Unit 302: Engineering principles

Ferrous Engineering Materials

 Engineering Materials

• Engineering materials come in a range of types, sizes

and shapes.
• Each material has a particular range of properties
• The selection of the correct material to suit a given
application or environment is essential
• Incorrect selection can lead to expensive re-work or
complete failure of the finished component
 Ferrous Metals

• Ferrous metals contain iron (Fe)

• Pure iron is a relatively weak material and not suitable
for modern engineering products.
• The addition of small amounts of carbon (C) produces
steel.
• Steel is the most widely used engineering material.
 Steel
• Steel is an alloy (mixture) of iron and carbon.
• The percentage of carbon influences the
properties of the steel.
• Other metals can be added in small amounts to
change steel properties further.
• This group of metals are known as alloy steels.
 Steel

• Low carbon steel (LCS)

– contains up to 0.29% carbon
– easily welded by a range of processes
– easily formed into a range of shapes
– sometimes known as mild steel
 Steel
• Medium carbon steel (MCS)
– harder and stronger than LCS
– contains from 0.3% to 0.54 carbon
– Can be welded by a range of processes
– Can be formed into a range of shapes
– post production heat treatment may be
required.
 Steel
• High carbon steel (HCS)
– hardest of the carbon steels
– hardness levels lead to a brittle material
– contains from 0.55% to 1.2% carbon
– difficult to weld
– can not be formed due to brittleness.
– may need to be annealed prior to machining
– post production hardening and tempering may
be required.
 Low Alloy Steels
• All steels are alloys (iron + carbon)
• Some steels have small additions (up to 7%) of other
materials to improve their properties.

Alloying element % Benefit

Chromium 0.5 - 2 Increased hardenability
Vanadium 0.15 Increases strength
Silicon 0.2 – 0.7 Increases strength
Nickel 2-5 Increases toughness
Molybdenum 0.2 - 5 Increases toughness
 High Yield Steels
• High yield steels is an alloy steel that has improved
mechanical properties compared to low carbon steels
• Carbon content is between 0.05 - 0.25% to maintain
formability and weldability
• Alloying elements include up to 2% manganese
• Small quantities of copper, nickel or vanadium improve
strength.
• Alloying elements change the microstructure of the
carbon steels to improve the properties.
• High yield steels can be 30% lighter than carbon steels
with comparable strength.
 Cast Irons

• Cast iron is a ferrous alloy with typically 2 – 4% carbon

• Additions of silicon improves fluidity when molten
• Usually brittle except for malleable cast iron
• Good compressive strength
• Good machinability and self lubricating due to excess of
carbon (graphite).
 Cast Iron Types
Cast iron is available in 4 main types:

•White Cast Iron

•high compressive strength
•Hard with a good resistance to wear
•Grey Cast Iron
•good machinability
•good resistance to wear and galling
•Ductile Cast Iron
•high strength
•high ductility
•Malleable Cast Iron
•White cast iron heat-treated to improve ductility
 Stainless Steels
• Stainless steels are commonly used for their corrosion
resistance properties.
• Stainless steels contain a minimum of 10.5% chromium
• Other metals can be added to improve properties
including:
• Nickel
• Molybdenum
• Titanium
• Copper
 Austenitic Stainless Steel

• Austenitic stainless steels have good ductility and high

strength compared to carbon steels.
• Welding causes little or no effect on the material
properties.
• Austenitic stainless steels contain nickel
• Non magnetic