What Is Steel?
Steel is a metal alloy composed of iron and carbon. Other alloying elements, such as manganese, chromium, nickel and vanadium, may also be used to alter the material’s properties dependent on the intended application. The carbon content of steel typically ranges between 0.05%-2%.
At the lower end of the scale, steel which contains 0.05%-0.3 carbon is classed as low carbon steel, also known as ‘mild steel’. If the steel contains upwards of 0.6% carbon, it is classified as high carbon steel.
Both carbon steel grades share the same fundamental mechanical and physical properties, but they will differ in their degree.
What are Steel’s Mechanical Properties?
- High Strength: Steel boasts high tensile strength, which is the maximum amount of stress a material can withstand whilst being stretched before breaking. Steels typically has tensile strengths of between 350-650 MPa, which is much higher than other materials, such as aluminium.
- Hardness: Steel is also highly resistant to wear, which means that outside forces will struggle to produce indentations on the material, for example, scratches or cuts on its surface. The Brinell hardness of structural steels can range from 100–185 HB, much higher than that of other materials.
- Ductility: Steel demonstrates high ductility, otherwise known as plastic deformation, meaning it can be bent or stretched to a significant degree without breaking. This makes it safer for application within buildings or other structures, as it helps to prevent structural collapse.
- Toughness: This is a measure of how much stress a material can absorb without fracturing. It can be seen as a blend of both strength and ductility, and so steel boasts significant toughness. This means it can absorb impacts or sudden stresses with greater ease compared to other materials.
- Elasticity: Steel also demonstrates high elasticity, meaning it can return to its original shape after being stretched and deformed, so long as this is within its elastic limit. This ensures that structural components won’t permanently deform, even under heavily loads.
- Malleability: Malleability describes a metal’s ability to be deformed under compressive stress without cracking. This allows steel to be hammered, rolled, pressed or otherwise deformed during the forging process more easily. This makes it the perfect material for producing metal components, as it can be deformed into various shapes and sizes without fears of the material breaking.
- Machinability and weldability: If low in carbon, steel also boasts excellent machinability and weldability i.e. it can be cut, shaped, drilled and joined together with other metal pieces more easily, and also forms stronger and more reliable joints without the risk of cracking or weakening.
What are Steel’s Physical Properties?
As one of the UK’s leading open-die forges, we understand the nature of steel and its combination of properties. Here at Somers Forge, we work with a wide range of carbon and alloy steels to help a range of industries with their operations. From aerospace, defence and oil & gas, to power generation, marine engineering, and more.
Thanks to steel’s properties, processes such as heat treatment and controlled forging can make it the perfect material for critical components that need to perform under pressure and last for a long time.
Properties of Low Carbon (Mild) Steel:
- Carbon Content: Up to 0.3%.
- Tensile Strength: 400–550 MPa.
- Hardness: Relatively low. It has a Brinell hardness of around 120 HB.
- Ductility: High, as it can be bent and stretched significantly without breaking.
- Toughness: It absorbs impacts and resists fracture more easily.
- Malleability: Excellent as it can be hammered, rolled, or pressed more easily during the forging process.
- Weldability: Excellent; easy to join without cracking.
- Machinability: Can be cut and drilled more efficiently.
- Elasticity: High as it returns to original shape with greater ease.
Properties of High Carbon Steel:
- Carbon Content: 6% to 1.0%
- Tensile Strength: 700–1200 MPa
- Hardness: High; typically, around 200–300 HB
- Ductility: Moderate; less flexible but more robust than mild steel
- Toughness: Moderate; excellent under compressive loads but less impact-resistant than low carbon steel
- Malleability: Lower than mild steel due to its hardness
- Weldability: Poor; pre-heating and post-weld heat treatment are often required
- Machinability: Fair; requires specialised tooling and slower machining speeds
Here at Somers Forge, we work with a wide range of carbon steel grades. We specialise in steel forgings for industries that demand high-strength and durable metal components, such as the defence, aerospace, oil & gas and marine industries.
Forging and Enhancing the Properties of Steel
Understanding the properties of the different types of steels allows our team to manipulate them through controlled forging processes and heat treatment to get the desired outcome. These processes also help enhance the mechanical performance of the metal, meaning your forged products are made to meet and exceed the pressure of your operations, whatever the industry might be.
Here at Somers Forge, our open die forging techniques help keep larger components consistent in their mechanical properties, while our heat treatment pushes the steel to become the strongest version. Using these processes, we have helped forge shafts, rings, discs, blocks and many other essential elements for industries across the UK and always ensure we focus on achieving the optimal finish to the steel.
Forging Steel at Somers Forge
Our 150 years of experience in the forging industry mean Somers Forge has been at the forefront of steel forging innovation and has worked on a range of different steel forgings. Our advanced equipment and team of forging experts ensure that every forged component meets the highest performance standards and fulfils your exact requirements.
From raw steel stock to fully machined, ready-to-install components, we offer end-to-end forging solutions for your sector. This could be carbon steel forgings, alloy steel forgings or even bespoke materials, whatever your specific requirements need to excel.
Understanding the properties of steel is what helps make the most efficient forged components, ensuring they’re always ready to perform under the toughest conditions. Reach out to us today to find out more about our very own steel grades, our range of forging capabilities, or to find out how we can help you.
