Steel is a plethora of material that can be used for a variety purposes. In fact, it is estimated that over 55 percent of the average vehicle is composed of steel. The alloy that are used to create it determines its flexibility, as they affect the material’s quality, durability, and strength. The manner in which metal is cooled can have significant effects on its microstructure and therefore its overall properties. It is also possible to manipulate it to obtain specific characteristics such as machinability, yield strength, and resistance to corrosion.
In its most basic form the term steel refers to iron that has been alloyed with various elements to enhance its physical properties and make it suitable for particular uses. The proportions of the other alloying elements determines which category of steel a particular steel belongs to and the overall performance in various applications.
For example, stainless steel contains at least 11% chromium, which makes it resistant to corrosion. This makes it suitable for a wide range of uses such as kitchen utensils or cutlery. Tool steel is a preferred material due to its high hardness and resistance to abrasion. It is also used to machine dies and hand tools. Carbon steels are also suited to a variety of applications due to their superior ductility. Electrical steel on the other hand, is an example of a highly specialized type this hyperlink of steel which contains silicon (typically about 3%). This improves its magnetic properties and decreases losses from eddy currents, making it ideal for transformer cores and electric motor laminations.