JERIMAE J.

CASIO BCHE111

Let’s Check
1. What is stainless steel?
Stainless steel is a generic term for a family of corrosion resistant alloy steels
containing 10.5% or more chromium. All stainless steels have a high
resistance to corrosion. This resistance to attack is due to the naturally occurring
chromium-rich oxide film formed on the surface of the steel. Although
extremely thin, this invisible, inert film is tightly adherent to the metal and
extremely protective in a wide range of corrosive media. The film is rapidly
self- repairing in the presence of oxygen, and damage by abrasion, cutting or
machining is quickly repaired.

2. What are the most common metals used in construction?

Chosen for their durability, strength and resistance to weather, metals used in
the construction industry serve a wide range of functions. The most common
of them are carbon steel, aluminum, copper tubing and stainless steel, which
each have their particular qualities and ideal uses. As a whole, however, these
metals are ubiquitous in the world of buildings and architecture, in applications
both small and large.

3. What is the difference between Iron and Steel?

The primary difference between iron and steel is that the former is a metal,
whereas the latter is an alloy. Iron is a lustrous and ductile metal with the
atomic number 26. It has a chrome-colored appearance that reflects a
significant amount of light. Iron is also a ferromagnetic metal, meaning it’s
magnetic and attracts other ferromagnetic metals. Iron is simply a metal
element that occurs naturally on Earth. In comparison, steel is a man-made
alloy that’s made by mixing iron and carbon together. Steel, on the other hand,
is a ferrous alloy consisting primarily of iron and carbon. Many people assume
that steel is a metal, but this isn’t necessarily true. While it exhibits similar
properties as metals, it’s technically classified as an alloy. Metals occur
naturally as an element, whereas alloys consist of multiple mixed elements and
components that aren’t found naturally as an element. You can find iron naturally as
an element. In fact, it’s the most abundant element on Earth. But you won’t find
steel anywhere in Earth’s outer or inner core, as it’s a man-made alloy that
requires mixing iron and carbon.
4. Why isn’t steel termed as a metal?
By contrast the metal, this is an alloy of iron that contains various amount of
carbon content. As steel is an alloy, it is not a pure element and is, as a direct
result, not actually a metal. Instead, it is actually a variant of a metal. Although
steel is composed of iron – which is a metal – the non-metal carbon within its
chemical make-up means that it is not a pure metal, so it cannot be classed
as one. So, there you have it. Steel is not a metal.

Let’s Analyze

1. Differentiate metals from non-metals.

Metals
Metals are used to mean those natural elements which are solid, lustrous,
opaque and higher in density. Metals have a very high boiling and melting
point. They effectively conduct heat and electricity. In metals, the atoms are
arranged in the crystal structure. They act as reducing agents, as they lose
valence electrons and form cations. Some examples of metals are silver,
aluminum, gold, lead, nickel, copper, titanium, magnesium, iron, cobalt, zinc, etc.
Metals are hard and are commonly used in making machinery, water boilers,
agriculture equipment, automobiles, industrial equipment, utensils,
aeroplanes, etc.

Non-metals
Non-metals, as the name suggest, is the natural element, which lacks metallic
properties. These are usually present in the solid or gaseous state, except
Bromine, the only non-metal that exist in liquid form. They are soft, non-
lustrous (except iodine) and good insulators of heat and electricity. For
example, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, argon, xenon, chlorine and so forth. The
arrangement of atoms in non-metal is in non-crystalline or amorphous
structure. Non-metals have high ionization energy and electronegativity because
it gains or shares valence electrons to form anions. They are usually soft, and
so they are used in making fertilizer, purification of water, crackers and so on.

2. What makes stainless steel stainless? Explain.

Stainless steel is an alloy of Iron with a minimum of 10.5% Chromium.
Chromium produces a thin layer of oxide on the surface of the steel
known as the 'passive layer'. This prevents any further corrosion of the
surface. Increasing the amount of Chromium gives an increased resistance to
corrosion.
3. Which is stronger, Steel or Titanium? Explain.
When comparing the tensile yield strengths of titanium and steel, an
interesting fact occurs; steel is by-and-large stronger than titanium. This goes
against the popular misconception that titanium is stronger than most other metals
and shows the utility of steel over titanium. While titanium is only on par with steel
in terms of strength, it does so at half the weight, which makes it one of the
strongest metals per unit mass. However, steel is the go-to material when
overall strength is the concern, as some of its alloys surpass all other metals
in terms of yield strengths. Designers looking solely for strength should choose
steel, but designers concerned with strength per unit mass should choose
titanium.

4. What are the 4 types of steel?

Steel is graded as a way of classification and is often categorized into four
groups—Carbon, Alloy, Stainless, and Tool.
 Carbon Steels only contain trace amounts of elements besides carbon
and iron. This group is the most common, accounting for 90% of steel
production. Carbon Steel is divided into three subgroups depending on
the amount of carbon in the metal: Low Carbon Steels/Mild Steels (up
to 0.3% carbon), Medium Carbon Steels (0.3–0.6% carbon), and High
Carbon Steels (more than 0.6% carbon).

 Alloy Steels contain alloying elements like nickel, copper, chromium,

and/or aluminum. These additional elements are used to influence the
metal’s strength, ductility, corrosion resistance, and machinability.

 Stainless Steels contain 10–20% chromium as their alloying element

and are valued for their high corrosion resistance. These steels are
commonly used in medical equipment, piping, cutting tools, and food
processing equipment.

 Tool Steels make excellent cutting and drilling equipment as they

contain tungsten, molybdenum, cobalt, and vanadium to increase heat
resistance and durability
In a Nutshell
1. Construct a vis-à-vis comparison of different alloyed materials. Cite the
advantages, disadvantages, and its best application.

 Carbon Steel is an iron-carbon alloy, which contains up to 2.1 wt. %

carbon. For carbon steels, there is no minimum specified content of
other alloying elements, however, they often contain manganese. The
maximum manganese, silicon and copper content should be less than
1.65 wt.

Disadvantage: Low-carbon steels suffer from yield-point runout and

mild steel has a relatively low tensile strength. It is difficult to work with.
It can't be easily bent and molded into different shapes, thus limiting its
utility in certain applications. Carbon steel is also more susceptible to
rust and corrosion than other types to steel

Advantages: Carbon steel's main alloying constituent is carbon. Low

carbon steel is the most common and cost-effective form. It contains
around 0.05–0.320% carbon and is malleable and ductile. Medium
carbon steel contains between 0.30–0.59% carbon and balances
ductility and strength with good wear resistance. High-carbon steel has
0.6–0.99% carbon content and is exceptionally strong, while ultra-high
carbon steel contains 1.0–2.0% carbon and can be tempered to great
hardness.

Applications: Medium carbon is used for large parts, forging and

automotive components. High carbon steel is used for springs and
high-strength wires. Ultra-high carbon steel is used for special
purposes like knives, axles or punches. It is commonly used
structurally in buildings and bridges, axles, gears, shafts, rails,
pipelines and couplings, cars, fridges and washing machines. High
carbon steel has a much better tensile strength, used to make cutting
tools, blades, punches, dies, springs and high-strength wire.

 Bronze- is traditionally composed of copper and tin. Bronze is of

exceptional historical interest and still finds wide applications Bronze is
harder than copper as a result of alloying that metal with tin or other
metals is also more fusible more readily melted and is hence easier to
cast.
Advantage: Particularly Bronze is a copper alloy, but the addition of
other metals makes bronze even harder than copper. Bronze is better
 corrosion resistant, metal fatigue, and conducts heat and electricity
better as compared to the most steels.
Disadvantage: Bronze is weak and more expensive than steel
Applications: Used for automobile transmission pilot bearings,
decorative statues, and in the bearings of small electric motors.

 Zinc is a bluish-white, lustrous metal. It is brittle at ambient

temperatures but is malleable at 100 to 150°C. It is a reasonable
conductor of electricity.

Advantage: It can provide a better combination of strength, toughness,

rigidity, bearing, performance and economical cast ability than any
other alloy possible. In fact, their properties often exceed the ones of
other alloys such as aluminum, magnesium, bronze, plastics and other
cast irons.

Disadvantage: Have poor mechanical properties at elevated

temperatures, the tendency to alter dimensions in the course of natural
aging, and the poor corrosion resistance in corrosive acidic and
alkaline media.

Applications: It is used as a protective coating to an item that is

experiencing corrosion widely used in the manufacture of very many
products such as paints, rubber, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, plastics,
inks, soaps, batteries, textiles and electrical equipment.

 Aluminum is a silvery-white, lightweight metal. It is soft and malleable

used in a huge variety of products including cans, foils, kitchen
utensils, window frames, beer kegs and aero plane parts. This is
because of its particular properties.

Disadvantages: It's not particularly strong and is expensive compared

to steel of the same strength requires special processes to be welded.
It is abrasive to tooling, or more accurately, the aluminum oxide coating
that forms upon it is. It is more expensive than steel.

Advantages: The most abundant metal in the Earth's crust, Aluminum

is relatively soft, durable, lightweight, ductile and malleable metal. It
acts as a good thermal and electrical conductor and is also fairly
corrosion resistant. Plus, it is theoretically 100% recyclable without any
loss of its natural qualities and remarkably nontoxic. Lightweight,
durable and infinitely recyclable, value-added aluminum products can
lower energy costs and carbon emissions in dozens of applications.
 Coated aluminum roofs can reflect up to 95 percent of sunlight,
dramatically increasing building energy efficiency.

Applications: Aluminum is almost always alloyed to improve its

properties. It is commonly used in the transportation, construction and
packaging industries.

 Copper is widely used in the manufacture of very many products such

as paints, rubber, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, plastics, inks, soaps,
batteries, textiles and electrical equipment. Copper is found in the free
metallic state in nature was reduced to metal from ores with fire and
charcoal, and was intentionally alloyed with tin as bronze.

Disadvantages: One of the most serious wire is its susceptibility to

corrosion, that is, oxidation. It has a shorter life expectancy than fiber
optic cable as a result of this. Therefore, the problem of copper storage
is related to its penchant to be oxidized at relatively normal
temperatures.

Advantages: Copper wires are found in most electrical or electronic-

related devices. Copper wire offers a variety of advantages, making it
one of the most widely used electrical wires in the world. However,
some materials perform better than copper, such as fiber-optics, which
have led to several significant competitors to copper wire.

Applications: Not only are there abundant resources in nature, but

copper also possesses excellent properties. Therefore, it is widely used
in electrical power, electronics, energy, petrochemicals, transportation,
machinery, metallurgy, light and other new industries and some high-
tech fields. Most copper is used in electrical equipment such as wiring
and motors. This is because it conducts both heat and electricity very
well, and can be drawn into wires. It also has uses in construction for
example roofing and plumbing, and industrial machinery such as heat
exchangers.