Fields and Areas of Application of Steel. Where Is Steel Used?
Metals have always held an important place in human activity. They are used to produce all kinds of parts and mechanisms for various areas of industry.
This article will discuss such an important metal as steel. Surely many people have heard of it, but not everyone knows what fields and areas of application steel has. We will talk about this and much more today.
What is steel?
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, the amount of which does not exceed 2%. The higher the carbon content, the harder the resulting steel is, but the less ductile it becomes. Various metallic and non-metallic substances are also added to the alloy - sulfur, phosphorus, silicon and different metals. The amount and type of impurities affect the composition of steel and determine its type. Let us consider the main types of steel.
What types of steel are there?
According to standards, steel is divided by quality and purpose into special-quality steel, structural steel and tool steel. Steel can also be carbon steel or alloy steel. Depending on how much carbon the alloy contains, low-carbon, medium-carbon and high-carbon alloys are distinguished. The amount of carbon in such alloys ranges from 0.25% to 2%.
Alloy steel means that a certain amount of some metal has been added to the alloy, thereby giving the steel special properties (corrosion resistance, frost resistance, impact resistance). Such steel can be low-, medium- or high-alloy steel (the content of alloying substances ranges from 4 to 11%).
Application of carbon steel
It should be noted that a particular type and grade of steel has its own field of application. Thus, high-strength and increased-strength carbon tool steel of various grades is used for the production of locksmith chisels, hammers, screwdrivers, scythes, carpentry tools, saws, scissors, knives for cutting machines and woodturning cutters.
Low-carbon steels are used to manufacture different products by cold stamping, as well as small parts (lightly loaded gear wheels, pushers). Medium-carbon steels are also used to manufacture small parts - gears, connecting rods and flywheels. Steels with the highest carbon content - high-carbon steels - are used to produce springs of various sizes and different types of leaf springs.
High-quality carbon steel grades У7, У8Г, У9, У12 and У13 are used to produce drills, forging tools, cutters, as well as tools for processing stone and wood.
Application of alloy steel
Steel with different alloying substances has more varied properties than ordinary steel. Alloy steel can be more brittle, more ductile or harder; it all depends on its composition. The purpose of such steel depends on what additives were introduced into the alloy.
Alloy steel is used in construction, mechanical engineering, instrument making and even in medicine. Let us consider the fields and areas of application of steel with alloying additives in more detail:
- production of surgical equipment;
- manufacture of various pipes (seamless, electric-welded, hot-deformed seamless, longitudinally welded, spiral-welded);
- construction of bridges and roads for various purposes;
- shipbuilding and aircraft construction;
- production of drills, milling cutters, collectors, taps and dies;
- manufacture of large parts with complex shapes;
- manufacture of parts intended to operate under friction and increased loads;
- production of knives for various purposes;
- creation of stainless steel pipelines (increased chromium content in the alloy).
Steel is not a simple metal. It has a complex classification and marking system, but despite this, steel is indispensable and necessary for the normal functioning of various areas of industry, the national economy and even medicine.