why steels commonly classified into carbon concentration.what exactly carbon concentration?

Answer 1

Carbon steel, also called plain carbon steel, is a metal alloy, a combination of two elements, iron and carbon, where other elements are present in quantities too small to affect the properties. The only other alloying elements allowed in plain-carbon steel are: manganese (1.65% max), silicon (0.60% max), and copper (0.60% max). Steel with a low carbon content has the same properties as iron, soft but easily formed. As carbon content rises the metal becomes harder and stronger but less ductile and more difficult to weld. Higher carbon content lowers steel's melting point and its temperature resistance in general.


Typical compositions of carbon are:

Mild (low carbon) steel: approximately 0.05% - 0.29% carbon content (e.g. AISI 1018 steel). Mild steel has a relatively low tensile strength, but it is cheap and malleable; surface hardness can be increased through carburizing.

Medium carbon steel: approximately 0.30% - 0.59% carbon content (e.g. AISI 1040 steel). Balances ductility and strength and has good wear resistance; used for large parts, forging and automotive components.

High carbon steel: approximately 0.6% - 0.99% carbon content. Very strong, used for springs and high-strength wires.

Ultra-high carbon steel: approximately 1.0% - 2.0% carbon content. Steels that can be tempered to great hardness. Used for special purposes like (non-industrial-purpose) knives, axles or punches. Most steels with more than 1.2% carbon content are made using powder metallurgy and usually fall in the category of high alloy carbon steels.
Steel can be heat-treated which allows parts to be fabricated in an easily-formable soft state. If enough carbon is present, the alloy can be hardened to increase strength, wear, and impact resistance. Steels are often wrought by cold-working methods, which is the shaping of metal through deformation at a low equilibrium or metastable temperature.

Answer 2

Steel is basically an Alloy material made of Iron and Carbon. Grades of Steel are therefore classified by Carbon because the Carbon content is really the only significant difference between types of Steel (ignoring trace elements and impurities, but most impurities are purged in the refining and smelting processes these days). Carbon Concentration is a measure of the percentage of the weight that is made up of Carbon rather than Iron, and typically ranges from 0.02% to 1.7%.

Answer 3

Normally steels are classified with respect to carbon content because carbon effect the hardness of the steel. usually the more is carbon content more will be the hardness and strength. but apart from that heat treatment and other alloying elements also play part in defining these properties. e.g stainlesss steel is stainless because of nickel and chromium.

Answer 4

the Romans discovered that when you heat iron and carbon together it made steel-the higher the carbon content the harder the steel-also the more brittle the steel. the "high" carbon steel is the hardest steel.

Answer 5

it is the concentration of carbon in a compound or substance.