Types of Steel Materials and Their Uses

Steel is a versatile material that can be used for a variety of uses. In fact, it is believed that more than 55 percent of the average vehicle is composed of steel. Its flexibility is determined by the type of alloy elements used to make it as these factors impact the material’s overall strength, durability, and performance. The method by which the metal is cooled has a major impact on its microstructure, and therefore its overall properties. It is possible to energy-efficient spaces manipulate it to obtain specific characteristics like machinability yielding strength, and resistance to corrosion.

Steel is iron that has had other elements alloyed to it in order to enhance its physical properties and make it suitable for specific applications. The proportions of the other alloying elements determines the category of steel a steel belongs to and its overall performance in various applications.

For instance stainless is composed of a minimum of 11% chrome. This makes it impervious against corrosion. This makes it suitable for a range of uses, including kitchen utensils and cutlery. Tool steel, for instance is extremely high in strength and abrasion resistance that makes it a popular choice for hand machines and tools. Furthermore, the high weldability and ductility of carbon steels make them suitable for a broad array of applications. Electrical steel is a specialized steel grade that contains silicon (typically around 3%) This increases its magnetic properties, as well as reducing eddy-current losses. It is therefore ideal for transformer cores and laminations of electric motors.