Types of Steel

Steel

•Low carbon steel (mild steel)

•Medium carbon steel
•High carbon steel (tool steels)
•Cast iron
High alloy Steels

•Stainless steel
•High speed steel

1
 Low Carbon Steel
Also known as mild steel
Contain 0.05% -0.32% carbon

Tough, ductile and malleable

Easily joined and welded
Poor resistance to corrosion
Often used a general purpose material

Nails, screws, car bodies,

Structural Steel used in the construction industry

2
 Medium Carbon Steel
Contains 0.35% - 0.5% of carbon

Offer more strength and hardness BUT

less ductile and malleable

Structural steel, rails and garden tools

3
 High Carbon Steel
Also known as ‘tool steel’
Contain 0.55%-1.5% carbon

Very hard but offers Higher

Strength Less ductile
and less malleable

Hand tools (chisels, punches)

Saw blades

4
 Stainless Steel
Steel alloyed with
chromium (18%), nickel (8%), magnesium (8%)
Hard and tough
Corrosion resistance
Comes in different grades
Sinks, cooking utensils, surgical instruments

5
 Stainless Steels
Main types:

Ferritic chromium:
very formable, relatively weak;
used in architectural trim, kitchen range hoods, jewelry,
decorations, utensils Grades 409, 430, and other 400

Austentitic nickel-chromium:
non-magnetic, machinable, weldable, relatively weak; used in
architectural products, such as fascias, curtain walls,
storefronts, doors & windows, railings; chemical processing,
food utensils, kitchen applications.
series. Grades 301, 302, 303, 304, 316, and other 300 series.
6
Martensitic chromium:
High strength, hardness, resistance to abrasion; used in
turbine parts, bearings, knives, cutlery and generally
Magnetic. Grades 17-4, 410, 416, 420, 440 and other 400
series

Maraging (super alloys):

High strength, high Temperature alloy used in structural
applications, aircraft components and are generally magnetic.
Alloys containing around 18% Nickel.

7
 High Speed Steel
Medium Carbon steel alloyed with
Tungsten, chromium, vanadium

Very hard
Resistant to frictional heat even at high temperature
Can only be ground

Machine cutting tools (lathe and milling)

Drills

8
 Cast Irons
• Cast irons are iron-carbon-silicon alloys, typically
containing 2–4% C and 0.5–3% Si, that pass
through the eutectic reaction during solidification.
•iron-carbon alloys with more than 2.11% carbon
•It pass through the eutectic reaction during
solidification.
•Properties
•Inexpensive
•Have good fluidity
•Have low liquidus temperature
•Readily castable
 Cast Irons
• Cast irons are iron-carbon-silicon alloys, typically
containing 3–4.5% C and 0.5–3% Si, that pass through the
eutectic reaction during solidification.

• In Fe-C alloys, the liquid easily undercools 6°C (the

temperature difference between the stable and
metastable eutectic temperatures), and white iron forms.
Adding about 2% silicon to the iron increases the
temperature difference between the eutectics, permitting
larger undercoolings to be tolerated and more time for
the stable graphite eutectic to nucleate and grow. Silicon,
therefore, is a graphite stabilizing element.
 Cast Irons

•Effect of Si
•reduces the amount of carbon contained in
the eutectic. carbon equivalent (CE):

•Enhances oxidation and corrosion resistance

by forming a tight adhering surface oxide.
•It is a graphite stabilizing element.
•Eutectic Reaction in Cast Irons
•Metastable phase diagram

•Stable rxn
 Cast Irons
• The microstructure of cast iron has two extremes
1. Liquid austenite + Fe3C (white cast iron)
2. Liquid austenite + graphite (gray, ductile…)
• graphite formation is promoted by
– Slow cooling
– High C and Si content
– Heavy or thick section size
– Inoculation particles
– Presence of S, P, Al, Ni, Sn, Mn, Cu, Cobilt, antimony
• Formation of cementite (Fe3C) is favored by
– Fast cooling
– Low C and Si contents
– Thin sections
– Alloying elements, titanium, vanadium, zirconium,
chromium, manganese, and molybdenum
 Types of Cast Iron
• Depending on chemical composition, cooling
rate, types and amount of inoculants that are
used we can have
a. Gray iron
b. White iron
c. Malleable iron
d. Ductile iron
e. Compacted graphite iron
 Eutectoid Reaction in Cast Irons
• The matrix structure and properties of each type of cast iron are
determined by how the austenite transforms during the eutectoid
reaction.
• In the Fe-Fe3C phase diagram used for steels, the austenite transformed
to ferrite and cementite, often in the form of pearlite; however, silicon
also encourages the stable eutectoid reaction:
𝛾 → 𝛼 + 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑒
• Under equilibrium conditions, carbon atoms diffuse from the austenite
to existing graphite particles, leaving behind the low-carbon ferrite.
• The transformation diagram describes how the austenite might
transform during heat treatment.
• Annealing (or furnace cooling) of cast iron gives a soft ferritic matrix
(not coarse pearlite as in steels!).
• Normalizing, (or air cooling), gives a pearlitic matrix.
• The cast irons can also be austempered to produce bainite or can be
quenched to martensite and tempered.
• Gray cast iron
– The least expensive and most common type
– Characterized by formation of graphite
– Typical composition ranges from 2.5-4.0% C, 1.0-3.0% Si, and
0.4-1.0% Mn.
– contains small, interconnected graphite flakes that cause low
strength and ductility.
– It is the most widely used cast iron
– It is named for the dull gray color of the fractured surface.
– The gray irons are specified by a class number of 20 to 80.
• Properties
– high compressive strength,
– good machinability,
– good resistance to sliding wear,
– good resistance to thermal fatigue,
– good thermal conductivity, and
– good vibration damping.
 Gray CI
• Application;
– Damping vibrational energy
• Base structures for machines and heavy equipment
– High resistance to wear.
– High fluidity at casting temperature
• Intricate shapes; Low casting shrinkage allowance.
– (strength is not a primary consideration)
– Tensile strength 120 – 300 MPa
• Small cylinder blocks, cylinder heads, pistons, liners, clutch plates,
transmission cases.
• gears, flywheels, water pipes, engine cylinders, brake discs,
Machinery beds
• White cast iron
– is a hard, brittle alloy containing massive amounts of
Fe3C.
– A fractured surface of this material appears white, hence
the name.
– Features promoting formation of cementite over
graphite
• A low carbon equivalent (1.8-3.6 %C, 0.5-1.9%Si, 0.25-0.8%Mn)
and
• Rapid cooling
• A group of highly alloyed white irons are used for
their hardness and resistance to abrasive wear.
 White CI
• Application:
– brake shoes, shot blasting nozzles, mill liners, crushers,
pump impellers and other abrasion resistant parts.
– wear-resistant surface, example, as rollers in rolling mills.
Generally, white iron is used as an intermediary in the
production of yet another cast iron, malleable iron
• White fracture surface
• No graphite, because carbon forms Fe3C or
more complex carbides
• Abrasion resistant
• Often alloyed
• Malleable cast iron
– formed by the heat treatment (in range of 900⁰C) of
unalloyed 3%C white cast iron (carbon equivalent 2.5%C,
1.5%Si)
– the cementite dissociates into its component elements
(graphite clumps, or nodules)
– It exhibits better ductility than gray or white cast irons. It
is also very machinable.
• The production steps
• first stage graphitization: cementite decomposes to
the stable austenite and graphite phases
• second stage graphitization: slow cooling through
eutectoid temperature to make ferritic malleable
iron
• when austenite is cooled
in air or oil Pearlitic
malleable iron is obtained
(pearlite or martensite.)
• Drawing: is a heat
treatment that tempers
the martensite or
spheroidizes the pearlite.

Application
Connecting rods, transmission gears, and differential cases
for the automotive industry, and also flanges, pipe fittings,
and valve parts for railroad, marine, and other heavy-duty
services
parts of power train of vehicles, bearing caps, steering
gear housings, agricultural equipment, railroad equipment
• Ductile or nodular cast iron
– contains spheroidal graphite particles.
– produced by treating liquid iron with a carbon equivalent
of near 4.3% with magnesium
• Steps
– Desulfurization: CaO is used to remove sulfure and oxygen
from the liquid.
– Nodulizing: Mg in dilute form (MgFeSi alloy) is added, a
residual of 0.03%Mg must be present after treatment in
order for spheroidal graphite to grow
• inoculation: heterogeneous nucleation of the graphite
is essential
• Fading: occurs by the gradual, nonviolent loss of Mg
due to vaporization and/or reaction with oxygen
 Ductile or nodular cast iron
• Application:
– valves, pump bodies, crankshafts, high-strength gears
(heavy duty gears) and machine, rollers, slides, die
material having high strength and high ductility.

• Inoculation with Ce or Mg or both causes

graphite to form as spherulites, rather than
flakes
• Also known as spheroidal graphite (SG), and
nodular graphite iron
• Far better ductility than grey cast iron
• Compacted graphite cast iron: contains rounded
but interconnected graphite also produced
during solidification
• intermediate between flakes and spheres with
numerous rounded rods of graphite that are
interconnected to the nucleus of the eutectic
cell.
• vermicular graphite: forms when ductile iron
fades
• permits strengths and ductilities that exceed
those of gray cast iron, but allows the iron to
retain good thermal conductivity and vibration
damping properties.
The mechanical characteristic of Gray cast Irons - summary

- Less hard and brittle

- Very weak in tension due to the pointed and sharp end of graphite
flakes, where the failure of component initiated at this point.
- Good during compression which graphite acts as a cushion or sponge
that could absorb the compression energy.
- Low shrinkage in mould due to formation of graphite flakes.
- Good dry bearing qualities due to graphite.

GREY CAST IRON PRODUCTS

THE MICRISTRUCTURE OF
GREY CAST IRON

Sprockets Park Bench

Manhole Covers Gas Burners 27

with Frames
 White Cast Irons - summary
• The composition of Carbon and Silicon contents for white cast
irons are in range between 2.5 to 4.0% and less than 1.0%
respectively.
• With a rapid cooling rate most of the carbon in the cast irons
consist of pearlite and cementite (Fe3C).
• The mechanical characteristic of White cast Irons are as follows:
- Relatively very hard, brittle and not weldable compared to
gray cast iron, since it is obtained from rapid cooling process.
- When it’s annealed, it becomes malleable cast iron.
• A fracture surface of these alloy has
a white appearance and it is called THE MICRISTRUCTURE
OF WHITE
white cast iron. CAST IRON
• Typical Uses:
Necessitate a very hard and wear
resistance surface such as rollers in
rolling mills, railroads wheel.

28
 Ductile (Nodular) Cast Irons - summary
• Ductile cast iron, which is sometimes called nodular or spheroidal
graphite cast iron. It gets this name because its carbon is in the
shape of small spheres, not flakes.
• Magnesium or cerium is added to the iron before casting occurs. The
effect of these material is to prevent the formation of graphite flakes
during the slow cooling of the iron.
• The structures of the cast irons is mainly pearlite with nodules of
graphite.
• A heat treatment process can be applied to a pearlite nodular iron to
give a microstructure of graphite nodules in ferrite. The ferrite
structure is more ductile but has less tensile strength than the
pearlite form. It’s also weldable.
• Typical Uses: THE MICRISTRUCTURE
OF DUCTILE
Valves, pump bodies,
CAST IRON
gears crankshafts, and
other machine
components.

TEE pipe
29
 Malleable Cast Irons - summary
• Malleable cast iron is produced by the heat treatment of white
cast irons.
• Heating white iron at temperatures 800 c to 900 c for 50 hours in
a neutral atmosphere (to prevent oxidation) causes a
decomposition of the cementite, forming graphite in the form of
clusters/ rossettes surrounded by a ferrite or pearlite matrix
depending on cooling rate.
• The mechanical characteristic of malleable cast iron is similar to
nodular cast iron and give higher strength and more ductility and
malleability. The silicon content is low.
MALLEABLE CAST THE MICRISTRUCTURE
IRON PRODUCTS OF MALLEABLE
CAST IRON

CLAMPS
30
 Effect of alloying elemets
General Characteristics of White Cast Irons
• White Cast Irons contain Chromium to prevent formation
of Graphite upon solidification and to ensure stability of
the carbide phase.
• Usually, Nickel, Molybdenum, and/or Copper are alloyed
to prevent to the formation of Pearlite when a matrix of
Martensite is desired.
• Fall into three major groups:
• Nickel Chromium White Irons: containing 3-5%Ni, 1-
4%Cr. Identified by the name Ni-Hard 1-4
• The chromium-molybdenum irons (high chromium
irons): 11-23%Cr, 3%Mo, and sometimes additionally
alloyed w/ Ni or Cu.
• 25-28%Cr White Irons: contain other alloying
additions of Molybdenum and/or Nickel up to 1.5%
 Nickel Chromium
• Produced for more than 50
years, effective materials for
crushing and grinding in
industry.
• Consists of Martensite
matrix, with Nickel alloyed at
3-5% in order to suppress
transformation of Austenite to
Pearlite.
• Chromium usually included
between 1.4-4% to ensure
Carbon phase solidifies to
Carbide, not Graphite.
(Counteracts the Graphitizing
effect of Ni)
•
Abrasion resistance (usually desired property of this
material) increases with Carbon content, but toughness
decreases.
Applications: Because of low cost, used primarily in mining
applications as ball mill liners and grinding balls.
Common property table for CI
 Sample Analysis and Identification
• Possible to identify and classify a sample of unknown
cast iron.

• Identification can be accomplished through the use

of many known mechanical, chemical and structural
properties of the cast iron alloys.

• In this example, we will attempte to examine and

identify separate cast iron samples of unknown
composition.
 Sample Analysis and Identification
• We obtained two samples of
what was initially perceived to be
cast iron. The first being a cooking
pot, and the second a 90° pipe
fitting.

• Both samples were cut, mounted

and polished in a bakelite round,
for microstructure examination.

• Followed by a Rockwell hardness

test of each specimen.
 Microstructure Analysis
The microstructure analysis was accomplished after
polishing and etching (utilizing a 3% nitric acid solution in
ethanol) to reveal the grains.

• The two micrographs are shown above, the 90° pipe fitting on the left, and
the cooking pot handle on the right.

• The Rockwell hardness was also measured for both samples, yielding a
hardness of 157 HRB for the fitting, and 120 HRB for the pot handle.
 Microstructure Analysis
for the cooking pot
• Upon analysis of the microstructures, it became
apparent that the cooking pot does not conform to
any common form of cast iron.

• Although the handle fractured in a manner very

similar to that of cast iron, the microstructure shows
little resemblance to those of cast iron.

• Although further analysis would be required, one

possibility is a cast steel material. This would account
for the similarity of its fracture to that of cast iron.
 Microstructure Analysis
for The 90° fitting
• The 90° fitting shows indications of a
dark graphite surrounded by lighter
colored matrix. The graphite appears to
be in the form of dark rosettes, while
the matrix is a lighter color.

• Upon comparison to the known

structure of different types of cast irons,
it can be seen that the microstructure of Pipe Sample (150X mag)
malleable iron most closely matches our
sample.

• To the right is a side-by-side

comparison, with our sample on the
top, and a known Malleable
microstructure on the bottom.

Malleable Iron (150X mag)

 Conclusion
• Cast Iron and historical significance

– Used throughout history since its discovery, stepping stone to the development of
modern technology (First Steam Engine)

• Types of Cast Irons and microstructure

– Grays, Whites, Ductile, Malleable

• Applications

– Automotive, Industrial, Household, Aeronautical, & Construction

• Sample Analysis and Comparison for identification and Classification

– Capability to analyze and compare microstructures to determine Cast Iron Type.

And Hardness measurements to identify heat treatment,
1. Briefly describe the simplest heat
treatment procedure that would be used
in converting a 0.76 wt% C steel from one
microstructure to the other, as follows:
a) Spheroidite to tempered martensite
b) Tempered martensite to pearlite
c) Bainite to martensite
d) Martensite to pearlite
e) Pearlite to tempered martensite
f) Tempered martensite to pearlite
g) Bainite to tempered martensite
h) Tempered martensite to spheroidite
 Examples
1. Calculate the amounts of ferrite, cementite,
primary microconstituent, and pearlite in the
following steels: (a) 1015, (b) 1035, (c) 1095, and
(d) 10130.
2. Estimate the AISI-SAE number for steels having
the following microstructures.
a. 38% pearlite - 62% primary ferrite
b. 93% pearlite - 7% primary cementite
c. 97% ferrite - 3% cementite
d. 86% ferrite - 14% cementite
3. An unalloyed steel tool used for machining aluminum
automobile wheels has been found to work well, but the
purchase records have been lost and you do not know
the steel’s composition. The microstructure of the steel is
tempered martensite. Assume that you cannot estimate
the composition of the steel from the structure. Design a
treatment that may help determine the steel’s carbon
content.
4. Two samples of steel contain 93% pearlite. Estimate the
carbon content of each sample if one is known to be
hypoeutectoid and the other hypereutectoid.
5. Compute the volume percent of graphite VGr in a 3.5
wt% C cast iron, assuming that all the carbon exists as the
graphite phase. Assume densities of 7.9 and 2.3 g/cm3 for
ferrite and graphite, respectively.
6. Your company is producing class 40 gray cast
iron bar of 1.5in in diameter. But a bar of a class
40 gray iron casting is found to have a tensile
strength of 50,000 psi. Why is the tensile
strength greater than that given by the class
number? What do you think is the diameter of
the test bar
7. You would like to produce a gray iron casting
that freezes with no primary austenite or
graphite. If the carbon content in the iron is
3.5%, what percentage of silicon must you add?
3. An unalloyed steel tool used for machining
aluminum automobile wheels has been found to
work well, but the purchase records have been lost
and you do not know the steel’s composition. The
microstructure of the steel is tempered martensite.
Assume that you cannot estimate the composition
of the steel from the structure. Design a treatment
that may help determine the steel’s carbon
content.
4. Your company is producing class 40 gray cast iron
bar of 1.5in in diameter. But a bar of a class 40 gray
iron casting is found to have a tensile strength of
50,000 psi. Why is the tensile strength greater than
that given by the class number? What do you think
is the diameter of the test bar
2. Briefly describe the simplest continuous cooling
heat treatment procedure that would be used in
converting a 4340 steel from one microstructure to
another.
A. (Martensite + bainite) to (ferrite + pearlite)
B. (Martensite + bainite) to spheroidite
C. (Martensite + bainite) to (martensite + bainite +
ferrite)
3. Name the microstructural products of 4340
alloy steel specimens that are first completely
transformed to austenite, then cooled to room
temperature at the following rates:
A. 10ºC/s
B. 1ºC/s
C. 0.1ºC/s
D. 0.01ºC/s