Types of Carbon Steel and Their Properties

Types of carbon steel and their properties
Low
hardenability,
Medium- 0.25 AISI
medium
carbon ste – Martensite 409, ASTM
strength,
el 0.60 A29, SCM435
ductility and
toughness
Medium-carbon steel
Medium-carbon steel has a carbon content of 0.25 – 0.60 wt.% and a
manganese content of 0.60 – 1.65 wt.%. The mechanical properties of this
steel are improved via heat treatment involving autenitising followed by
quenching and tempering, giving them a martensitic microstructure.
Heat treatment can only be performed on very thin sections, however,
additional alloying elements, such as chromium, molybdenum and nickel, can
be added to improve the steels ability to be heat treated and, thus, hardened.
Hardened medium-carbon steels have greater strength than low-carbon
steels, however, this comes at the expense of ductility and toughness.
Production and processing

Carbon steel can be produced from recycled steel, virgin steel or a
combination of both.
Virgin steel is made by combining iron ore, coke (produced by heating coal in
the absence of air) and lime in a blast furnace at around 1650 °C. The molten
iron extracted from the iron ore is enriched with carbon from the burning
coke. The remaining impurities combine with the lime to form slag, which
floats on top of the molten metal where it can be extracted.
The resulting molten steel contains roughly 4 wt.% carbon. This carbon
content is then reduced to the desired amount in a process called
decarburisation. This is achieved by passing oxygen through the melt, which
oxidises the carbon in the steel, producing carbon monoxide and carbon
dioxide.
Examples & Applications
Medium-carbon steel
As a result of their high strength, resistance to wear and toughness, medium-
carbon steels are often used for railway tracks, train wheels, crankshafts, and
gears and machinery parts requiring this combination of properties.
Comparison of properties and applications of

different grades
0.27 Machinery parts,

Mediu 32
1030 – 460 12 gears, shifts,
m 5
0.34 axles, bolts
0.37 Crankshafts,
Mediu 41
1040 – 620 25 couplings, cold
m 5
0.44 headed parts.
What are the applications and properties of medium carbon steel?
1. Carbon content in the range of 0.3 – 0.6%.

2. Can be heat treated - austenitizing, quenching and then
tempering.
3. Most often used in tempered condition – tempered martensite.
4. Medium carbon steels have low hardenability.
5. Addition of Cr, Ni, Mo improves the heat treating capacity.
6. Heat treated alloys are stronger but have lower ductility.
7. Typical applications – Railway wheels and tracks, gears,
crankshafts.
What are the applications of medium carbon steel?

The use for medium-carbon steel are characterized by the necessity for a high
elasticity and malleability that, in spite of its fragility when contrasted with
different types of steel, settle on it the favored decision. In the vicinity of 0.3 and
0.7 percent carbon is added amid the assembling procedure to make a medium
or mid-run steel item. This particular scope of carbon is joined with a procedure
of extinguishing (i.e., cooling the steel from the external surface to the internal)
and treating to make a structure that has a reliable rigidity (alluded to as
Martensite) all through the body.
Shafts and Gearing
Pivot shafts, crankshafts and equipping plates are altogether produced using
medium-carbon steel. The malleability of the steel enables it to be shaped into
thin shafts or toothed plates without losing any of its elasticity.
Railway Applications
Railway wheels, rails and other steel parts related with the suspension of rail autos
are made of medium-carbon steel. The high rigidity is important to withstand the
changing power of the rail autos on the rails.
Structural Steel
Auxiliary steel pillars, joiner plates and different shapes related with building
require a high rigidity to oppose the torque and weight of structures and
scaffolds. Unique care must be taken to appropriately protect the steel to keep it
from being influenced by extremes of warmth and cool, which can change the
Martensite structure and decrease its basic honesty
What is the crystal structure of medium carbon steel?
What is the crystal structure of medium carbon steel?
At room temperature, the structure is body centred cubic, At higher

temperatures, it changes to face centred cubic, and the temperature at which this
happens depends on the carbon content. at 0.8% carbon, it changes at 738
centigrade, and at almost no carbon, at 910 centigrade. It will contain pearlite at
temperatures below these transition points, ranging from pretty much zero, to
100% at 0.8% carbon.
Features and applications of common carbon steel alloys
Medium carbon steels have carbon concentrations between 0.25% and
0.60%. These steels may be heat-treated by austenizing, quenching, and then
tempering to improve their mechanical properties. On a strength-to-cost basis,
the heat-treated medium carbon steels provide tremendous load carrying
ability.

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Types of Carbon Steel and Their Properties

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Types of carbon steel and their properties

Production and processing

Comparison of properties and applications of

0.27 Machinery parts,

What are the applications and properties of medium carbon steel?

1. Carbon content in the range of 0.3 – 0.6%.

What are the applications of medium carbon steel?

Shafts and Gearing

What is the crystal structure of medium carbon steel?

What is the crystal structure of medium carbon steel?

At room temperature, the structure is body centred cubic, At higher

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