Effect of 19 chemical Elements in Steel Metals & Materials/8 minutes of reading

There are a variety of chemical elements in steel. which make up hundreds of different grades.

So what role do these chemical elements play in steel?

Today I will take you into the world of chemical elements in steel.

Table of Contents

Effect of carbon in steel Effect of silicon in steel

Effect of manganese in steel Effect of sulfur in steel

Effect of phosphorus in steel Effect of oxygen in steel Effect of nitrogen in steel Effect of chromium in steel Effect of nickel in steel

Effect of molybdenum in stee Effect of titanium in steel Effect of vanadium in steel Effect of tungsten in stee Effect of niobium in stee Effect of cobalt in steel Effect of copper in steel Effect of aluminum in steel Effect of boron in steel

Effect of rare earth element in steel

Effect of carbon in steel

The role of carbon in steel is a double-edged sword

As the carbon content increasesthe yield point and tensile strength of the material will

gradually increase,but the plasticity and impact resistance will decrease.

High-carbon steel in open-air yards is vulnerable to corrosion.

Actually high carbon content is not all disadvantage because that high carbon content can improve the cold brittleness and aing sensitivity of steel.

Effect of silicon in steel

Silicon is added as a reducing agent and deoxidizing agent in the steelmaking process, so the sedated steel willcontain 015-0.30%silicon

When the silicon content in steel exceeds 0.50-0.60%then siliconis considered an alloying element.

Silicon element can significantly improve the elastic limityield point and tensile strength of steel so it is widely used in spring steelssuch as 65Mn and 82B.These kind of spring steels contain 0.15-0.37%silicon

Adding 1.0-1.2% silicon to the quenched and tempered structural steel can increase the strength of the steel by15-20%

Silicon,combined with molybdenum,tungstenchromiumetc.has the effect of improving

corrosion resistance and oxidation resistanceand can manufacture heat-resistant steel

Low-carbon steel containing 1.0-4.0%siliconwith extremely high magnetic permeabilityis used for silicon steel sheets in the electrical industry.

Of coursesilicon is not without its shortcomingsit will reduce the welding performance of steel.

Effect of manganese in steel

In the steelmaking processmanganese is a good deoxidizer and desulfurizer.

Generallysteel contains 0.30-0.50%manganese

When adding more than 0.70% of manganese to carbon steelit is considered as“manganese steel”.

Manganese steel has not only sufficient toughness but also higher strength and hardness than ordinary steel.

Improve the hardenability and the hot workability of the steelfor examplethe yield point of 16Mn steel is 40% higher than that of A3 steel.

Steel containing 11-14% of manganese has extremely high wear resistance, and is used for excavator buckets,ball mill linersetc.