FERROUS METALS: STEEL AND

STEEL ALLOYS

UNIT I

UNIT 1 FERROUS METALS : STEEL AND STEEL ALLOYS

Introduction to Ferrous Metals : Iron ore and Steel / Steel
Alloys
- Definition, Properties and Uses
- Manufacture of Iron ore
- Types of Iron ore : their properties and uses
1. Pig Iron
2. Wrought Iron
3. Cast Iron
Steel
- Manufacture, Casting, Heat Treatment, Mechanical Treatment,
Process of Steel
- Market Forms of Steel, Fire Protection of Steel

METALS
Metals can be either ferrous or non-ferrous.
Ferrous metals contain iron while non-ferrous metals do not.
Both

ferrous and non-ferrous metals are divided into pure

metals and alloys.

A pure metal is an element - eg iron, copper, gold -unalloyed
(not mixed) with another substance.
An alloy is a mixture of two or more elements (eg, iron
and carbon) to
steel).

make another metal with particular properties (eg

Ferrous metals
Ferrous metals contain iron. Examples are
cast iron, mild steel, medium carbon steel,
high carbon steel, stainless steel, and high
speed steel.
Non-ferrous metals
Non-ferrous metals do not contain iron.
Some common non-ferrous metals are
aluminum , copper, zinc, tin, brass (copper
+ zinc), bronze (copper + tin).

ORES:
AnOREis a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements
including metals.
Anoreis a rock that contains enough of the metal or metal compound to make it
economic to extract the metal. Thus Ironoresare rocks and minerals from
which metallic iron can be economically extracted.
CLASSIFICATION OF IRON ORES:
The ores of iron are classed according to the iron
mineral which is predominant. The iron content of the
main ores are as follows:
1. Magnetite (Fe3O4) 7075%,
2. Haematite (Fe2O3) 70%,
3. Limonite (2Fe3O3.3H2O) 60%, it is
hydrated haematite,
4. Iron pyrite (FeS3) 47%, and

EXTRACTION OF IRON FROM THE ORES

5. Siderite (FeCO3) 40%

Heating the ores in the presence of a reducing agent will result in the
formation of CO or CO2,
librated as a gas, and metallic iron.

PIG IRON

The molten metal is tapped from the furnace and is cast in the f

The crude impure iron which is extracted from iron ores ;

Basic material for manufacture of cast iron ,wrought iron and

Manufacturing Process:
steel.
1. Dressing
2. Calcination And Roasting
3. Smelting
.The iron ore is dressed by crushing it
to about 50 mm cubes.
.The impurities are knocked off and the
ore is then calcined(heating in
presence of air for oxidation) to drive
off moisture.
.The calcined ore is smelted
(separate the metal from ore)in blast
furnace (Fig)
.The molten metal is tapped from the

BLAST FURNANCE

Alternative Methods Of Manufacturing Process:

1. Electric Reduction Furnace
2. Low Shaft Blast Furnace
3. Sponge Iron Process
PIG IRON CLASSIFICATION:
.Bessemer Pig
From haematite ores
used in manufacture of steel
.Foundry Pig /Grey Pig
Produced when furnace is provided with fuel and raw materials are
burnt at high temperature
.Forge Pig/White Pig
Produced when furnace is not provided with fuel and raw materials
are burnt at low temperature
.Mottled Pig
Between grey and white pig

PROPERTIES OF PIG IRON :

Hard and brittle ,
Melts easily
Hardened but cannot be tempered and magnetized.
Compressive strength is high but is weak in tension
and shear.
Does not rust and cannot be riveted or welded
Too difficult to bend
Uses :
Pig iron is most suitable for making columns, base plates,
door brackets, etc.

CAST IRON:
Manufacturing Process:
Pig iron is remelted with limestone (flux) and
coke and refined in Cupola furnace.
Poured into moulds of desired size and shape.
The product is known as Cast Iron containing
about 24% of carbon in two forms,
1.

the compound CEMENTITE (COMBINED

CARBON)state of chemical combination

2.

as Free Carbonin a state of mechanical

mixture(GRAPHITE).

The word cast iron is a misnomer as steel with

carbon content less than 2% can also be cast.
DIFFERENCE :
Steel : plastic and forgeable
Cast iron develop a fair degree of plasticity

YPES OF CAST IRON:

Castingis amanufacturingprocess by which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold,

which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified
part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the mold to complete the

TYPES OF CASTING:
1. Sand Casting involves
pouring molten metal into
a cavity in a mass of
packed sand.
2. Hollow Casting is used
for making columns and
piles.
3. Die Casting is cheap for
commercial production.
Casting is done under
pressure.
4. Chilled Casting
5. Centrifugal casting
6. Vertical sand casting

PROPERTIES
1. Cast iron is hard and brittle.
2.

It can neither be riveted nor welded.

3.

It is strong in compression (600 n/mm2) but

4.

Weak in tension (150 N/mm2) and shear. Its specific gravity is

7.50.

5.

It has low melting point (1200c) and is affected by sea

water.

6.

It cannot be magnetized.

7. Structure is granular and crystalline with whitish or greyish

tinge
8. Lacks plasticity and is not suitable for forging.
9. Does not rust easily.

USES
10.Not ductile ,hence cannot absorb shocks and impacts.
1. Employed in engineering constructions and machines.
2. Some of the more common uses of cost iron are making ornamental castings
such as wall brackets, lamp posts; bathroom fittings such as cisterns, water pipes,
sewers, manhole covers, sanitary fittings and; rail chairs, carriage wheels and
machine parts subjected To shocks.

DEFECTS :
1. Checks, Segregation, Blow Holes And Coarse Grain originate during the
cooling of the castings.

Irons with high sulphur content are liable to have small cracks running
transverse to longitudinal axis, called Checks, due to greater shrinkage
and lack of strength.

Segregation is pronounced in high phosphorus iron

Blow holes are caused due to or due to a high proportion of sulphur.

A coarse or open grain in the iron is caused by too slow cooling, or due it
may be due to a very high Phosphorus content.

2. Spongy spots (the exaggerated forms of open grains) and

3. Lifts and shifts due to misplacement of core
4. Scabbing when sand is heavy and sticks to casting
5. Swelling when moulds are improperly rammed
6. Honey combing vent holes are insufficient ,hence porous casting
7. Cold shuts faults planes in the metal produced by the solidification of part
of the casting
before the remaining molten metal was run into place result from lack of

WROUGHT IRON
Wrought iron considered to be pure iron, is produced by
removing the impurities of cast iron.
It is manufactured in reverberatory or puddling
furnace by Astons process.
Manufacturing Process:
The molten iron is first refined by blasting air in the
furnace.
The metal is cooled and poured into moulds.
The metal becomes brittle.
It is then melted in reverberatory furnace where iron

melts

Operation

due to burning of gas.

s:

After melting, puddle balls are produced which

1. Refining

are sent for shingling.

2. Puddling

Here the balls are formed as bloom( shapeless mass)

3. Shinglin

The bloom is sent to grooved rollers to form flat bars.

PROPERTIES
1. Wrought iron is ductile, malleable, tough and moderately
elastic.
2. Its ultimate crushing strength is 200 N/mm2 and ultimate tensile
strength is 40 N/mm2. The modulus of elasticity of wrought iron is
1.86 105 N/mm2 The melting point of wrought iron is 1500C and
sp. gr. about 7.80.
3. It can be forged and welded.
4. Effectively resists corrosion.
5. Unaffected by saline water
6. Moderately elastic
7. It is tough and withstands shocks and can neither be hardened
nor tempered.
8. At about 900C wrought iron becomes so soft that its two pieces can
be jointed by hammering.
9. Copper may be added to increase corrosion resistance properties.

USES :
1. Roof coverings, rivets, chains, ornamental iron works such as gates, etc. are
made of wrought iron.
2. Raw material for manufacture of steel ,bolts and nuts, horse shoe bars, hand
rails, straps for timber roof trusses, boiler tubes, roofing sheets, electromagnets, etc.,

DEFECTS :
3. Very brittle when cold
4. Cracks , if bent
This is due to excess phosphorous content

UNIT 1 FERROUS METALS : STEEL AND STEEL ALLOYS

STEEL
- Manufacture,
- Casting, Heat Treatment, Mechanical Treatment,
Process of Steel
- Market Forms of Steel, Fire Protection of Steel
Steel is the most suitable building material among metallic
materials.
There isnt just one substance called steel
they are a family of alloys of iron with carbon or various
metals.
On the basis of carbon content steel may be classified as under:

MANUFACTURING methods:
The prominent steel-making
processes are:
1. Bessemer process
2. Cementation process
3. Crucible process
4. Open Hearth process
5. Electric Smelting process
6. Duplex process
7. Lintz and Donawitz (L.D.)
process
Schematic Structural Steel Manufacturing
Process

The most prominent present-day steel-making process is the

Bessemer process was introduced in 1856.

BESSEMER PROCESS

The pig iron is first melted in Cupola furnace and sent to

Bessemer converter .

Blast of hot air is given to oxidize the carbon.

Depending upon the requirement, some carbon and

manganese is added to the converter and hot air is
blasted once again.

Then the molten material is poured into moulds to form

ingots.

L.D. process is modification of the Bessemer process in which there in no control

over temperature. By this method steel can be made in hardly 25 minutes.
In Open-hearth process also known as Siemens-Martin process, the steel produced
is more homogeneous than by Bessemers.
The electric process is costly but no ash or smoke is produced.
The Crucible process involves melting of blister steel or bars of wroughtiron in fire
clay crucibles. Cast steel so obtained is very hard and is used for making surgical
equipments.

Mild steel Also known as low carbon or soft steel.

It is ductile, malleable; tougher and more elastic than wrought iron.
Mild steel can be forged and welded, difficult to temper and harden.
It rusts quickly and can be permanently magnetised.
The properties are: Sp. gr. = 7.30, ultimate compressive and tensile
strengths 8001200N/mm2 and 600800N/mm2.
Mild steel is used in the form of rolled sections, reinforcing bars, roof
coverings and sheet piles and in railway tracks.
Hard steel The carbon content in high carbon steel varies from
0.55 to 1.50%.
It is also known as hard steel. It is tougher and more elastic than mild
steel. It can be forged and welded with difficulty.
Its ultimate compressive and tensile strengths are 1350 N/mm2 and 1400
2000 N/mm2, respectively. Its Sp. gr. is 7.90.
High carbon steel is used for reinforcing cement concrete and prestressed
concrete members.
It can take shocks and vibrations and is used for making tools and machine
parts.
The carbon content in high tensile steel is 0.60.8%, manganese
0.6%, silicon 0.2%, sulphur 0.05% and phosphorus 0.05%.
It is also known as high strength steel and is essentially a medium carbon
steel.
The ultimate tensile strength is of the order of 2000 N/mm2 and a
minimum elongation of 10 per cent.

MARKET FORMS OF STEEL:

ANGLE SECTIONS
CHANNEL SECTIONS
CORRUGATED SHEETS
EXPANDED METAL
FLAT BARS
I-SECTIONS
PLATES
RIBBED-TORSTEEL BARS
ROUND BARS
SQUARE BARS
T-SECTIONS

 CAUSES OF CORRISON:
Following are the Factors which are responsible for causing corrosion
especially to reinforcing bars in concrete:
Congested reinforcement in small concrete sections,
Excessive water-cement ratio,
Improper construction methods,
Inadequate design procedure,
Incomplete supervising staff or contractor,
Initially rusted reinforcement before placing concrete,
Insufficient cover to steel from the exposed concrete surfaces,
Permeability of concrete which depends on various factors such as watercement ratio, size of aggregate, curing, grading of aggregates, etc.
Poor workmanship,
Presence of moisture in concrete,
Presence of salts,
Type of atmospheric conditions surroundings the region of concrete,
Unequal distribution of oxygen over the steel surface,
Weak and porous cover blocks which are tied directly to the
reinforcement or stirrups, etc.

 FACTORS INFLUENCING CORROSION:

The corrosion is influenced by the following
factors:
Blow holes, inclusions and trapped gases,
Chemical nature of the metal,
Distribution of secondary phases,
Eddy electric currents,
Internal structure of metal,
Nature of engineering application,
Presence of dust, dirt or other foreign matter,
Surface film,
Working conditions or environment like
temperature, concentration of stresses, etc.

 PREVENTION OF CORROSION OF STEEL IN CONCRETE:

The steel is most liable to corrosion and hence, the study of steel
corrosion is of paramount importance. To minimize the chances of
development of corrosion of steel in concrete, the following preventive
measures may be taken:
Avoiding heavily congested reinforcement especially at the intersection
of beams and columns;
Avoiding the steel to come into contact with bricks soil. Wood and other
porous non-alkaline materials;
Avoiding the use of materials which accelerate the process of corrosion
i.e. aggregates with high salt contents, water containing salts, etc.;
Cleaning the reinforcement with wire-brush to remove the rust scales
before placing of concrete;
Maintaining a high degree of workmanship;
Proper structural design with due provision of cover;
Providing cathodic protection to reinforcement by some suitable method;
Provide surface coatings with paints, tars, asphalts, etc.;
Use of high quality and impermeable concrete;
Using stone pebbles in place of badly made cover blocks;
Using the correct water-cement ratio; etc.