Types of Steel-Grades of Steel

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Anup Kumar Dey

Steel is an alloy containing Iron and Carbon

as the primary elements. Various other
alloying elements are added to it for
achieving some desired properties in Steel.
It is a prime commodity and finds extensive
uses worldwide in buildings, tools, cars,
weapons, infrastructure, ships, trains,
machines, electrical appliances, etc. Steel
can be classified depending on various
factors or characteristics. In the following
paragraphs, we will explore different types
of steel in detail.

Grades of Steel
There are a number of ways by which steel can be classified. However, the most widely
popular classification is based on their chemical composition as provided by the American
Iron & Steel Institute (AISI).

Types of Steel based on Chemical Composition

Depending on the chemical composition, according to the AISI, the following four basic
types of steel are distinctly grouped. They are:

1. Carbon Steel
2. Alloy Steel
3. Stainless Steel
4. Tool Steel

Carbon Steel:
This type of steel accounts for around 90% of total steel production. Most of the steel we
find all around is made from this grade of steel because of its strong and durable nature.
Carbon Steel contains less than 2% carbon without any purposeful alloying additions.
Depending on the amount of carbon present, Carbon Steel is categorized into three main
classes. They are

Low Carbon Steel or Mild Steel: This grade of steel is the least expensive type
and quite common in use. Low Carbon Steel or Mild Steel contains up to 0.3%
carbon. It possesses very good formability and finds wide structural application.

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 Medium Carbon Steel: This type of carbon steel contains 0.31% to 0.6% carbon
and 0.31% to 1.60% magnesium. Medium carbon steels are stronger than mild
steel, but with an increase in carbon content, the formability reduces. They can be
found in applications like gears, railroad tracks, cranks, machinery parts, pressure
structures, etc. The properties of medium carbon steel lie in between mild steel and
high carbon steel.
High Carbon Steel: High carbon steel grades contain more than 0.6% carbon and
0.31 % to 0.9% magnesium. This type of steel has the maximum strength and
hardness with the lowest ductility and formability. High carbon steels find their
application in bars, plates, spring steel, knives, taps, wire drawing dies, cutters, etc.

Alloy Steel:

Alloy steels contain one or more alloying elements (nickel, manganese, titanium, copper,
silicon, chromium, molybdenum, cobalt, tungsten, vanadium, and aluminum) in varying
proportions. Purposeful addition of these alloying elements is done to manipulate the
steel’s properties as required for different applications. Specific properties like
hardenability, corrosion resistance, strength, formability, weldability, or ductility can be
improved on alloy steels based on applications. Alloy steels are widely available, costlier
than common carbon steels, and finds their applications in pipelines, transformers, power
generators, auto parts, and electric motors. Depending upon the combination of alloying
additions, different grades of alloy steels are available. The most widely used alloy steel
types are provided below:

Tungsten Steel for high heat resistance

Nickel Steel for toughness.
Manganese Steel for excellent wear resistance and work hardening
Vanadium Steel for high shock and vibration resistance.
Chromium Steel for corrosion and wear resistance.
Chromium-Vanadium Steel for high tensile strength along with ductility.
Silicon Steel for producing permanent magnets.
Molybdenum Steel for good corrosion resistance, weldability, and toughness.
Cobalt Steel for tremendous corrosion resistance, wear resistance, high-
temperature strength, and magnetic properties.
Aluminum Steel for low weight along with high strength.

Stainless Steel:
Stainless steels are made of 10 to 20% chromium as the main alloying element. This
grade of steel is highly popular due to its appearance and high corrosion resistance.
Stainless steels with more than 11% chromium is approximately 200 times more resistant
to corrosion as compared to carbon steel. They are expensive and widely used in the
form of plates, sheets, bars, tubes, and wires. Depending on the crystalline structure and
composition of stainless steels, this type of steel is sub-divided into five categories as
provided below:

Austenitic Stainless Steel:

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Austenitic stainless steels are non-magnetic and non-heat-treatable, and generally
contain 18% chromium, 8% nickel, and less than 0.8% carbon. They form the largest
portion of the global stainless steel market and are widely used in food processing
equipment, kitchen utensils, and piping.

Ferritic Stainless Steel:

Ferritic steels contain trace amounts of nickel, 12-17% of chromium, less than 0.1%
carbon, and molybdenum, aluminum, or titanium in small quantities. They are tough,
strong, and magnetic and can be further strengthened by cold working.

Martensitic Stainless Steel:

Martensitic stainless steels contain 11-17% chromium, less than 0.4% nickel, and up to
1.2% carbon. These magnetic and heat-treatable steels are used in knives and cutting
tools, as well as dental and surgical equipment.

Duplex Stainless Steels:

This type of stainless contains a combination of ferritic and austenitic structures in their
crystal structure. DSS materials are weldable, corrosion-resistant, and possess high
strength. I have already published more details about duplex stainless steel. Kindly
click here to access that article.

Precipitation Hardening Stainless Steel:

This type of stainless steel comprised of 17% chromium and 4% nickel. Additionally, small
amounts of aluminum, copper, and niobium are also added. As the name suggests, this
group of stainless steels are a variety of hardened stainless steels and finds application in
engine components and nuclear waste casks.

Tool Steel:
Tool Steels are a variety of abrasion-resistant, high-hardness steel types that make them
suitable for use as manufacturing tools. Tool steels are available in form of round, square,
or flat bars and used to make hammers, dies, molds, cutting tools, etc. Common alloying
elements of tool steels are molybdenum, vanadium, tungsten, and cobalt, which makes
them heat-resistant, durable, and strong. Six grades of tool steels are widely used in
industries. They are

Air-hardening tool steels

Water-hardening
High Speed
Hot-working
Shock-resisting types
Oil-hardening

The following image in Fig. 1 provides some properties on Grades of Steel Chart.

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 Fig. 1: Grades of Steel Chart

Steel Numbering Systems

Two major numbering systems are widely followed in the steel industries. They are:

Steel numbering system by AISI and

Steel numbering system by SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)

Both AISI and SAE steel numbering systems consists of four-digit designation system.
However, note that there are certain types of alloy steels designated by five digits. The
first digit explains the type of steel. If it is “1” then it indicates Carbon steel. So all carbon
steel in this numbering system starts with 1. Similarly, the meaning of the first digit is
provided below:

“2” denotes Nickel steels.

“3” denotes Nickel-chromium steels.
“4” denotes Molybdenum steels.
“5” denotes Chromium steels.
“6” denotes Chromium-vanadium steels.
“7” denotes Tungsten-chromium steels.
“8” denotes Nickel-chromium-molybdenum steels, and
“9” denotes Silicon-manganese steels and various other grades

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The second digit usually indicates the concentration of the major alloying element. The
last two digits in the steel numbering system refer to the amount of carbon present in that
steel grade. For example, SAE 1010 refers to mild steel containing 0.1% Carbon.
Similarly, SAE 5130 refers to chromium steel with 1% chromium and 0.3% carbon.

The image in Fig. 2 clearly explains the AISI/SAE Steel numbering system philosophy in
details.

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 Fig. 2: AISI/SAE Steel Number System

Types of Steels based on Steel Smelting (De-oxidation) Process

Depending on the degree of oxidation three types of steel are available. They are:

Rimmed Steel: Low cost, uneven quality steels that are incompletely deoxidized.
Killed Steel: Completely deoxidized steel with high quality and cost.
Semi-Killed Steel: Partly deoxidized steel having quality and cost in between
rimmed and killed steel.

Steel Types by Manufacturing Method

Depending on the process used to manufacture steel products, they are grouped as
follows:

Steel parts made by cold rolling are known as Cold Rolled Steel.
Steel components produced by hot rolling are known as Hot Rolled Steel.
Cold Drawn Steel: products made by a cold drawing operation.
Cast Steel: Complex shapes made by the casting process
Forged Steel: products made by various forging methods.

Types of Steel Depending on Application

Based on the intended application Steel can be classified into various groups as listed
below:

Structural Steels used in structural applications.

Tool Steels used for making tools.
Marine Steel used in seawater applications.
Boiler Steel to make parts of steam services.
Bridge Steel
Spring Steel
Pressure Vessel Steel, etc

Other Steel Types

Various other types of steel classification can be made as listed below:

Based on the steel production method: continuous cast steel, electric furnace steel,
etc.
Based on microstructure: ferritic steel, pearlitic steel, martensitic steel, etc.
Based on heat treatment: annealed steel, quenched steel, tempered steel, etc.
Depending on the quality nomenclature: commercial quality steel, drawing quality
steel, pressure vessel quality steel, etc.

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