Materials scienceLesson 1 of 1 in the course Metals and alloys

Steel: Composition, Processing, Microstructure, History, and Sustainability

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 4 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Steel is an iron-based alloy whose carbon content and other ingredients give it useful properties beyond those of pure iron. This lesson introduces steel’s composition, the boundary between steel and cast iron, and how alloying creates different grades.

Steel is an alloy whose principal elements are iron and carbon. Plain carbon steel contains approximately 0.02% to 2.14% carbon by weight. The amount and distribution of carbon affect strength, hardness, and other mechanical properties.

All flashcards

What is steel?
Steel is an alloy based mainly on iron and carbon, often with additional elements chosen to modify its properties.
What is the usual carbon range for plain carbon steel?
Approximately 0.02% to 2.14% carbon by weight.
What distinguishes cast iron from steel in terms of carbon?
A plain iron–carbon alloy with more than about 2.1% carbon is generally called cast iron.
What does chromium do in stainless steel?
Chromium helps form a protective surface oxide that improves resistance to corrosion.
How is galvanized steel protected?
It is coated with zinc, which helps protect the underlying steel from rust.

Quiz questions

  1. In a common steel-refining method, what happens when oxygen is injected into molten pig iron?Answer: It reacts with carbon, helping remove excess carbon from the melt.
  2. About what share of steel is continuously cast in modern production?Answer: About 96%.
  3. What structure can form when austenite is cooled very rapidly by quenching?Answer: Martensite, a hard and brittle structure.
  4. What was a major effect of the Bessemer process?Answer: It made large-scale steel production from pig iron cheaper.
  5. Which furnace type is commonly used to reprocess steel scrap?Answer: An electric arc furnace.

Based on the Wikipedia article Steel, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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