Alloy steels

Dr. Indika De Silva

 AISI (American Iron and steel Institute) Definition

Plain carbon Steel

Composition not exceeds the following
limits:
Mn 1.65%, Si 0.6%, Cu 0.6%
Steel

Alloy Steel
Composition exceeds the above limits
Limiting properties that restrict application
of plain carbon steel.
 Low strength at high temperature.
 Low hardenability.
 Low resistance to corrosion and to oxidation at high
temperature.
 Significant losses in hardness on tempering.

 Principal objectives of adding alloying elements to

steel is to;
• improve existing properties.
• introduce new properties which are not available in plain
carbon steels.
AISI-SAE Classification System
(American Iron and steel Institute AND Society of Automobile
Engineers)

 Four digit numbering system

• 1st number – indicating the major alloying element.

• 2nd number – sub grouping within major alloy system.
• Last 2 digits – approximate amount of carbon.

 1080 steel - plain carbon steel with 0.8% C.

 4340 steel – Mo-Cr-Ni alloy steel with 0.4 % C.

Table 6-2
Ni Steels
 Compared to plain carbon steels,
• higher tensile strength without appreciable loss in
ductility.
• higher toughness.
• improved fatigue strength.
• higher hardenability.

Low carbon (0.1-0.2%), low Ni (2.5-3.5%) steels

 Widely used for carburizing as they produce very good
core toughness and hard surfaces.
 With the same carbon content and increased Ni contents
(3.5-5.0%) - AISI 2515 steels (5% Ni).
- higher toughness and strengths can be obtained.
- cost is very high.
 Applications
Engine cams, transmission gears and other parts subjected
to severe service conditions.
 Carburizing temp is lower than for a plain carbon steel-
liability for warpage and fracture is decreased.

 High Ni content tends to cause retention of austenite in the

hardened case.
Medium carbon, Low Ni (2.5-3.5%) steels
 Excellent shock resistance & tensile strength gained by
heat treatments.
 Applications-
Aeroplane parts, crank shafts, pinion shafts, turbine shafts,
studs and bolts.

High carbon Ni-steels

 Not very common as Ni is a graphitiser.
 Can be used with strong carbide formers, Cr

 In most applications Ni is not added alone but with Cr and

Mo forming Ni-Cr, Ni-Mo and Ni-Cr-Mo steels.
Cr-steels (0.2-1.6%Cr , 0.15-1.1%C)
 Addition of Cr to plain carbon steels improves,
• hardenability
• strength
• wear resistance - when sufficient C is present, forms
hard carbides Cr7C3 or Cr23C6.
 Disadvantage of Cr addition-
- promote grain growth at high temperatures.
- temper brittleness, caused when tempered in the range
above 540 0C.

Low carbon Cr steel

 Used for carburizing- very hard wear resistant surfaces.
 Core is not tough as in carburized Ni-steels.
Medium C (0.35%C) Low Cr (0.5%Cr) steels
 Applications-
gears, axles, shafts.
 Heat treatment by quenching and tempering produces
excellent wear resistance and satisfactory level of
toughness.

Steel with 0.9%C , 1.0% Cr

 Applications-
twist drills, hacksaw blades, knives and hammers.

Steel with 0.95-1.1% C and 1.3-1.6% Cr

 Applications -
ball and roller bearing.
 After heat treating – high compression strength and
abrasion resistance.
Tool steels
 These are basically high carbon steels comprised largely
alloy steels.
 Manufactured by basic electric arc process and remelted by
Vacuum Arc Remelting (VAR) and Electro Slag Refining
(ESR) techniques
to keep minimum : Porosity, segregation, non-metallic
inclusion and impurities such as P & S.
 Some tool steels are shallow hardening and some are deep
hardening.
 Cutting tools – Remove chips from
a material

Tool steel Shearing tools – Used principally to punch

materials either hot or cold
e.g. shears, punches, blanking dies

Forming tools – transmit their

shape to the work.
 Factors generally considered in the
selection of steel for a tool:
– Hardness, Wear resistance, Toughness, Depth
of hardening.
– Distortion or warping in hardening.
– Resistance to softening at elevated temps.
– Cost
Water Hardening Tool steel
 Usually plain carbon steels.
 In some of these (W2 & W5) small amount of alloy elements
may be present.
 Low hardenability, therefore require water or brine quench
to obtain the required hardness.
 Can be machined readily if cementite is present as
spheroids.
 Hardening temp - Hypo eutectoid plain carbon tool steel:
above upper critical temp.
- Hyper eutectoid plain carbon tool steel :
between lower & upper c.temp.
 Uses of plain C steel depend on C content.
• Shear blades, rock drills and hammer – 0.6-0.85%
• Chisels, dies – 0.8-0.95%
• Drills, milling cutters, large taps, shear blades – 0.95-1.1%.
Shock resisting tool steel
 Carbon content is kept low to achieve good toughness.
 Hardness & wear resistant imparted by adding Cr, Mo, W.
 S1 & S3 known as tungsten chisel and punch steels.
 S4 & S5 belong to Si–Mn group.
 S4, S5, S2 are inexpensive, consist high hardness,
toughness and wear resistance.
Applications- Chesels, punches and shear blades.
 S7 significantly different from others-
High Mo & Cr contents make it air-hardening in
substantial thickness (around 100mm)
Cold work tool steels
 Employed for making tools for cold work applications.

 Referred as non-deforming or non-distorting steels.

 Their composition and hardening treatment are adjusted.

 Three principal sub-groups,

– Oil hardening type

– Medium-alloy, air hardening type
– High-carbon, high Cr type.
Oil hardening type
 Sufficient hardenability.
 Possess good machinability compared to other cold work
tool steels.
 Type O1, tungsten controls grain growth
 Type O6 has sufficient C & Si to form about 0.3% graphite in
the martensitic matrix when hardened.
– Graphite acts as a lubricant when used in metal-to-
metal sliding system.
 Type O7 has best wear resistant.
Applications- plastic moulding dies, stamping and
trimming dies.
Medium-alloy, air hardening type
 Most have 5-10% alloy content.
 Possess sufficient hardenability gained by air quenching-
harden thicknesses up to 150 mm.
 Due to air hardening, distortion less than in the O type.
 In A2, Mo & Cr improve hardenability.
 In A4, Mn is the principal hardenability agent.
 In A7, excess C and high V provide massive alloy carbides
for wear resistance.
High-carbon, high Cr type
 All contain about 12% Cr and a minimum 1% C.
 Some are oil hardening and some are air hardening.
 High Cr content-
– Improve hardenability.
– Import high hardness and abrasive resistant.
 D5 contains Co to promote resistance to temper softening.
 D7 contains massive carbides, some of which are VC.
– Excellent abrasion resistance, poor machinability.
Applications- Drawing dies, blanking dies, forming dies,
shear blades, punches, Lathe centres, cold forming rollers.
High speed steels
 Well suited for cutting tools operated at high speeds.
 Two types –
- Tungsten base (T)
- Molybdenum base (M).
 Contain relatively large amounts of W or Mo, together with
Cr, V or Co.
 C content 0.7% to 1.5%.
 Properties –
• Red hardness (strong carbide formers, W, Mo, Cr, V)
• Wear resistance and deep hardening characteristics.
 Some grades contain Co and V which enhances cutting
ability.
 Cr one principal element controlling hardenability and its
optimum amount is 4%. -
With lesser amounts, becomes more brittle.
 Best combination of properties:
• toughness
• wear resistance
• cutting ability
is found in W high speed steel with 18% W.
 In Mo base high speed steels, W has been properly replaced
with Mo for cheapness.
 Heat-treatment of high speed steels involves very high
temps. to ensure dissolution of stable carbides in austenite.
Stainless steel
 High corrosion & oxidation resistance.
 Cr brings such resistance & stainlessness
by forming a thin, tight oxide film on the surface when
the quantity of Cr is sufficient.
 Other elements like Ni, Mo, Cu, Al & Si increase the
corrosion resistance.
 AISI has chosen 4% Cr to be the dividing line between
“alloy” and “stainless” steels.
 Four sub groups;
– Martensitic,
– Ferrite,
– Austenic
– precipitation hardening
Martensitic stainless steels (M.S.S)

 Cr steels containing 12-18% Cr with sufficient carbon.

 AISI types: 403, 410, 414, 431, 440A, 440B.
 Due to high hardenability, M.S.S can be air-hardened,
but with some decrease in ductility and corrosion
resistance;
Due to carbide precipitation at grain boundaries on slow
cooling through 870-540 0C.
 Therefore Most standard grades can be oil-hardened from
austenizing temperatures between 925-10750C.
 Tempering done at low or high temps. depending on the
properties required.
• Low temp. tempering conducted at 150-370 0C which only
relieves stress.
• High temp. tempering results in maximum softness. Less
corrosion resistant and cheaper than other types.

 Applications –
- Surgical instruments,
- Springs for high temperature operations
- ball bearings
- Valve seats for corrosive environments.
Ferritic stainless steels (F.S.S)
 Cr steels containing 12-30% Cr with relatively low carbon.
 Structure is ferrite at room temp. and not hardenable by
heat treatment as structure remains ferrite until melting Pt.
 AISI types 405, 409, 430, 436 etc.
 Because of the cold forming ability these are used for deep
drawn articles like vessels for chemical & food industries.
 Those containing more than 20% Cr are notch sensitive at
room temp.
 Between 205-3150C they are tough and consequently
difficult to carry out cold work operations.