Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. Iron extracted from iron ore contains about 4% carbon and some other impurities. The carbon makes it hard but weakens it. Removing some of the carbon and other impurities in an oxygen furnace produces steel.
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.
Steels are a large family of metals. All of them are alloys in which iron is mixed with carbon and other elements. Steels are described as mild, medium- or high-carbon steels according to the percentage of carbon they contain, although this is never greater than about 1.5%.
The properties of steel are closely linked to its composition. For example, there is a big difference in hardness between the steel in a drinks can and the steel that is used to make a pair of scissors. The metal in the scissors contains nearly twenty times as much carbon and is many times harder. Notice how the percentage of carbon in the steel items in varies. Changing the carbon content changes the properties of the steel and the way that it is used.
The heat treatment given to steel can affect its properties too. Cooling a red-hot tool steel rapidly in cold water makes it harder and more brittle. We could have made the same piece of metal softer by keeping it at red heat for longer and then cooling it slowly. Heat treatment is another method that the steelmaker uses to make the properties of the steel match the job it has to do.
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