Some typical steels & their applications
Plain carbon steels
| Type of steel |
Typical compositions (%) |
Heat treatment | Typical mechanical properties | Uses | ||||
|
Yield point (N/mm2) |
Tensile strength (N/mm2) |
Elongation (%) |
Impact J |
Hardness (Brinell) |
||||
| Low-carbon steel |
0.10C 0.40Mn |
No heat treatment (except) process annealing to remove the effects of coldwork. | – | 2300 | 28 | – | – | Lightly stressed parts produced by cold forming processes.(e.g. deep drawing and pressing) |
| Structural steels | 0.20C | No heat treatment | 240 | 450 | 25 | – | – | General structural steel |
|
0.20C 1.50Mn |
No heat treatment | 350 | 325 | 20 | – | – | High-tensile structural steel for bridges and general building construction-fusion welding quality. | |
| Casting steel | 0.30C | No heat treatment other than ‘annealing’ to refine grain | 265 | 500 | 18 | 20 | 150 | Casting for a wide range of engineering purposes where medium strength and good machinability are required |
|
Constructional steels (medium carbon) |
0.40C 0.80Mn |
Harden by quenching from 830to 860 Temper at a suitable temperature between 550 and 660 | 500 | 700 | 20 | 55 | 200 | Axles crankshafts, spindles, etc, under medium stress. |
|
0.55C 0.70Mn |
Harden by quenching from 810 to 840 Temper at a suitable temperature between 550 and 666 | 550 | 750 | 14 | – | 250 | Gears, cylinders and machine tool parts requiring resistance to wear | |
| Type of steel |
Typical commission (%) |
Heat treatment | Typical mechanical properties | Uses | ||||
|
Yield point (N/mm2) |
Tensile strength (N/mm2) |
Elongation (%) |
Impact J |
Hardness (Brinell) |
||||
|
Tool steels (High carbon) |
0.70C 0.35Mn |
Heat slowly to 790-810 and quench in water or brine, Temper at 150-300 | 780 | Hand chisels, cod sets, mason’s tools, smith’s tools, screw driver blades, stamping dies, keys, cropping blades, miner’s drill, paper knives | ||||
|
0.90C 0.35Mn |
Heat slowly to 760-780 and quench in water or brine, Temper at 150-350 | 800 | Press tools; punches; dies; cold heading, minting and embossing dies; shear blades;; woodworking tools; lathe centres; draw plates | |||||
|
1.00C 0.35Mn |
Heat slowly to 770-790 and quench in water or brine, Temper at 150-350 | 800 |
Taps; screwing dies; twist drills; reamers; counter sinks; blanking tools; embossing, engraving, minting, drawing, needle and paper dies; shear blades, knives; press tools; centre punches; woodworking cutters; straight edges; gouges; pneumatic chisels; wedges. |
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|
1.20C 0.35Mn |
Heat slowly to 760-780 and quench in water or brine, Temper at 180-350 | 800 | Engraving tools; flies; surgical instruments; taps; screwing tools | |||||
Low-alloy constructional steels
| Type of steel |
Composition (%) |
Condition | Mechanical properties | Uses | ||||
|
Yield stress (N/mm2) |
Tensile stress (N/mm2) |
Elongation (%) |
Izod J |
Heat treatment | ||||
| Low manganese |
0.28C 1.50Mn |
Normalized | 355 | 587 | 20 | – | Oil quench from 860(water quench for sections over 38mm diameter). Temper as required | Automobile axles, crankshafts, connecting rods, etc. where a relative cheap steel is required |
| Manganese-chrome |
0.40C 0.90Mn 1.00Cr |
Quenched and tempered at 600 | 494 | 695 | 25 | 91 | Oil quench from 850; Temper between 550 and 660 and cool in oil or air | Crankshafts, axles, connecting rods, other parts in the automobile industry and in general engineering |
| Manganese-molybdenum |
0.38C 1.50Mn 0.50Mo |
28.5-mm bar, o.q. and tempered at 600 | 1000 | 1130 | 19 | 70 | Oil quench from 830 to 850 temper between 550 and 650 and cool in oil or air | A substitute for the more highly alloyed-nickel-chrome-molybdenum steels |
| Nickel-chromium |
0.31C 0.60Mn 3.00Ni 1.00Cr |
28.5-mm bar, o.q. and tempered at 600 | 819 | 927 | 23 | 104 | Oil quench from 820 to 840 temper between 550 and 650 Cool in oil to avoid temper brittleness | Highly stressed parts in automobile and general engineering (e.g. differential shafts, stub axles, connecting rods, high tensile studs, pinion shafts) |
| Type of steel |
Composition (%) |
Condition | Mechanical properties | Uses | ||||
|
Yield stress (N/mm2) |
Tensile stress (N/mm2) |
Elongation (%) |
Izod J |
Heat treatment | ||||
| Nickel-Chromium-molybdenum |
0.40C 0.55Mn 1.50Ni 1.20Cr 0.30Mo |
o.q. and tempered at 200 o.q. and tempered at 600 |
–
988 |
2010
1080 |
14
22 |
27
69
|
Oil-quench from 830 to 850; light temper 180-200; full temper 550-650; cool in oil or air | Differential shafts, crankshafts and other highly stressed parts where fatigue and shock resistance are important; in the light tempered condition it is suitable for automobile gears, can be surface hardened by nitriding |
|
0.30C 0.55Mn 4.25Ni 1.25Cr 0.30M0 |
Air-hardened and tempered at 200 | 1470 | 1700 | 14 | 35 | Air hardened form 820 to 840 temper at 150-200 and cool in air | An air hardening steel for aero-engine connecting rods, valve mechanisms, gears differential shaft and other highly stressed parts; suitable for surface hardening by cyanide or carburizing | |
| Manganese-nickel-chromium-molybdenum |
0.38C 1.40Mn 0.75Ni 0.50Cr 0.20Mo |
28.5mm bar, o.q. from 850C and tempered at 600 | 958 | 1040 | 21 | 85 | Oil-quench from 830 to 850 temper at 550-660, and cool in air | Automobile and general engineering components requiring a tensile strength of 700-1000N/mm2 |
Alloy tool and die steels
| Type of steel | Composition (%) | Heat treatment | Uses |
| ’60 carbon-chromium |
0.60C 0.65Mn 0.65Cr |
Oil quench from 800 to 850 Temper (a) For cold working tools at 200-300 (b) For hot working tools at 400-600 |
Blacksmith’s and boilermaker’s chisels and other tools; mason’s and miners tools; vice jaws; hot stamping and forging dies |
| 1% carbon-chromium |
1.00C 0.45Mn 1.40Cr |
Oil quench from 810; temperature at 150 | Ball and roller bearings; instrument pivots, cams; small rolls |
| High carbon, high chromium (HCCR) |
2.10C 0.30Mn 12.50Cr |
Heat slowly to 750-800 and then raise to 960-990. Oil quench (small sections can be air cooled). Temper at 150-400 for 30-60min. | Blanking punches, dies and shear blades for hard, thin materials, dies for moulding abrasive powders, (e.g. ceramics, master gauges, thread rolling dies) |
| 1/4% Vanadium |
1.00C 0.25Mn 0.20V |
Water quench from 850; temper as required | Cold-drawing dies, etc. |
| 4% Vanadium |
1.40C 0.40Mn 0.40Cr 0.40Mo 3.60V |
Water quench from 770; temper at 150=300 | Cold-heading dies, etc. |
| Hot-working die steel |
0.35C 1.00Si 5.00Cr 1.5oMo 0.40V 1.35W |
Pre-heat to 800, soak and then heat quickly to 1020 and air cool. Temper at 540-620 for 1 ½ h |
Extrusion dies, mandrels and noses for aluminum and copper alloys, hot forming, piercing, gripping and heading tools, brass forging and hot pressing dies |
| Type of steel | Composition (%) | Heat treatment | Uses |
|
High-speed steels 18% tungsten |
0.75C 4.25Cr 18.00W 1.20V |
Quench in oil or air blast from 1290C to 1310 Double tamper at 565 for 1h | Lathe, planer and shaping tools, millers and gear cutters; reamers and broaches; tapes; dies; drills; hacksaw blade; bandsaws; roller bearings at high temperatures (gas turbines) |
| 12% cobalt |
0.80C 4.75Cr 22.0W 1.50V 0.50Mo 12.0Co |
Quench in oil or air blast from 1300C to 1320 Double tamper at 565 for 1h | Lathe, planing and shaping tools, milling cutters, twist drills etc. for exceptionally hard materials; has maximum red hardness and toughness; suitable for severest machining duties (e.g. manganese steels and high tensile steels, close-grained cast irons) |
| Molybdenum ’62’ |
0.83C 4.25Cr 6.50W 1.90V 5.00Mo |
Quench in oil or air blast from 1250 Double tamper at 565 for 1h | Roughly equivalent to the standard 18-14-1 tungsten high speed steel but tougher, drills, reamers, taps, milling cutters, punches, threading dies, cold forging dies |
|
9% molybdenum 8% cobalt |
1.00C 3.75Cr 1.65W 1.10V 9.50Mo 8.25Mo |
Quench in oil or air blast from 1180 to 1210 Triple tamper at 530C for 1h | Similar uses to the 12% Co-22% W high speed steel |
Stainless and heat-resisting steels
| Type of steel | Composition (%) | Condition | Typical mechanical properties | Heat treatment | Uses | |||
|
Yield stress (N/mm2) |
Tensile strength (N/mm2) |
Elongation (%) |
Hardness (Brinell) |
|||||
| Stainless iron (ferritic) |
0.04C 0.45Mn 14.00Cr |
Soft | 340 | 510 | 31 | – | Non-hardenable except by cold work | Wide range of domestic articles, forks; spoons; can be spun, drawn and pressed |
| Cutlery steel (martensitic) |
0.30C 0.50Mn 13.00Cr |
Cutlery temper Spring temper |
–
– |
1670
1470 |
–
– |
534
450 |
Water or oil-quench (or air cool) from 950 to 1000; Temper for cutlery at 150-180; for springs; at 400-450 | Cutlery and sharpedged tools requiring corrosion resistance circlips, etc; approximately pearlitic in structure when normalized |
| 18/8 stainless (austenitic) |
0.05C 0.80Mn 8.50Ni 18.00Cr |
Softened
Cold rolled |
278
803 |
618
896 |
50
30 |
170
– |
Non-hardening except by cold work(cool quickly from 1050 to retain carbon in solid solution) | A highly ductile and easily worked steel that has high corrosion resistance. Widely used for kitchenware, sinks, food processing, brewing and catering equipment. Also used for architectural purposes |
| 18/8 stainless (weld decay proofed) |
0.05C 0.80Mn 8.50Ni 18.00Cr 1.60Ti |
Softened
Cold rolled |
278
402 |
649
803 |
45
30 |
180
225 |
Non-hardening except by cold work(cool quickly from 1050 to retain carbon in solid solution) | A weld decay proofed steel(fabrication by welding can be safely employed); used extensive in nitric acid plant and similar chemical processes. |
Some typical tool steels
*The hardness values for BH224/5 are for hardened and tempered steel.
†The maximum cobalt levels for BM1, BM2, BM4, BT1 and BT21 have been increased because of the level of cobalt in the scrap used for manufacture is increased.
‡BP20 and BP30 are supplied to a wide range of hardness.