Steel is a versatile material that can be used for a variety reasons. Steel is used in over 55% of cars. Its versatility is determined by the type of alloy elements that are employed to create it, since these factors affect the strength of the material as well as durability and performance. For instance, the manner that the metal is cooled by manufacturers can have a significant effect on its microstructure and thus its overall properties. It is also possible to manipulate it to achieve specific characteristics, such as machinability, yield strength, and resistance to corrosion.
Steel is iron that has had other elements alloyed to it to enhance its physical properties and make it suitable for certain uses. The proportions of these other alloying elements determine what class of steel it is ascribed to, and therefore its overall performance across different applications.
For instance stainless is composed of a minimum 11 percent of chromium. This makes it resistant against corrosion. This makes it perfect for a wide range of uses such as cutting boards and kitchen utensils. Tool steel is a preferred material due to its high hardness and resistance to abrasion. It’s also used for hand tools and machine dies. Furthermore, the high weldability and ductility of carbon steels make them suitable for a variety of applications. Electrical steel is, however, is an example of an extremely specialized grade of steel that has silicon (typically about 3%). This enhances the magnetic properties and decreases the losses of eddy current. It is therefore ideal for laminations and transformer cores of electric motors.