Steel - the basics

Steel – the basics Did you know?

Steel is the most
widely recycled
engineering material
Steel is a very special material. With the addition of tiny
in the world. It can
amounts of other elements, iron can be transformed into a
be recycled over and
versatile engineering metal capable of withstanding extreme
over again without
gearbox pressures or the immense forces in a car crash.
loss of properties.

In this section
The following pages illustrate some of the basic facts about carbon steel and
how its versatility enables it to be used throughout automotive manufacturing
and endlessly recycled into new products.

Steel in cars Page 10-11

Illustrating the versatility of steel and the types of
components and applications it is used for in cars.

The multi-materials car Page 12-13

Comparing steel’s physical properties with those
of other materials used in the manufacture of a
passenger car.

Steelmaking Page 14-15

Describing how steel is made using one of two
main production methods, outlining the benefits
of each.

Chemical compositions Page 16

Explaining how the chemical composition of steel
affects its strength and other properties.

Characteristics Page 17
Describing how the different characteristics of
steel are used to best advantage in automotive
manufacturing.

Steel types Page 18-19

Explaining the differences between types
of steel and what they mean for automotive
manufacturing.

From steelworks to car plant Page 20-23

Outlining the processes that transform steel into
myriad automotive components.

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Steel - the basics: Steel in cars

Steel in cars
Steel accounts for more than 50 per cent of the weight of an
average passenger car. The major applications are shown here.
Thick section strip and tube Deep drawing quality
for structural reinforcements steels for complex
Electroplated strip for
and seat structures shapes Deep drawing quality
brake and fuel lines,
and electrical parts for surface appearance
Electrical steels for
starter motors and
alternators

Gear steels tuned

for machinability and
hardenability

High Strength
Steels for crash
performance

High-grade
wire rod
drawn into
tyre cord
Bake-hardenable steel
for door skins and
bonnets
Engineering services
Ultra High Strength to prove out materials
Steels for ‘B’ pillars selection and
Alloy steel rod for engineering solutions.
high-temperature Steel for chassis bolts Services to make and
applications, eg. and rivets weld blanks for vehicle
engine valves
structural parts.
Ultra-clean steels for Advanced High
Strength Steels R&D services to assist
precision parts, eg.
Aluminium-coated strip for lighter vehicle selection of materials
diesel injectors
for exhausts structures for formability and
Steel tubes for hydroformed Spring steels Billets for suspension weldability.
subframes and other for suspension and engine part
chassis parts Find out more: www.corusautomotive.com/en/products
components forgings
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 Steel - the basics: The multi-materials car

The multi-materials car

A brief guide to the materials that make up the cars of today. Fig. 2 Vehicle production vs vehicle price vs market share

A car is built from many different The material properties of steel

materials, although the main (with its wide range of yield strength
structure – known as the Body In combined with high modulus) Carbon fibre
White (BIW) – is usually made of together with ease of manufacture Aluminium
steel pressings welded together and low cost, mean that steel-
Steel

Vehicle price Euro (x1000)

to form a strong and stiff frame. intensive vehicles have by far the
This method of construction largest share of the market. The high
accounts for 99.9 per cent of all the cost of alternative materials such as <0.01%
cars produced in the world. The aluminium or composites mean that
remaining 0.1 per cent are mostly steel’s position as the first-choice <0.1%
constructed with an aluminium BIW, material is secure.
while a very small number (less than >99.9%
0.01 per cent) are constructed from The BIW of a vehicle accounts for
carbon-fibre composite (see Fig. 2 20 per cent of the vehicle mass.
opposite). The weight of the closures (doors,
bonnet and boot/rear hatch), chassis
Fig. 1
Fig. 1 4% 3% (suspension parts) and driveline
6% bring the total amount of steel and
Annual production (x 1000 units)
other ferrous metals to more than 60
8% per cent (see Fig. 1).
Source of Fig. 2 and Table 1: Corus
In recent years, the amount of
11% ferrous metal has declined, mostly Table 1: Alternative materials - potential weight saving vs cost
driven by manufacturers replacing
56% iron with aluminium for engine steel aluminium magnesium % weight reduction % cost
castings. The percentage of sheet increase
12% steel per car has also dropped, (kg) (kg) (kg) (part) (vehicle) (part)
mainly due to: Body in 285 218 N/A 23.5 3.90 250
steel 56% iron 12% • Higher levels of equipment, trim white example
vehicle mass
plastics 11% others 8% and soundproofing. (BIW) of 1700kg
aluminium 6% rubber 4% • More aluminium used in wheels
glass 3% and suspension parts. Bonnet 14.8 8.3 N/A 44 0.48 300
Source: SMMT 2001 report • More moulded plastics, especially (assembly) example
vehicle mass
under the bonnet. of 1350kg

The environmental and economic Door 15.7 9.5 N/A 39 0.40 275
Did you know? (assembly)
example
requirements for reduced fuel vehicle mass
The human body contains consumption have also led to an of 1550kg
4.2g of iron, enough to increase in the use of lightweight IP Beam 11.4 N/A 6.3 45 0.33 350
make a piece of car door materials for components that bolt (instrument example
27mm x 27mm. on to a conventional steel vehicle, panel vehicle mass
of 1550kg
support)
but at a cost: see Table 1 opposite.
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Steel - the basics: Steelmaking

Steelmaking
Here we explain the principal commercial methods for making Electric Arc Furnace steelmaking Further processing
steel: Basic Oxygen Steelmaking (BOS) and the Electric Arc The Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) Billets may be supplied directly to
Furnace (EAF). process is simpler and more flexible. forgers for hot forging components
The process uses electric current such as crankshafts, camshafts and
to produce a high-temperature arc connecting rods, or hot rolled into
Since BOS relies on a supply of top of the iron. Carbon monoxide inside a furnace containing scrap sections for reinforcement brackets
liquid iron from a blast furnace, we reacts with iron ore to give molton steel. One furnace can be used to and door hinges.
must first describe iron making. iron, which collects at the bottom of produce smaller batches of a wider
Iron ore (iron oxides), coke and the furnace. The resulting carbon- variety of steel types than the BOS However, most steel for automotive
limestone are fed into a blast furnace rich ‘pig iron’ is then poured off and process. use is supplied in the form of sheet,
where they are heated to around transported to the BOS plant. ranging in thickness from 0.5mm to
15000 C. At this temperature carbon While the feedstock for the BOS 4mm, in widths up to two metres.
monoxide is formed by the reactions Basic Oxygen Steelmaking process is molten pig iron, for the This sheet is produced by hot
of coke and limestone with furnace In the BOS process, steel is made rolling a slab, with the resultant
EAF process it is almost 100 per
gases. The lime now acts as a by blowing oxygen into liquid oxide surface being removed
cent steel scrap – resulting in steel
fluxing agent, removing impurities iron using a water-cooled lance. by ‘pickling’ in an acid bath. For
being the most recycled engineering
in the form of a slag which floats on Oxygen reacts with excess carbon optimum mechanical properties
material in the world.
and other impurities, which are and control of surface finish, most
Blast furnace released as gases. This exothermic automotive sheet steel is cold rolled.
The EAF process is preferred for
reaction takes place under alkaline A corrosion-preventing metallic
making specialist steels such as
conditions (i.e. ‘basic’), with the rise coating, usually zinc based, is
heat-treatable forging billets, high-
in temperature controlled to some then applied by electro or hot-dip
temperature alloys and stainless
extent by the addition of scrap steel. galvanizing. Cold-rolled sheet
steels.
requires heat treatment (annealing)
A steelworks that makes steel by this that is often carried out within the
Secondary steelmaking
route and shares a site with a blast coating process, before a final cold
The steel from either BOS or EAF
furnace for the provision of liquid roll (temper rolling).
then goes through a series of
iron is known as an ‘integrated’
operations while still liquid, which
steelworks. Sheet steel is rolled into coils
can include vacuum degassing,
weighing up to 20 tonnes for
argon stirring and the addition of
The BOS process is used where shipment by road or rail.
other metallic alloying elements by
large volumes of similar steel types
powder injection. Fine tuning of the Electric arc furnace
are required. It is the most common
steel chemistry in this way allows the
route for making formable strip
steelmaker to produce thousands
steels for car bodyshells and ultra-
of grades of steel from the same
clean steels with low residuals for
basic composition. The steel is then
products such as tyre cord and valve
poured by a continuous-casting
springs.
process to form a range of thickness
known as slabs, blooms or billets.
These steels have low levels of trace
elements, which make them ideal for
forming into body panels and other
thin-section, deep-drawn parts.
Find out more: www.corusgroup.com/en/responsibility

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Steel - the basics: Chemical compositions Steel - the basics: Characteristics

Chemical compositions Characteristics

Alloying elements are added to steel to create the desired Steel offers an impressive range of properties to meet the
strength and formability properties for specific automotive demands of every automotive application.
components.

Iron atoms Interstitial atoms Steel for automotive purposes is Steel for use in automotive
(carbon, nitrogen) made up of iron (generally more applications ranges from the most
than 99 per cent) and a range of formable grades with a low yield
other alloying elements, the most strength of 140 N/mm² to ultra-
important of which is carbon. high-strength tyre-cord steel with a
strength of 2,500 N/mm².
Under a microscope, at x1000
magnification it can be seen that Some grades have specialised
steel is actually made up of tiny processing for a specific end use,
crystals known as grains. These such as super-clean steels for use
grains of steel are formed when in fuel injection systems and forging
liquid steel cools to a solid, the grades for crankshafts, camshafts
Substitutional atom
atoms of iron within each grain, and connecting rods. Grades
(eg. phosphorous, vanadium)
aligning in a precise crystalline array. specific to connecting rods, for
The size, shape and composition of example, can be deliberately fracture
Source of diagrams above and
below: Corus these grains has a major effect on split as part of the manufacturing
the strength and formability of the process. Above: Automotive crankshaft
steel. hot forged from a steel billet.
A key requirement for sheet steel Component shown is from an in-line
A carbon atom is smaller than intended for use in automotive six-cylinder engine.
an iron atom, and provides a pressings is that it is formable, so
Steel grade DP600 through strengthening mechanism by sitting that it can be stretched without
microscope at x1000 magnification Below: A tailgate inner pressing
between the iron atoms, preventing undue thinning in a press to form
the rows of atoms sliding over one complex shapes. Softer grades of
another. At carbon levels below steel, having low yield strength, tend
0.001 per cent, the steel is known as to be highly formable but lack the
interstitial free (IF) and therefore has strength needed for the main load-
a low yield strength. bearing members of a vehicle.
Higher-strength steel parts may be
Other alloying elements, such as more difficult to form, since they
phosphorous or vanadium, have do not stretch so readily, but offer
larger atoms that strengthen by potential for weight reduction.
substitution for an iron atom.
This is known as solid-solution
strengthening. Steel manufacturers
combine this with other techniques
to produce steel with an optimum
balance of properties. Find out more: www.corusgroup.com/en/responsibility

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 Steel - the basics: Steel types

Steel types
Steel grades fall into a number of general types, each suitable Fig. 4 below illustrates the properties The highest strength steel shown
for different categories of component in a car. of three different grades of sheet here has a yield strength (at
steel, and identifies where in a point X) of 800N/mm² – roughly
As well as solid-solution Each ellipse below represents the vehicle structure they are most likely equal to eight tonnes per square
strengthening, steel manufacturers grades available within each steel to be found. centimetre.
can use a range of techniques type or ‘family’. The name for each
to make higher-performance family – see Table 2 – reflects the Source of diagrams Fig. 3 and Fig. 4: Corus
steels. These techniques include method by which the steel achieves
Fig. 4 Application of types of sheet steel
grain refinement, work hardening, its formability or strength.
precipitation hardening and heat
treatment. Table 2: Steel types
Type Description
Using these techniques, sheet
steels can be developed with the IF Interstitial Free Ultra High Strength Steels, for
ideal combination of formability and BH Bake Hardening safety-critical parts, especially
strength for specific automotive for maintaining a passenger
HSLA High Strength - Low Alloy
applications. survival space in crash events
CMn Carbon Manganese
For example, Fig. 3 below
DP Dual Phase
demonstrates the range of
formability (elongation) and yield Boron Boron steel
strength for a wide range of TRIP Transformation Induced
automotive sheet steel types. (X)
Plasticity

Stress N/mm2
(Yield strength is defined as the High Strength Steels
MART Martensitic
point at which the steel begins to with a good balance of
TWIP Twinning Induced Plasticity strength, formability, energy
permanently stretch or deform.)
absorption and durability
Fig. 3 Types of sheet steel Strength 600
range

Ultra High
Yield strength N/mm2

Strength Steels with excellent formability,

Steel eg. for deep drawing

High
Strength
Steel

Formable
steel
10 20 30 40 50 Elongation % Elongation %
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Steel - the basics: From steelworks to assembly line

From steelworks to assembly line

A range of secondary processes is used to give a steel Blanking Forming

component its final properties and shape. Steel strip leaves the steelworks in Press forming converts flat sheet
the form of coils. The process of steel into the three-dimensional
Heat treatment metal coatings can enhance wear de-coiling and cutting the strip into shapes used to generate complex
Heat treatment alters the mechanical resistance and electrical conductivity shapes ready for pressing into three- parts and box sections in a car’s
properties of metal, improving or promote adhesion. dimensional components is known body in white (BIW). Sheet steel
ductility or strength or a combination as blanking. blanks are inserted into a press, the
of both. It is now possible for a vehicle outer edge of the sheet is clamped
manufacturer to offer 30-year Blanks of different thicknesses, and the sheet stamped between a
Annealing at around 6000 C is used anti-perforation warranties due to grades or coatings can be welded male and a female die. To obtain a
to remove the work hardening that the combined performance of coil- together. These Tailor Welded Blanks deep section requires extra metal,
results from cold rolling – creating a applied metallic coatings and paint- (TWBs) are typically used for parts which is pulled from the clamped
softer, more formable steel. shop applied organic coatings. that need additional strength and region; the part is then described as
stiffness in applications such as door ‘drawn’. Very deep shapes, such as
Quenching (rapid cooling) of steel inners, reinforcing the areas where door inners or spare-wheel wells,
from a temperature of around 7500 C hinges and locks are attached. are ‘deep drawn’ and require the
results in the formation of (very hard) most formable grades of steel. The
martensite. higher-strength steel used in modern
cars requires presses with higher
Bake-hardening (BH) steels gain press forces.
additional strength as the pressed
components (such as outer panels Press Hardening, also known as
and closures) go through the paint Did you know?
Did you know? die-quenching, is similar to press
oven after painting. The highest strength steel forming, but in the press-hardening
A 283mm x 230mm bloom
in everyday use is the process the steel is first heated to
measuring four metres
Coatings cold-drawn wire used for 9500 C and simultaneously pressed
long can be rolled into
Coil-applied coatings (i.e. applied at piano wire and tyre cord and quenched in the die to produce
the steelworks) for automotive use a coil of rod measuring
– a 12mm diameter cable a very strong martensitic steel.
are generally metallic and based up to 11 km long (for
made from this wire is
on zinc, aluminium, copper and tin. 5.5mm diameter rod) and Roll forming is a process where
strong enough to lift a 30-
Zinc coatings are used to enhance weighing 2.2 tonnes. sheet metal is progressively folded
corrosion resistance, while other
tonne truck. to shape through a series of rollers.
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Steel - the basics: From steelworks to assembly line

From steelworks to assembly line

The resulting profiles are used for Joining Free-cutting engineering steels are Fracture splitting
seat rails and chassis rails for trucks. Commonly used joining techniques designed to enable the rapid removal Connecting rod ‘big ends’ are bolted
in automotive assembly include of metal during machining, and to together to produce a strong and
Hydroforming can be used to spot welding, laser welding, hybrid prolong tool life. stiff circular housing for the big end
form tube or sheet steel. In tube welding, arc welding, adhesive bearing shells. These big ends can
hydroforming, a tube is filled with bonding, mechanical joining and Surface treatment be made by fracture splitting using
fluid and pressurised. The tube brazing. Efficient and reliable Wear resistance of bearing surfaces a grade of steel that, under the right
then expands to match the shape joining is a critical technology in the or cylinder bores can be increased conditions, breaks cleanly to provide
of an external die. Chassis frames, assembly of automotive structures, by a number of chemical, thermal precision-matching surfaces. This
subframes and instrument panel and the quality of joins can greatly and mechanical methods. One method reduces the number of
support beams are examples of affect the durability of the finished popular method is nitriding – where further machining operations and is
hydroformable parts. product. Joining of dissimilar a heated component is immersed a good example of material choice
metals (eg. steel to aluminium) is an in nitrogen-rich fluid. The atoms enabling lean manufacturing.
Forging emerging technology, as carmakers of nitrogen that diffuse into the
Engine parts such as camshafts, tune weight distribution to enhance a surface of the steel increase
crankshafts and piston connecting vehicle’s handling or stability. surface hardness without causing
rods are examples of parts made embrittlement.
by forging. In the forging process, a Machining
steel billet is first heated in a furnace. As well as forgings, steel in the form A mechanical method, such as shot
The red-hot billet is then transferred of rod, bar and tube is machined to peening (hammering with metal
to a press where it is progressively produce a wide range of powertrain beads), leaves residual compressive
stamped into shape between two and suspension components, such stresses in the surface of the
dies. The steel forging produced as gear shafts, stub axles and component, which considerably
is close to the final part shape and constant-velocity joints. Typical improves fatigue performance.
therefore requires little machining. machining operations are cutting,
The flow of material in the forging milling, boring and grinding. Grinding
process results in a preferred grain provides the high surface finish
structure, enhancing both toughness required for the longevity of plain
and fatigue performance. bearings and oil seals.

Find out more: www.corusautomotive.com/hydroforming Find out more: www.corusautomotive.com/publications

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