MATERIAL SCIENCE AND

ENGINEERING

Classification
Of
Steels

REFERENCES
Materials Science and Engineering, V. Raghavan,
Fifth Edition, Prentice Hall of India Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi, 2004.
Materials Science and Engineering: An Introduction,
William D. Callister
John Wiley & Sons, 2010.
ONLINE - Nptel

Ferrous Materials
Ferrous
Steels

Low Alloy

Cast iron

High Alloy

Tool steel

Stainless steel

CLASSIFICATION OF STEELS

FERROUS MATERIAL STEELS

Steels - alloys of iron-carbon.
- May contain other alloying elements.
Several grades are available
Low Alloy (<10 wt%)
.

Low Carbon (<0.25 wt% C)

Medium Carbon (0.25 to 0.60 wt% C)
High Carbon (0.6 to 1.4 wt% C)

High Alloy
Stainless Steel (>11 wt% Cr)
- Tool Steel

EFFECT OF CARBON ON PROPERTIES OF

STEELS

Low Carbon Steel

- Also known as Mild Steel
- Tensile strength of 555 N/mm
- Hardness of 140 BHN
- Bright fibrous structure
- Tough , malleable , ductile and more elastic than
wrought iron
- Melting point 1410

Low Carbon Steel

Plain carbon steels - very low content of alloying
elements and small amounts of Mn.
Most abundant grade of steel is low carbon steel
greatest quantity produced; least expensive.
Not responsive to heat treatment; cold working needed
to improve the strength.
Good Weldability and machinability
High Strength, Low Alloy (HSLA) steels - alloying
elements (like Cu, V, Ni and Mo) up to 10 wt %; have
higher strengths and may be heat treated.

STEEL
Compositions of some low carbon and low alloy steels

AISI - SAE CLASSIFICATION

SYSTEM AISI XXXX
American Iron and Steel Institute
(AISI)
classifies alloys by chemistry
4 digit number
1st

number is the major alloying element

2nd number designates the subgroup
alloying element OR the relative percent
of primary alloying element.
last two numbers approximate amount of
carbon
(expresses in 0.01%)

AISI - SAE
CLASSIFICATION
SYSTEM
letter prefix to designate the process used to
produce the steel
E = electric furnace
X = indicates permissible variations
If a letter is inserted between the 2nd and 3rd number
B = boron has been added
L = lead has been added
Letter suffix
H = when hardenability is a major requirement
Other designation organizations
ASTM and MIL

STEEL

Carbon content in the range of 0.3 0.6%.

Can be heat treated - austenitizing, quenching and then
tempering.
Most often used in tempered condition tempered
martensite
Medium carbon steels have low hardenability
Addition of Cr, Ni, Mo improves the heat treating
capacity
Heat treated alloys are stronger but have lower
ductility
Typical applications Railway wheels and tracks,

MEDIUM CARBON STEEL

- Bright fibrous structure when fractured
- Tough and more elastic in comparison to wrought iron
- Eaisly forged , welded , elongated due to ductility
- Good malleability
- Its tensile strength is better than cast iron and wrought
iron
- Compressive strength is better than wrought iron but
lesser than cast iron

HIGH CARBON STEEL

APPLICATION
S-

STRUCTURAL STEELS
- Possess high strength and toughness
- resistance to softening at elevated temperatures
- resistance to corrosion
- possess weldability , workability & high
hardenability
- principle alloying elements chromium , nickel ,
manganese

STAINLESS STEELS

EFFECTS OF ALLOYING ELEMENTS ON STEEL

Manganesecontributes to strength and hardness; dependent upon the carbon

content. Increasing the manganese content decreases ductility and weldability.
Manganese has a significant effect on the hardenability of steel.
Phosphorus increases strength and hardness and decreases ductility and notch
impact toughness of steel. The adverse effects on ductility and toughness are
greater in quenched and tempered higher-carbon steels.
Sulfur decreases ductility and notch impact toughness especially in the
transverse direction. Weldability decreases with increasing sulfur content.
Sulfur is found primarily in the form of sulfide inclusions.
Siliconis one of the principal deoxidizers used in steelmaking. Silicon is less
effective than manganese in increasing as-rolled strength and hardness. In lowcarbon steels, silicon is generally detrimental to surface quality.
Copper in significant amounts is detrimental to hot-working steels. Copper can
be detrimental to surface quality. Copper is beneficial to atmospheric corrosion
resistance when present in amounts exceeding 0.20%.
Nickel is a ferrite strengthener. Nickel does not form carbides in steel. It
remains in solution in ferrite, strengthening and toughening the ferrite phase.
Nickel increases the hardenability and impact strength of steels.
Molybdenumincreases the hardenability of steel. It enhances the creep strength
of low-alloy steels at elevated temperatures.

THE END