Are You Aware Of These Steel Varieties? Here’s A Guide For You.

November 22, 2022

Steel is considered to be one of the most powerful elements and hold distinct grades and unique chemical compositions. This element is an alloy developed from the composition of iron and one or more alloy metals and is now a material with unique properties. However, this is further divided into 4 sub-categories, each of which are used in manufacturing different products.

Most of the steel dealers in India deal with these 4 kind of steels. The properties of each of these sub-categories change due to the elements that are combined with iron and also due to the heating and cooling of the material. Given below are the four different kind of steel varieties.

What are the different varieties of Steel that steel dealers in India deal with?

The variation of steel results from the different elements that are mixed with carbon to a specific end. The four different types of steel are:

1. Carbon Steel: The properties of this type of steel define its name. Carbon steel is a dull, matte-looking steel and is vulnerable to corrosion. It is made up of a high amount of steel (around 0.2%) and very low amount of alloying metals. This also accounts for about 90% of steel production in India. This steel is provided by steel dealers in India to manufacture very hard components like metal lamp posts, machine parts, hot water radiators, etc. Carbon steel is further divided into 3 categories.

• Low carbon steel: This steel comprises of 0.3% of carbon

• Medium carbon steel: This steel comprises of 0.3-0.6% of carbon

• High carbon steel: This comprises of more than 0.6% of carbon

2. Stainless Steel:Every application that is used in day-to-day lives, especially household applications are made up of this steel. While buying stainless steel from steel dealers in Chennai, make sure it has a glossy and shiny surface. This is because,stainless steel consists about 10-20% of chromium, which is not only the main alloying element of this material but also makes the surface shiny.

This steel is corrosion resistant and can be molded into shape very easily which clearly explains it’s usage in production of surgical equipment. Having a higher amount of chromium gives the steel a more polished look and makes it more resistant to corrosion. Besides these, they are also found in silverware and are used as exterior cladding for industrial buildings by pre-engineered building manufacturers in India. The different types of stainless steel are:

• Martenistic alloy: These are tough but are prone to corrosion

• Ferritic alloy: These have low amount of carbon and nickel and are less expensive steels

• Austenitic alloy: These have high amounts of chromium and Nickel that makes them free of corrosion and develops non-magnetic properties

• Duplex alloy: These are a mixture of the austenitic and ferritic steel and thus, contains both of their properties along with double strength

3. Alloy Steel:This steel is in demand among steel dealers in Chennai due to its strengthandcorrosion resistance. It is a material that is a mixture of one of several other elements which include nickel, copper and aluminum. The presence of the different elements affects the properties of the steel like its strengthcorrosion resistance, formability and ductility. The Alloy steel is cheaper compared to the other types and is thus used for making car parts, pipelines, mechanical projects and ship hulls.

4. Tool Steel: The composition of this steel includes silver, vanadium, molybdenum and tungsten. These elements help to boost the heat resistance and durability, making them perfect for slicing and welding machinery and are used mostly by pre-engineered building manufacturers in India. There are 6 different grades for this tooling steel namely:

• Air-hardening

• Water-hardening

• D-type

• Hot-working

• Shock-resisting types

• Oil hardening

Tool steel can be divided into two categories depending on its size and usage.

• The tool steel is provided to the building and automobile industries by different steel dealers in India to produce the long and tubular goods like plates, rods, cables, tubes, rails, etc.

• The tool steel is also used to make flat products like plates, sheets, coils and stripswhich are used in shipbuilding and designing automobiles.

Steel is currently being used as one of the in demand metals. It is found in different shapes and sizes for all applications. The varieties of steel discussed can further be divided depending on the industry, as per their strength and toughness. It is important to learn about the different types of steel so that customers can make the right decision while choosing. The usage of steel is expected to grow in the upcoming years along with the discovery of new elements.