Effect of elements in Alloy steels

Sulphur is not desirable in steel since it forms iron sulphide which cause brittleness and hot-shortness - a tendency to crack during hot working. Sulphur in steel forms the weak and soft sulphate "Fe"s which weakens the steel and promotes hot-shortness or brittleness at red heat. But sometimes a very small amount of sulphur is left in the steel to aid machinability. Manganese either present naturally or in small quantities added to the steel combines with small amount of sulphur that is usually present to form manganese sulphide which does not have much effect if not in large quantities and is well dispersed. If manganese sulphide is present in large quantities and in the proper form, it imparts desirable mechanical properties to steel. Therefore, certain free-machining steels which are to be machined automatically and are used for parts that will not be subjected to impact have 0.08 to 0.15% sulphur added. It is beneficial to machinability and the higher sulphur content of some steels reflect this useful property. It is detrimental to surface quality in lowcarbon and low manganese steel. It decreases ductility and impact resistance. Weldability also decreases with increasing sulphur content. Sulfur - Sulfur in commercial steels is generally kept below 0.05 percent. Sulfur combines with iron to form iron sulfide (FeS). Iron sulfide forms a low-meltingpoint eutectic alloy with iron which tends to concentrate at the grain boundaries. When the steel is forged or rolled at elevated temperatures, the steel becomes brittle, or hot-short, due to the melting of the iron sul fi de e ute ctic w hi ch destroys the .c ohesion between grains, allowing cracks to develop. In the presence of manganese, sulfur tends to form manganese sulfide (MnS) rather than iron sulfide. The manganese sulfide may pass out in the slag or remain as well-distributed inclusions throughout the structure. It is recommended that the amount of manganese be 2 to 8 times the amount of sulfur. In the free-machining steels, the sulfur content is increased to between 0.08 and 0.35 percent. The improvement in machinability is due to the presence of more numerous sulfide inclusions which break up the chips, thus reducing tool wear. Sulfur decreases ductility and notch impact toughness especially in the transverse direction. Weldability decreases with increasing sulfur content. Sulfur is found primarily in the form of sulfide inclusions. Sulfur levels are normally controlled to low levels. The only exception is free-machining steels, where sulfur is added to improve machinability. Sulfur in steel is considered injurious except when added to enhance machinability. Sulfur readilly combines with iron to form a low melting iron sulphide. Sulfur causes hot shortness in steel unless sufficient manganese is added. Sulfur has a greater affinity for manganese than iron and forms manganese sulphide which has a meltin point above the hot rolling temperature of steel, which eliminates hot shortness. By hot shortness we mean that the steel will literally break apart during hot rolling resulting in a scrapped product. Sulfur is extremely harmful in steels that will be in service at low temperatures due to a severe reduction in notch toughness or the ability to withstand a sudden or impact load. The Titanic sunk because the hull ppppplates and rivets became brittlein the cold north atlantic waters. It is recommended thar sulfur be kept below 0.005 weight percent in steel for any

low temperature applications such as bridges, truck and trailor frames, tubular products etc.

Sulfur (S) Improves machinability in free-cutting steels, but without sufficient manganese it produces brittleness at red heat. It decreases weldability, impact toughness and ductility.

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