Carbon steel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_steel

Carbon steel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carbon steel is steel in which the main interstitial alloying constituent is

carbon in the range of 0.122.0%. The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI)
denition says:
Steel is considered to be carbon steel
when no minimum content is specied or required for chromium,
cobalt, molybdenum, nickel, niobium, titanium, tungsten, vanadium
or zirconium, or any other element to be added to obtain a desired
alloying eect;
when the specied minimum for copper does not exceed 0.40
percent;
or when the maximum content specied for any of the following
elements does not exceed the percentages noted: manganese 1.65,
silicon 0.60, copper 0.60.[1]
The term "carbon steel" may also be used in reference to steel which is not
stainless steel; in this use carbon steel may include alloy steels.
As the carbon percentage content rises, steel has the ability to become harder
and stronger through heat treating; however, it becomes less ductile.
Regardless of the heat treatment, a higher carbon content reduces weldability.
In carbon steels, the higher carbon content lowers the melting point. [2]

Contents
1 Type
1.1 Mild and low-carbon steel
1.2 Higher-carbon steels
2 Types
2.1 Low-carbon steel
2.2 Medium-carbon steel
2.3 High-carbon steel
2.4 Ultra-high-carbon steel
3 Heat treatment
4 Case hardening
5 Forging temperature of steel
6 See also
7 References
8 Bibliography

Type
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Mild and low-carbon steel

Mild steel (steel containing a small percentage of carbon, strong and tough but
not readily tempered), also known as plain-carbon steel, is now the most
common form of steel because its price is relatively low while it provides
material properties that are acceptable for many applications. Low-carbon
steel contains approximately 0.050.25% carbon[1] making it malleable and
ductile. Mild steel has a relatively low tensile strength, but it is cheap and easy
to form; surface hardness can be increased through carburizing.[3]
It is often used when large quantities of steel are needed, for example as
structural steel. The density of mild steel is approximately 7.85g/cm3
(7850kg/m3 or 0.284lb/in3)[4] and the Young's modulus is 210GPa
(30,000,000psi).[5]
Low-carbon steels suer from yield-point runout where the material has two
yield points. The rst yield point (or upper yield point) is higher than the
second and the yield drops dramatically after the upper yield point. If a
low-carbon steel is only stressed to some point between the upper and lower
yield point then the surface develop Lder bands.[6] Low-carbon steels contain
less carbon than other steels and are easier to cold-form, making them easier
to handle.[7]

Higher-carbon steels
Carbon steels which can successfully undergo heat-treatment have a carbon
content in the range of 0.301.70% by weight. Trace impurities of various other
elements can have a signicant eect on the quality of the resulting steel.
Trace amounts of sulfur in particular make the steel red-short, that is, brittle
and crumbly at working temperatures. Low-alloy carbon steel, such as A36
grade, contains about 0.05% sulfur and melts around 1,4261,538C
(2,5992,800F).[8] Manganese is often added to improve the hardenability of
low-carbon steels. These additions turn the material into a low-alloy steel by
some denitions, but AISI's denition of carbon steel allows up to 1.65%
manganese by weight.

Types
Carbon steel is broken down into four classes based on carbon content:

Low-carbon steel
Up to 0.3% carbon content.[1]

Medium-carbon steel
Approximately 0.30.6% carbon content.[1] Balances ductility and strength and
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has good wear resistance; used for large parts, forging and automotive
components.[9][10]

High-carbon steel
Approximately 0.61.0% carbon content.[1] Very strong, used for springs,
swords and high-strength wires.[11]

Ultra-high-carbon steel
Approximately 1.252.0% carbon content.[1] Steels that can be tempered to
great hardness. Used for special purposes like (non-industrial-purpose) knives,
axles or punches. Most steels with more than 2.5% carbon content are made
using powder metallurgy.

Heat treatment
The purpose of heat treating carbon steel is to
change the mechanical properties of steel,
usually ductility, hardness, yield strength, or
impact resistance. Note that the electrical and
thermal conductivity are only slightly altered.
As with most strengthening techniques for steel,
Young's modulus (elasticity) is unaected. All
treatments of steel trade ductility for increased
strength and vice versa. Iron has a higher
solubility for carbon in the austenite phase;
therefore all heat treatments, except
Iron-carbon phase diagram,
spheroidizing and process annealing, start by
showing the temperature and
heating the steel to a temperature at which the
carbon ranges for certain
austenitic phase can exist. The steel is then
types of heat treatments.
quenched (heat drawn out) at a high rate
causing cementite to precipitate and nally the
remaining pure iron to solidify. The rate at which the steel is cooled through
the eutectoid temperature aects the rate at which carbon diuses out of
austenite and forms cementite. Generally speaking, cooling swiftly will leave
iron carbide nely dispersed and produce a ne grained pearlite (until the
martensite critical temperature is reached) and cooling slowly will give a
coarser pearlite. Cooling a hypoeutectoid steel (less than 0.77 wt% C) results
in a lamellar-pearlitic structure of iron carbide layers with -ferrite (pure iron)
between. If it is hypereutectoid steel (more than 0.77 wt% C) then the
structure is full pearlite with small grains (larger than the pearlite lamella) of
cementite scattered throughout. The relative amounts of constituents are
found using the lever rule. The following is a list of the types of heat
treatments possible:
Spheroidizing: Spheroidite forms when carbon steel is heated to
approximately 700C for over 30 hours. Spheroidite can form at lower
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temperatures but the time needed drastically increases, as this is a

diusion-controlled process. The result is a structure of rods or spheres of
cementite within primary structure (ferrite or pearlite, depending on
which side of the eutectoid you are on). The purpose is to soften higher
carbon steels and allow more formability. This is the softest and most
ductile form of steel. The image to the right shows where spheroidizing
usually occurs.[12]
Full annealing: Carbon steel is heated to approximately 40C above
Ac3? or Acm? for 1 hour; this ensures all the ferrite transforms into
austenite (although cementite might still exist if the carbon content is
greater than the eutectoid). The steel must then be cooled slowly, in the
realm of 20C (36F) per hour. Usually it is just furnace cooled, where
the furnace is turned o with the steel still inside. This results in a coarse
pearlitic structure, which means the "bands" of pearlite are thick.[13] Fully
annealed steel is soft and ductile, with no internal stresses, which is often
necessary for cost-eective forming. Only spheroidized steel is softer and
more ductile.[14]
Process annealing: A process used to relieve stress in a cold-worked
carbon steel with less than 0.3 wt% C. The steel is usually heated up to
550650C for 1 hour, but sometimes temperatures as high as 700C.
The image rightward shows the area where process annealing occurs.
Isothermal annealing: It is a process in which hypoeutectoid steel is
heated above the upper critical temperature and this temperature is
maintained for a time and then the temperature is brought down below
lower critical temperature and is again maintained. Then nally it is
cooled at room temperature. This method rids any temperature gradient.
Normalizing: Carbon steel is heated to approximately 55C above Ac3 or
Acm for 1 hour; this ensures the steel completely transforms to austenite.
The steel is then air-cooled, which is a cooling rate of approximately 38C
(100F) per minute. This results in a ne pearlitic structure, and a
more-uniform structure. Normalized steel has a higher strength than
annealed steel; it has a relatively high strength and hardness. [15]
Quenching: Carbon steel with at least 0.4 wt% C is heated to normalizing
temperatures and then rapidly cooled (quenched) in water, brine, or oil to
the critical temperature. The critical temperature is dependent on the
carbon content, but as a general rule is lower as the carbon content
increases. This results in a martensitic structure; a form of steel that
possesses a super-saturated carbon content in a deformed body-centered
cubic (BCC) crystalline structure, properly termed body-centered
tetragonal (BCT), with much internal stress. Thus quenched steel is
extremely hard but brittle, usually too brittle for practical purposes. These
internal stresses cause stress cracks on the surface. Quenched steel is
approximately three to four (with more carbon) fold harder than
normalized steel.[16]
Martempering (Marquenching): Martempering is not actually a
tempering procedure, hence the term "marquenching". It is a form of
isothermal heat treatment applied after an initial quench of typically in a
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molten salt bath at a temperature right above the "martensite start

temperature". At this temperature, residual stresses within the material
are relieved and some bainite may be formed from the retained austenite
which did not have time to transform into anything else. In industry, this is
a process used to control the ductility and hardness of a material. With
longer marquenching, the ductility increases with a minimal loss in
strength; the steel is held in this solution until the inner and outer
temperatures equalize. Then the steel is cooled at a moderate speed to
keep the temperature gradient minimal. Not only does this process reduce
internal stresses and stress cracks, but it also increases the impact
resistance.[17]
Quench and tempering: This is the most common heat treatment
encountered, because the nal properties can be precisely determined by
the temperature and time of the tempering. Tempering involves reheating
quenched steel to a temperature below the eutectoid temperature then
cooling. The elevated temperature allows very small amounts of
spheroidite to form, which restores ductility, but reduces hardness. Actual
temperatures and times are carefully chosen for each composition.[18]
Austempering: The austempering process is the same as martempering,
except the steel is held in the molten salt bath through the bainite
transformation temperatures, and then moderately cooled. The resulting
bainite steel has a greater ductility, higher impact resistance, and less
distortion. The disadvantage of austempering is it can only be used on a
few steels, and it requires a special salt bath.[19]

Case hardening
Case hardening processes harden only the exterior of the steel part, creating a
hard, wear resistant skin (the "case") but preserving a tough and ductile
interior. Carbon steels are not very hardenable; therefore thick pieces cannot
be through-hardened. Alloy steels have a better hardenability, so they can
through-harden and do not require case hardening. This property of carbon
steel can be benecial, because it gives the surface good wear characteristics
but leaves the core tough.

Forging temperature of steel

[20]

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Steel Type

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_steel

Maximum forging
temperature (F / C)

Burning temperature
(F / C)

1.5% carbon

1920 / 1049

2080 / 1140

1.1% carbon

1980 / 1082

2140 / 1171

0.9% carbon

2050 / 1121

2230 / 1221

0.5% carbon

2280 / 1249

2460 / 1349

0.2% carbon

2410 / 1321

2680 / 1471

3.0% nickel steel

2280 / 1249

2500 / 1371

3.0% nickelchromium
2280 / 1249
steel

2500 / 1371

5.0% nickel (casehardening) steel

2320 / 1271

2640 / 1449

Chromiumvanadium
steel

2280 / 1249

2460 / 1349

High-speed steel

2370 / 1299

2520 / 1385

Stainless steel

2340 / 1282

2520 / 1385

Austenitic chromium
nickel steel

2370 / 1299

2590 / 1420

Silico-manganese
spring steel

2280 / 1249

2460 / 1350

See also
Cold working
Hot working
Welding
Forging

References
1. "Classication of Carbon and
Low-Alloy Steels"
(http://www.keytometals.com/Articles
/Art62.htm)
2. Knowles, Peter Reginald (1987),
Design of structural steelwork (2nd
ed.), Taylor & Francis, p.1,
ISBN 978-0-903384-59-9.
3. Engineering fundamentals page on
low-carbon steel (http://efunda.com
/materials/alloys/alloy_home
/../carbon_steels/low_carbon.cfm)
6 of 7

4. Elert, Glenn, Density of Steel,

retrieved 23 April 2009.
5. Modulus of Elasticity, Strength
Properties of Metals Iron and Steel,
retrieved 23 April 2009.
6. Degarmo, p. 377.
7. "Low-carbon steels". efunda.
Retrieved 2012-05-25.
8. Ameristeel article on carbon steel
(http://www.ameristeel.com/products
/msds/docs/carbon_steel.pdf)

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9. Nishimura, Naoya; Murase,

Katsuhiko; Ito, Toshihiro; Watanabe,
Takeru; Nowak, Roman. "Ultrasonic
detection of spall damage induced by
low-velocity repeated impact".
Central European Journal of
Engineering. 2 (4): 650655.
doi:10.2478/s13531-012-0013-5.
10. Engineering fundamentals page on
medium-carbon steel
(http://www.efunda.com/materials
/alloys/carbon_steels
/medium_carbon.cfm)
11. Engineering fundamentals page on
high-carbon steel
(http://www.efunda.com/materials
/alloys/carbon_steels
/high_carbon.cfm)
12. Smith, p. 388

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_steel

13. Alvarenga HD, Van de Putte T, Van

Steenberge N, Sietsma J, Terryn H
(Apr 2009). "Inuence of Carbide
Morphology and Microstructure on
the Kinetics of Supercial
Decarburization of C-Mn Steels".
Metal Mater Trans A.
doi:10.1007/s11661-014-2600-y.
14. Smith, p. 386
15. Smith, pp. 386387
16. Smith, pp. 373377
17. Smith, pp. 389390
18. Smith, pp. 387388
19. Smith, p. 391
20. Brady, George S.; Clauser, Henry R.;
Vaccari A., John (1997). Materials
Handbook (14th ed.). New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-007084-9.

Bibliography
Degarmo, E. Paul; Black, J T.; Kohser, Ronald A. (2003), Materials and
Processes in Manufacturing (9th ed.), Wiley, ISBN 0-471-65653-4.
Oberg, E.; et al. (1996), Machinery's Handbook (25th ed.), Industrial Press
Inc, ISBN 0-8311-2599-3.
Smith, William F.; Hashemi, Javad (2006), Foundations of Materials
Science and Engineering (4th ed.), McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-295358-6.
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