THE TOPIC

ALLOYING
ELEMENTS AND
THEIR EFFECT ON
THE PROPERTIES OF
STEEL
 WHAT IS ALLOY?

 Alloy is the metal made by the combination of two or more

metals or elements combined to attain certain chemical or
mechanical properties
 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
ALLOY AND COMPOSITE

A Brief Description
 Alloy is a mixture of two or more elements where at least one of
them is metal.
 Steel is an example for alloy. It is made up of iron and carbon.
 Composite is a material made out of two or more constituent
materials which are chemically or physically different.
 Concrete is the composite of gravel and cement.
 A BRIEF HISTORY OF
ALLOY S

 Historically, the earliest alloys created by man was brass, a

simple alloy of copper and zinc known to be in use from as
early as 3000 BC

 King Croesus of Lydia during the years 560-546 BC desired

and developed the first official government coinage system
using a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, known as
Electrum
 ALLOY STEEL

 Alloy steel is basically mixture of Iron and Carbon and other

trace elements (Silicon Manganese Sulphur etc)

 Carbon %age in steel is about 0.12 - 2%

 ALLOYING ELEMENTS IN
STEEL

 Carbon  Molybdenum

 Chromium  Tungsten

 Silicon  Aluminum

 Manganese  Titanium

 Nickel  Boron

 Vanadium
 CARBON
Percentage range 0.12 - 2%
Increases hardness
Increases Strength
The basic metal, iron, is
alloyed with carbon to
make steel and has the
effect of increasing the
hardness and strength by
heat treatment but the
addition of carbon
enables a wide range of
hardness and strength.
 CHROMIUM
Chromium is added to the
steel to increase resistance to
 Percentage range 0.5 - 18% oxidation. This resistance
increases as more chromium
is added. 'Stainless Steel' has
 Increases hardenability of steel (0.5-2%) approximately 18% chromium
and a very marked degree of
general corrosion
 Provides Corrosion Resistance (4-18%) resistance when compared
with steels with a lower
percentage of chromium.
When added to low alloy
steels, chromium can increase
the response to heat
treatment, thus improving
harden ability and strength.
CHROMIUM PROTECTION
 SILICON
This metalloid improves
 Percentage Range 0.2 – 2% strength, elasticity, acid
resistance and results in
larger grain sizes,
 Increases Strength (0.2 – 0.7%) thereby, leading to
greater magnetic
 Spring Steels (0.7 – 2% ) permeability. Because
silicon is used in a
deoxidizing agent in the
 Improve Magnetic Properties (Higher production of steel, it is
almost always found in
Percentages) some percentage in all
grades of steel.
 SILICON USE

The addition of 2% silicon changes the behavior of the steel drastically

for use in a katana. This spring steel is most commonly seen in
application on fencing foils where it needs to withstand a high degree
of bend and still be able to return to center.
 MANGANESE

 Percentage Range 0.25 – 1%

 When combined with Sulfur Improves Brittleness (0.25-0.40%)
Increases strength at high
 Increases Hardenability (>1%) temperatures by
eliminating the formation
of iron sulfides.
Manganese also improves
hardenability, ductility and
wear resistance. Like
nickel, manganese is an
austenite forming element
and can be used in the AISI
200 Series of Austenitic
stainless steels as a
substitute for nickel.
 NICKEL
Nickel is added in large
 Percentage Range 2 - 20% amounts, over about 8%, to
high chromium stainless
steel to form the most
 Provide Toughness (2-5%) important class of corrosion
and heat resistant steels.
 Provides Corrosion Resistance (12-20%) These are the austenitic
stainless steels, typified by
18-8, where the tendency of
nickel to form austenite is
responsible for a great
toughness and high strength
at both high and low
temperatures. Nickel also
improves resistance to
oxidation and corrosion
NICKEL APPLICATIONS

Nickel stainless steel alloy Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

eliminates a stronger and thicker corrosion-
resistant.
 VANADIUM

 Percentage Range 0 - 0.15%

 Stable Carbides-Increase Strength While Retaining
Ductility
vanadium can
 Promotes fine grain structure (FGS) produce stable
carbides that increase
strength at high
temperatures. By
promoting a fine
grain structure,
ductility can be
retained.
 VANADIUM USE

The first large-scale industrial use of vanadium

high carbon high chromium die steel with
in steels was found in the chassis of the Ford
added carbon and vanadium for abrasion
Model T, inspired by French race cars.(1927)
resisting qualities.
 MOLYBDENUM
Found in small
quantities in
 Percentage Range 0.2-5% stainless steels,
molybdenum
 Stable Carbides increases
hardenability and
strength, particular
 Inhibits Grain Growth at high
temperatures.
Often used in
chromium-nickel
austenitic steels,
molybdenum
protects against
pitting corrosion
caused by
chlorides and
sulfur chemicals.
 TUNGSTEN
 Percentage Range
 Hardness at high temperatures
Produces stable carbides
and refines grain size so as
to increase hardness,
particularly at high
temperatures
 TUNGSTEN USES

Many high speed steels - those used in cutting and machining tools like saw blades - contain
around 18 percent tungsten

Tungsten-steel alloys are also used in the production of rocket engine nozzles, which must have
high heat resistant properties.
 ALUMINUM

 Percentage Range 0.95 – 1.30%

 Increase ductility in steel alloys
 commonly used in draw quality steels.
 Helps in removing the dissolved oxygen from the
liquid steel. This process is known as killing.
ALUMINUM USE

Aluminized steel in different parts of

a car
 TITANIUM
Improves both
strength and
 Percentage Range corrosion
resistance while
 Improves Strength limiting austenite
grain size. At
0.25-0.60 percent
 Reduces martensitic hardness in titanium content,
carbon combines
chromium steels with the titanium,
allowing
chromium to
remain at grain
boundaries and
resist oxidization.
 TITANIUM USE

EOS has expanded its metal materials portfolio with EOS titanium Ti64ELI and EOS
stainless steel 316L.
EOS titanium Ti64ELI is a light metal alloy that is corrosion resistant and bio-
compatible
 BORON
 Percentage range 0.001-0.003%

 Powerful hardenability agent

A hardenability agent that
improves deformability and
machinability. Boron is added to
fully killed steel and only needs
to be added in very small
quantities to have a hardening
affect. Additions of boron are
most effective in low carbon
steels.
 BORON USE

Hot-stamping boron-alloyed steels for

automotive parts
ThanK

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