LITERATURE REVIEW ON EFFECT OF HEAT TREATMENT ON THE MECHANICAL

PROPERTIES OF WELDED MEDIUM CARBON STEEL

There are also different materials used in engineering especially for heat treatment purposes.
Such engineering materials include: metals ( which includes Ferrous alloys like carbon steel, low
alloy steel, tool steel, stainless steel, cast iron also Aluminum alloy, Nickel alloy, Copper alloy
and Titanium alloy), polymers, ceramics and composites where metals are the most common.
They are used in the construction of structures and components. However, Steel is the most
important engineering material and construction material. It is an alloy of iron and carbon
containing less than 2% carbon and 1% manganese and small amounts of silicon, phosphorus,
sulphur and oxygen. The main reason for the popularity of steel are the relatively low cost of
making, forming and processing it, the abundance of its two raw materials (iron ore and scrap),
and its unparalleled range of mechanical properties. The major component of steel is iron, a
metal that in its pure state is not much harder than copper. Furthermore, the mechanical
properties of a material include: strength, toughness, hardness, hardenability, brittleness,
malleability, ductility, creep and slip, resilience, fatigue.
O. Olayiwola et.al. 2019,Effects of Some Heat Treatments on Corrosion of Low and

Medium Carbon Steel in Acidic Chloride Medium in this paper they systematically

investigated the effects of normalizing, annealing and water-quenching heat treatments on

corrosion of samples of the steel types in 0.5M H2SO4 containing 3.5%-Wt sodium chloride at

ambient temperature. Non-heat-treated (control) and heat-treated samples of low and medium

carbon steel with respective carbon contents of 0.207% C and 0.46% C were produced, cleaned,

weighted and immersed in pairs in the chloride medium for various durations of 72, 96 and 168

hours. Thereupon, the samples were removed, re-cleaned, dried, and re-weighed. The respective

average pair weight losses were evaluated and used to determine the corrosion penetration rates

of the samples in the medium. Analysis of the entire obtained rates data showed that corrosion of

the samples tended to increasingly passivate with the exposure time in all cases. The low carbon

steel samples generally showed much less resistance to corrosion in the medium, compared to

the medium carbon steel.

D.O Folorunsho et.al,2016, Heat Treatment and Corrosion Behaviour of Selected Steels in

3.5 M Sodium Chloride in this paper it was said that Low carbon, medium carbon and high

carbon steels were heat treated and the corrosion behaviour were studied in 3.5molar sodium

chloride (NaCl) solution. Metallography of the steel samples revealed the presence of ferrite and

pearlite in all the as-received and heat treated samples. Studies of the selected steels indicated

that the highest corrosion resistance was exhibited by the high carbon steel at various heat

treatments.

AnjaPfenniga et.al ,2014, Effect of heat treatment of injection pipe steels on the reliability

of a saline aquifer water CCS-site in the Northern German Basin in their work is was

mentioned that Samples of differently heat treated high alloyed stainless injection-pipe steels

AISI 420 X46Cr13, AISI 420J X20Cr13 as well as X5CrNiCuNb16-4 AISI 630 were kept at

T=60 °C and ambient pressure as well as p=100 bar for 700 h - 8000 h in a CO2saturated

synthetic aquifer environment similar to possible geological on-shore CCS-sites in the northern

German Basin. Corrosion rates and scale growth are lowest after long term exposure for steels

hardened and tempered at 600 to 670 °C and pits indicating local corrosion- decrease in diameter

but increase in number as a function of carbon content of the steel. Martensitic microstructure is

preferred with respect to this particular CCS-site

O.O. Daramola et.al, 2010, Effects of Heat Treatment on the Mechanical Properties of

Rolled Medium Carbon Steel in their work Investigations were carried out to study the effects
of heat treatment on the mechanical properties of rolled medium carbon steel. The steel was

heated to the austenizing temperature of 8300C and water quenched; It was reheated to the ferrite

– austenite two phase region at a temperature of 7450C below the effective Ac3 point. The steel

was then rapidly quenched in water and tempered at 4800C to provide an alloy containing strong,

tough, lath martensite (fibres) in a ductile soft ferrite matrix. The result shows that the steel

developed has excellent combination of tensile strength, impact strength and ductility which is

very attractive for structural use.

O. M. Ikumapayi et.al, 2018, Effects of Quenchants on Impact Strength of Single-Vee Butt

Welded Joint of Mild Steelin their work is was said that the effect of quenching medium on the

impact behaviour of mild steel welded joints were investigated, single – vee butt welded joint

was employed in welding the samples. The welding was carried out at 100A and at a terminal

voltage of 140V (14kW), using gauge 8 coated electrode (4mm size) throughout the welding

processes. Four (4) quenching media were employed which are Brine solution (0.1 Molar

concentration), two (2) Litres of water, two (2) Litres of diesel oil and abundant air. 8mm thick

mild steel bars were used for the heat treatment process at variable annealed temperature steps of

2000C – 4000C – 6000C. The Izod impact machine was employed in carrying out the Impact

Test. The results obtained from the test carried out show that quenching in brine solution gives

least average impact strength while normalized in air gives highest average impact strength and

is the mildest of all the quenchants. The overall results show that air was the best medium for

quenching welded mild steel followed by diesel oil, then water and lastly brine solution for

quenching welded parts or components under influence of impact or sudden loading. The results

will enable engineers, welding personnel and roadside welders select the best and most economic
quenchant that will be best suitable for quenching welded components or parts made of mild

steel subjected to impact or shocking loading.

Ashish Verma, et.al, 2013 Influence of Heat Treatment on Mechanical Properties of

Aisi1040 Steel in their work it was said that the investigation is concerned to evaluate the

influence of heat treatment on mechanical behavior of AISI1040 steel; it is one of the grades of

medium carbon steel of American standard containing 0.40% carbon in its composition.

Specimen of quenched/hardened AISI1040 steel was tempered at temperature (650,450&250℃)

for 60, 90&120 minutes to modify desired properties. The mechanical behavior, particularly,

ultimate tensile strength, yield strength and elongation were investigated using universal testing

machine; while the hardness measurement was done on Rockwell hardness testing machine of

heat treated specimens. Result shows that the ultimate tensile strength and the yield strength

decrease while the elongation increases with an increase in tempering temperature and tempering

time of different tempered specimen. The hardness of quenched/hardened specimen decreases

with an increase in tempering temperature and tempering time. Furthermore, increasing

temperature and lowering time produces approximately same result as decreasing temperature

and increasing time.

PriyankRamoliya et.al, 2017, Effect of Various Heat Treatment On The Mechanical

Properties of Steel Alloy EN31, in their work steel Steel has widely used in industries because

of its geometric properties, such as hardness, high flexibility and ability to resist static and

dynamic loads. In this project a sample of steel alloy type EN-31 is selected where various heat
treatments like annealing, quenching and normalizing are carried out for improving its

mechanical properties. After that heat treated samples are used for different mechanical tests like

tensile, hardness etc. From the project procedure which heat treatment’s better for improving

material properties will be investigated.

Daramola O. Oluyemia et.al, 2011, Studies of the Properties of Heat Treated Rolled

Medium Carbon Steelin their work it was said that Investigations were carried out to study

critically the effects of heat treatment on the properties of rolled medium carbon steel.

Representative samples of as-rolled medium carbon steel were subjected to heat treatment

processes which are; Quenching, Lamellae Formation and Tempering in the following order (Q +

Q + L + T), (Q + L + T) and (L + T). The steel was heated to the austenizing temperature of 830

°C and water quenched. The quenched steel was subjected to lamellae formation by reheating it

to the ferrite-austenite dual-phase region at a temperature of 745 °C below the effective AC3

point and then rapidly quenched in water. The lamellae formed was tempered at 480 °C to

provide an alloy containing strong, tough and lath martensite in a soft and ductile ferrite matrix.

Mechanical tests were carried out on the samples and the results shows that the steel developed

has excellent combination of tensile strength, hardness and impact strength which is very good

for structural applications. The corrosion behaviour of the samples; heat treated rolled medium

carbon steel and as-rolled medium carbon steel in sodium chloride medium were also

investigated from where it was also confirmed that improved corrosion resistance is achievable

by the treatment.
 CHAPTER 2

HEAT TREATMENT
Heat treating or heat treatment is a group of industrial, thermal and metalworking processes used
to alter the physical, and sometimes chemical, properties of a material. The most common
application is metallurgical. Heat treatments are also used in the manufacture of many other
materials, such as glass.this invovles the use of heating or chilling, normally to extreme
temperatures, to achieve the desired result such as hardening or softening of a material. Heat
treatment techniques include annealing, case hardening, precipitation
strengthening, tempering, carburizing, normalizing and quenching. Although the term heat
treatment applies only to processes where the heating and cooling are done for the specific purpose
of altering properties intentionally, heating and cooling often occur incidentally during other
manufacturing processes such as hot forming or welding.

TYPES OF HEAT TREATMENT

Heat treatment is any one of a number of controlled heating and cooling operations used to bring
about a desired change in the physical properties of a metal. Its purpose is to improve the structural
and physical properties for some particular use or for future work of the metal. There are five basic
heat treatment; hardening, case hardening, annealing, normalizing, and tempering. Although each of
these processes bring about different results in metal, all of them involve three basic steps: heating,
soaking, and cooling.

1.TEMPERING:

Steel is usually harder than necessary and too brittle for practical use after being hardened. Severe
internal stresses are set up during the rapid cooling of the metal. Steel is tempered after being
hardened to relieve the internal stresses and reduce its brittleness. Tempering consists of heating
the metal to a specified temperature and then permitting the metal to cool. The rate of cooling
usually has no effect on the metal structure during tempering. Therefore, the metal is usually
permitted to cool in still air. Temperatures used for tempering are normally much lower than the
hardening temperatures. The higher the tempering temperature used, the softer the metal becomes.
High-speed steel is one of the few metals that becomes harder instead of softer after it is tempered.

2.ANNEALING:

Metals are annealed to relieve internal stresses, soften them, make them more ductile, and refine
their grain structures. Metal is annealed by heating it to a prescribed temperature, holding it at that
temperature for the required time, and then cooling it back to room temperature. The rate at which
metal is cooled from the annealing temperature varies greatly. Steel must be cooled very slowly to
produce maximum softness, This can be done by burying the hot part in sand, ashes, or some other
substance that does not conduct heat readily (packing), or by shutting off the furnace and allowing
the furnace and part to cool together (furnace cooling).

3.CASE HARDENING:

Case hardening is an ideal heat treatment for parts which require a wear-resistant surface and a
tough core, such as gears, cams, cylinder sleeves, and so forth. The most common case-hardening
processes are carburizing and nitriding. During the case-hardening process, a low-carbon steel
(either straight carbon steel or low-carbon alloy steel) is heated to a specific temperature in the
presence of a material (solid, liquid, or gas) which decomposes and deposits more carbon into the
surface of a steel. Then, when the part is cooled rapidly, the outer surface or case becomes hard,
leaving the, inside of the piece soft but very tough.

4.NORMALIZING:

Ferrous metals are normalized to relieve the internal stresses produced by machining, forging, or
welding. Normalized steels are harder and stronger than annealed steels. Steel is much tougher in the
normalized condition than in any other condition. Parts that will be subjected to impact and parts that
require maximum toughness and resistance to external stresses are usually normalized. Normalizing
prior to hardening is beneficial in obtaining the desired hardness, provided the hardening operation is
performed correctly. Low carbon steels do not usually require normalizing, but no harmful effects result
if these steels are normalized. Normalizing is achieved by heating the metal to a specified temperature
(which is higher than either the hardening or annealing temperatures), soaking the metal until it is
uniformly heated, and cooling it in still air.

5.HARDENING:

A ferrous metal is normally hardened by heating the metal to the required temperature and then
cooling it rapidly by plunging the hot metal into a quenching medium, such as oil, water, or brine. Most
steels must be cooled rapidly to harden them. The hardening process increases the hardness and
strength of metal, but also increases its brittleness.

REASONS FOR HEAT TREATMENT

There are basically so many reasons for heat treatment of steel and they are usually intendedto
accomplish one of the following objectives

 Remove stresses induced by cold working or to remove stresses set up by non uniform cooling
of hot metal objects.

 Refine the grain structure of hot worked steels which may have developed coarse grain size.

 Secure the proper grain structure.

 Decrease the hardness and increase the ductility.

 Increase the hardness so as to increase resistance to wear or to enable the steel to withstand
more service conditions.

 Increase the toughness; That is, to produce a steel having both high tensile strength and good
ductility, enabling it to withstand high impact.

 Improve the machine-ability.

 Improve the cutting properties of tool steels.

 Change or modify the magnetic properties of steel.

ENGINEERING MATERIALS

Engineering materials refers to the group of materials that are used in the construction of manmade
structures and components. The primary function of an engineering material is to withstand applied
loading without breaking and without exhibiting excessive deflection. The major classifications of
engineering materials include metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites.

METALS:

Metals are the most commonly used class of engineering material. Metal alloys are especially
common, and they are formed by combining a metal with one or more other metallic and/or non-
metallic materials. The combination usually occurs through a process of melting, mixing, and cooling.
The goal of alloying is to improve the properties of the base material in some desirable way.

Metal alloy compositions are described in terms of the percentages of the various elements in the alloy,
where the percentages are measured by weight.

FERROUS ALLOYS:

Ferrous alloys have iron as the base element. These alloys and include steels and cast irons. Ferrous
alloys are the most common metal alloys in use due to the abundance of iron, ease of production, and
high versatility of the material. The biggest disadvantage of many ferrous alloys is low corrosion
resistance.

Carbon is an important alloying element in all ferrous alloys. In general, higher levels of carbon increase
strength and hardness, and decrease ductility and weldability.

CARBON STEEL:

Carbon steels are basically just mixtures of iron and carbon. They may contain small amounts of other
elements, but carbon is the primary alloying ingredient. The effect of adding carbon is an increase in
strength and hardness.

Most carbon steels are plain carbon steels, of which there are several types.

LOW CARBON STEEL:

Low-carbon steel has less than about 0.30% carbon. It is characterized by low strength but high
ductility. Some strengthening can be achieved through cold working, but it does not respond well to
heat treatment. Low-carbon steel is very weldable and is inexpensive to produce. Common uses for low-
carbon steel include wire, structural shapes, machine parts, and sheet metal.

MEDIUM CARON STEEL:

Medium-carbon steel contains between about 0.30% to 0.70% carbon. It can be heat treated to
increase strength, especially with the higher carbon contents. Medium-carbon steel is frequently used
for axles, gears, shafts, and machine parts.
HIGH CARBON STEEL:

High-carbon steel contains between about 0.70% to 1.40% carbon. It has high strength but low
ductility. Common uses include drills, cutting tools, knives, and springs.

POLYMERS

Polymers are materials that consist of molecules formed by long chains of repeating units. They may
be natural or synthetic. Many useful engineering materials are polymers, such as plastics, rubbers,
fibers, adhesives, and coatings. Polymers are classified as thermoplastic polymers, thermosetting
polymers (thermosets), and elastomers.

THERMOPLASTIC POLYMERS:

The classification of thermoplastics and thermosets is based on their response to heat. If heat is
applied to a thermoplastic, it will soften and melt. Once it is cooled, it will return to solid form.
Thermoplastics do not experience any chemical change through repeated heating and cooling (unless
the temperature is high enough to break the molecular bonds). They are therefore very well suited to
injection molding.

THERMOSETTING POLYMERS:

Thermosets are typically heated during initial processing, after which they become permanently hard.
Thermosets will not melt upon reheating. If the applied heat becomes extreme however, the thermoset
will degrade due to breaking of the molecular bonds. Thermosets typically have greater hardness and
strength than thermoplastics. They also typically have better dimensional stability than thermoplastics,
meaning that they are better at maintaining their original dimensions when subjected to temperature
and moisture changes.

ELASTOMERS:

Elastomers are highly elastic polymers with mechanical properties similar to rubber. Elastomers are
commonly used for seals, adhesives, hoses, belts, and other flexible parts. The strength and stiffness of
rubber can be increased through a process calledvulcanization, which involves adding sulfur and
subjecting the material to high temperature and pressure. This process causes cross-links to form
between the polymer chains.

CERAMICS

Ceramics are solid compounds that may consist of metallic or nonmetallic elements. The primary
classifications of ceramics include glasses, cements, clay products, refractories, and abrasives.

Ceramics generally have excellent corrosion and wear resistance, high melting temperature, high
stiffness, and low electrical and thermal conductivity. Ceramics are also very brittle materials.
GLASS:

Glasses are common materials and are seen in applications including windows, lenses, and containers.
Glasses are amorphous, whereas the other ceramics are mainly crystalline. Primary advantages of
glasses include transparency and ease of fabrication. The base element of most glasses is silica, and
other components can be added to modify its properties. Common processes used to form glass include:

 heating until melting, then pouring into molds to cast into useful shapes

 heating until soft, then rolling

 heating until soft, then blowing into desired shapes

CEMENTS:

Cements are materials that, after mixing with water, form a paste that then hardens. Because of this
characteristic, cements can be formed into useful shapes while in paste form before they harden into
rigid structures. Plaster of paris is one common cement. The most common cement is called Portland
cement, which is made by mixing clay and limestone and then firing at high temperature. Portland
cement is used to form concrete, which is made by mixing it with sand, gravel, and water. It can also be
mixed with sand and water to form mortar. Like other ceramics, cements are weak in tension but strong
in compression. Cement is very inexpensive to produce, and it used widely in the construction of
buildings, bridges, and other large structures.

CLAY PRODUCTS:

Clay is a very common ceramic material. It can be mixed with water, shaped, and then hardened
through firing at high temperature. The two primary classifications of clay products include structural
clay products and whitewares. Structural clay products see applications including bricks, tiles, and
piping. Whitewares see applications including pottery and plumbing fixtures.

REFRACTORIES:

Refractory ceramics can withstand high temperatures and extreme environments. They can also
provide thermal insulation. Brick is the most common refractory ceramic.

ABRASIVES:

Abrasive ceramics are hard materials that are used to cut, grind, and wear away other softer materials.
Typical properties of abrasives include high hardness, wear resistance, and temperature resistance.
Abrasives can either be bonded to a surface (e.g. grinding wheels and sand paper), or can be used as
loose grains (e.g. sand blasting). Common abrasives include cemented carbide, silicon carbide, tungsten
carbide, aluminum oxide, and silica sand. Diamond is also an excellent abrasive, but it is expensive.
COMPOSITES

A composite material is a material in which one or more mutually insoluble materials are mixed or
bonded together. The primary classes of composites are particulate composites, fibrous composites, and
laminated composites.

PARTICULATE COMPOSITE:

Particulate composites are created by adding particles of one material to a matrix (the filler material).
The particles will typically account for less than 15% of the total material volume. The particles are
added to improve upon some shortcoming of the matrix material.

FIBROUS COMPOSITE:

A fibrous composite is a material in which fibers of one material are embedded within a matrix. The
fibers carry most of the stress, and the matrix serves to hold the fibers in place and to transmit stress
between the fibers. The fibers can be short and randomly oriented, or they can be long and continuous.

LAMINATED COMPOSITES:

Laminated composites are created by combining layers of composite materials. The layers will typically
differ in the orientation of the fibers, or they will differ in the material itself. Sandwich materials are
common, in which a lightweight material (such as foam or a honeycomb) will be placed in between
layers of a strong, stiff material.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS

In select or finalize the material for an engineering product, is it important to understand the
mechanical properties of the material. The mechanical properties of a material are those which affect
the mechanical strength and ability of a material to be molded in suitable shape. Some of the typical
mechanical properties of a material include:

 Strength

 Toughness

 Hardness

 Hardenability

 Brittleness

 Malleability

 Ductility

 Creep and Slip

  Resilience

 Fatigue

STRENGTH:

It is the property of a material which opposes the deformation or breakdown of material in presence
of external forces or load. Materials which we finalize for our engineering products, must have suitable
mechanical strength to be capable to work under different mechanical forces or loads.

TOUGHNESS:

It is the ability of a material to absorb the energy and gets plastically deformed without fracturing. Its
numerical value is determined by the amount of energy per unit volume. Its unit is Joule/ m 3. Value of
toughness of a material can be determined by stress-strain characteristics of a material. For good
toughness, materials should have good strength as well as ductility.

For example: brittle materials, having good strength but limited ductility are not tough enough.
Conversely, materials having good ductility but low strength are also not tough enough. Therefore, to be
tough, a material should be capable to withstand both high stress and strain.

HARDNESS:

It is the ability of a material to resist to permanent shape change due to external stress. There are
various measure of hardness – Scratch Hardness, Indentation Hardness and Rebound Hardness.

1. Scratch Hardness
Scratch Hardness is the ability of materials to the oppose the scratches to outer surface layer
due to external force.

2. Indentation Hardness
It is the ability of materials to oppose the dent due to punch of external hard and sharp objects.

3. Rebound Hardness
Rebound hardness is also called as dynamic hardness. It is determined by the height of “bounce”
of a diamond tipped hammer dropped from a fixed height on the material.

HARDENABILITY:

It is the ability of a material to attain the hardness by heat treatment processing. It is determined by
the depth up to which the material becomes hard. The SI unit of hardenability is meter (similar to
length). Hardenability of material is inversely proportional to the weld-ability of material.

BRITTLENESS:

Brittleness of a material indicates that how easily it gets fractured when it is subjected to a force or
load. When a brittle material is subjected to a stress it observes very less energy and gets fractures
without significant strain. Brittleness is converse to ductility of material. Brittleness of material is
temperature dependent. Some metals which are ductile at normal temperature become brittle at low
temperature.

MALLEABILITY:

Malleability is a property of solid materials which indicates that how easily a material gets deformed
under compressive stress. Malleability is often categorized by the ability of material to be formed in the
form of a thin sheet by hammering or rolling. This mechanical property is an aspect of plasticity of
material. Malleability of material is temperature dependent. With rise in temperature, the malleability
of material increases.

DUCTILITY:

Ductility is a property of a solid material which indicates that how easily a material gets deformed
under tensile stress. Ductility is often categorized by the ability of material to get stretched into a wire
by pulling or drawing. This mechanical property is also an aspect of plasticity of material and is
temperature dependent. With rise in temperature, the ductility of material increases.

CREEP AND SLIP:

Creep is the property of a material which indicates the tendency of material to move slowly and
deform permanently under the influence of external mechanical stress. It results due to long time
exposure to large external mechanical stress with in limit of yielding. Creep is more severe in material
that are subjected to heat for long time. Slip in material is a plane with high density of atoms.

RESILIENCE:

Resilience is the ability of material to absorb the energy when it is deformed elastically by applying
stress and release the energy when stress is removed. Proof resilience is defined as the maximum
energy that can be absorbed without permanent deformation. The modulus of resilience is defined as
the maximum energy that can be absorbed per unit volume without permanent deformation. It can be
determined by integrating the stress-strain cure from zero to elastic limit. Its unit is joule/m 3.

FATIGUE:

Fatigue is the weakening of material caused by the repeated loading of the material. When a material
is subjected to cyclic loading, and loading greater than certain threshold value but much below the
strength of material (ultimate tensile strength limit or yield stress limit), microscopic cracks begin to
form at grain boundaries and interfaces. Eventually the crack reaches to a critical size. This crack
propagates suddenly and the structure gets fractured. The shape of structure affects the fatigue very
much. Square holes and sharp corners lead to elevated stresses where the fatigue crack initiates.

STEEL AS AN ENGINEERING MATERIAL

Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon containing less than 2% carbon and 1% manganese and small
amounts of silicon, phosphorus, sulphur and oxygen. Steel is the world's most important engineering
and construction material. It is used in every aspect of our lives; in cars and construction products,
refrigerators and washing machines, cargo ships and surgical scalpels. Steel is the world's most
important engineering and construction material. It is used in every aspect of our lives; in cars and
construction products, refrigerators and washing machines, cargo ships and surgical scalpels. It can be
recycled over and over again without loss of property.

HOW STEEL IS MADE

Steel is produced via two main routes: the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) route and
electric arc furnace (EAF) route. Variations and combinations of production routes also exist.

The key difference between the routes is the type of raw materials they consume. For the BF-BOF route
these are predominantly iron ore, coal, and recycled steel, while the EAF route produces steel using
mainly recycled steel and electricity. Depending on the plant configuration and availability of recycled
steel, other sources of metallic iron such as direct-reduced iron (DRI) or hot metal can also be used in
the EAF route.

A total of 70.7% of steel is produced using the BF-BOF route. First, iron ores are reduced to iron, also
called hot metal or pig iron. Then the iron is converted to steel in the BOF. After casting and rolling, the
steel is delivered as coil, plate, sections or bars.

Steel made in an EAF uses electricity to melt recycled steel. Additives, such as alloys, are used to adjust
to the desired chemical composition. Electrical energy can be supplemented with oxygen injected into
the EAF. Downstream process stages, such as casting, reheating and rolling, are similar to those found in
the BF-BOF route. About 28.9% of steel is produced via the EAF route.

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:

They 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

They 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:

They 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:

They make excellent cutting and drilling equipment as they contain tungsten, molybdenum,
cobalt, and vanadium to increase heat resistance and durability.