarburisation, Surface
Discontinuities. Details of fatigue failure have been explained in
the lesson on failure analysis .

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
HIGHTEMPERATUREPROPERTIES:
As the service temperature increases the strength of steel
reduces & rate of oxidation increases.
Silicon, Aluminium & Chromium significantly increase
oxidation resistance of steel.
Nickel & Cobalt improve the high temperature strength of
steel. Hence most heat resistant steels contain large amounts
of these elements.

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
THE EFFECT OF CARBON CONTENT
Carbon is the principal alloying for iron & steels .Steels will
have upto 2.0% carbon, whereas cast irons have 2.0 to 4.4 %
carbon. Elements other than carbon are also present either
as impurities from the steel making process or as alloy
additions for improved properties.
Low carbon steels have upto 0.25% carbon. These are soft,
ductile, tough, machinable, weldable & will not respond
significantly to heat treatment. They can be easily cold
worked. They are the material of choice when extensive
forming or welding are to be used in manufacturing the final
product. These are called mild steels. Low carbon alloy steels
are different from mild steels. They are used in case hardening
applications .

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
Medium carbon steels with 0.25 t0 0.6 % carbon.
These steels can be strengthened by heat treatment to
superior mechanical properties as compared to low carbon
steels. They will exhibit very good tensile, impact & fatigue
properties in the heat treated condition.
These materials are also fairly easy to machine in the soft
condition, however they are not very easy to cold work
,except for simple operations such as thread rolling or cold
heading. Components can be manufactured from these steels
by forging or casting, followed by machining.

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
Their properties can be enhanced significantly by heat
treatment. Fastners , shafts, gears, rocker shafts, valve
tappetts, springs, mill house pins, gear mounting pins are
some of the parts made from these steels.
Some of the commonly used grades of these steels are C 35,
C45, C55, SAE 4140, 1541, 4340, 10B25

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
High carbon steels have above 0.6% carbon.
These steels have very good wear resistance in the hardened
condition. Most tools & dies are made from such grades of
steel. Tools that are subject to impact & hot work type of
applications are made from the lower carbon grades of these
steels ,such as S1, S2 etc . Tools that are subject to cold
working & high wear applications are made from steels with
high carbon such as SAE 52100, O1 , D3, D2 etc.Forging dies,
cold work dies, files, cutting tools, etc are all made from high
carbon steels.
Beyond around 2.4% carbon we have the Cast Irons.

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
Microstructure
As the carbon content increases the microstructure shows
increasing amounts of pearlite. Pearlite is mixture of iron
Carbide & Ferrite.
A 0.1 % carbon steel will have almost 90% ferrite and around
10% pearlite.
A 0.4 % carbon steel will have around 50 % ferrite & 50 %
pearlite.
A 0.8 % carbon steel will have 100 % pearlite.
A steel with higher carbon will have pearlite with increasing
amounts of carbides.
Beyond 2.4% carbon we have cast irons which will be dealt
with later.

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
MICROSTRUCTURE
The proportions of micro constituents decide the final properties of the
steel such as tensile strength, hardness, elongation, impact strength,
fatigue strength etc.

Ferrite is soft & has a low tensile strength [28 Kg/mm2] & hardness [80
BHN].

Pearlite is less ductile but has a high tensile strength [80 Kg/mm2] &
hardness [250BHN]

Iron Carbide is very brittle & hard [900 HV]

Other microscopic phases resulting from heat treatment, such as

martensite, bainite etc are not being considered, the following comparison
is for annealed steels.

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
MICROSTRUCTURE
A steel with around 0.2% carbon will have a hardness of around 130
BHN, a tensile strength of around 40 Kg/mm2 and yield strength of
around 25 Kg/mm2.It will have good Impact Strength, Ductility,
Weldability, Machinability & Cold Working properties.

A steel with around 0.4 % carbon will have a hardness of around 160
BHN , a tensile strength of around 60 Kg/mm2 & yield strength of
around 40 Kg/mm2. It will show Lower Ductility, Machinability,
Weldability & Cold Working properties as compared to low carbon
steels.

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
ALLOYING ELEMENTS & THEIR EFFECT ON THE
PROPERTIES OF STEEL
Elements other than carbon are also present in steel. These
may occur as impurities from the manufacturing process or
may be deliberately added to improve its functionality. We
shall study the influence of these elements on the properties
of steel. Alloying elements may influence the properties of
steel/ iron by :
a. Solid solution strengthening: P, Si, Mn, Ni,Mo, V, W, Cr harden
the ferrite matrix to varying degrees .
b. Formation of carbides: Ti, Zr, V, Nb, W, Mo, Cr, Mn form
carbides by combining with carbon. These increase the wear
resistance of steels. Hence most tool steels are alloyed with
one or more of these elements.

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
ALLOYING ELEMENTS & THEIR EFFECT ON THE PROPERTIES OF
STEEL.
c. Formation of intermetallic compounds such as FeCr: Some
elements form intermetallic compounds such as FeCr. These
may be beneficial as in the case of precipitation hardening
steel.
d. Formation of inclusions: Oxygen dissolves in liquid steel during
the steel making process. Elements with a strong affinity for
oxygen react with oxygen to form stable oxides such as MnS,
SiO2, Al2O3. These oxides are present in steel as inclusions.
e. Improving machinability: Sulphur, Lead & Selenium are added
to some grades for improved machinability.

Pune Chapter
 Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels
ALLOYING ELEMENTS & THEIR EFFECT ON THE PROPERTIES OF
STEEL.
g. Improving the response to Heat Treatment: Cr, Ni, B, Mn, Mo,
W, Ti, V are some of the elements that are added to steel for
better response during heat treatment.
h. Improving the corrosion resistance: Chromium is added to
steels for improved corrosion resistance.
i. Improving low temperature properties: Nickel is added to
steels to improve their low temperature properties.
j. Improving high temperature properties: Cr, Ni, Mo, Si, Co are
added to steel to improve their high temperature properties.

Pune Chapter
Properties&ApplicationsOfSteels

Pune Chapter