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What is the difference between stainless steel and carbon steel?

2024-04-01

Both stainless steel and carbon steel belong to the category of steel, but due to the different elements they contain, they are fundamentally different. Generally, steel that only contains carbon is called carbon steel, while stainless steel contains other alloy materials, and its corrosion resistance and wear resistance are very good. The main differences between the two are as follows:

1. Different densities

The density of carbon steel is slightly higher than that of ferritic and martensitic stainless steel, and slightly lower than that of austenitic stainless steel.

2. Different ingredients

Stainless steel is the abbreviation for stainless and acid resistant steel. Steel that is resistant to weak corrosive media such as air, steam, water, or has rust resistance is called stainless steel; And the type of steel that is resistant to chemical corrosion media (such as acid, alkali, salt, etc.) is called acid resistant steel.

Carbon steel is an iron carbon alloy with a carbon content ranging from 0.0218% to 2.11%. Also known as carbon steel. Generally, it also contains small amounts of silicon, manganese, sulfur, and phosphorus.

3. Different resistances

The electrical resistivity increases in order of carbon steel, ferrite, martensite, and austenitic stainless steel.

4. Different coefficients of expansion

The ranking of the coefficient of linear expansion is similar, with austenitic stainless steel having the highest coefficient and carbon steel having the lowest.

5. Magnetic differences

Carbon steel, ferritic and martensitic stainless steel have magnetism, while austenitic stainless steel has no magnetism. However, when it undergoes martensitic transformation during cold work hardening, magnetism will be generated. Heat treatment can be used to eliminate this martensitic structure and restore its non-magnetism.

Which is harder, stainless steel or carbon steel

Generally speaking, carbon steel has a higher hardness due to its higher carbon content, but the disadvantage is that it is prone to rusting. Of course, the specific hardness also depends on the grade, and it is important to note that higher hardness is not necessarily better, as harder materials mean easier fracture, while lower hardness means better toughness and less likely to break.

Which is better, stainless steel or carbon steel

The advantages and disadvantages of both are very obvious, so it is difficult to say which one is better. Each has its own purpose. If you want hardness, carbon steel is better, and if you want to keep it for a long time without rusting, stainless steel is better.

Can stainless steel and carbon steel be welded together?

It's completely possible.

So what welding rods are used for welding stainless steel and carbon steel? It must be a welding rod or wire for welding this type of stainless steel, but in general, it is not recommended to weld stainless steel and carbon steel together. It is more suitable to use flange connections because long-term contact between stainless steel and carbon steel can cause "carburization reaction", which will affect the characteristics of stainless steel.

What is the difference between low alloy steel and carbon structural steel?

Alloy steel with a total amount of alloying elements less than 3.5% is called low alloy steel. Low alloy steel is relative to carbon steel, and is intentionally added to steel to improve one or several properties on the basis of carbon steel. When the amount of alloy added exceeds the general content of carbon steel in normal production methods, this type of steel is called alloy steel.

High quality carbon structural steel, abbreviated as carbon bonded steel. Specifically, its carbon content is less than 0.08%. Compared with plain carbon steel, it has better quality, strict chemical composition, and requires guaranteed mechanical performance indicators. It is a high-quality carbon structural steel with lower impurity content such as phosphorus and sulfur.

What are the advantages of ordinary low alloy steel compared to ordinary carbon steel?

Due to the increase in metal composition, the yield point of the microstructure is higher than that of ordinary carbon steel, with higher strength and corrosion resistance than ordinary carbon steel. It is lightweight and particularly suitable for making structural components. Corresponding grades of welding rods should be used for welding.

How to quickly distinguish between ordinary carbon steel and low alloy steel?

Both are structural steels. Carbon structural steels are generally rolled into steel plates or profiles for use, and are generally not subjected to heat treatment to strengthen their yield strength. They are divided into five categories: Q197, Q215, Q235, Q255, and Q275. Low alloy high-strength steels are all used in hot rolled or normalized states, and have higher strength, including Q295, Q345, Q390, Q420, and Q460. The main difference is actually the different range of yield strength.

Ordinary carbon steel is the abbreviation for ordinary carbon structural steel. The carbon content is less than 0.38%, with less than 0.25% being the most commonly used. Belonging to low-carbon steel, each metal grade represents the minimum yield point of the steel grade when the thickness is less than 16mm.

Alloy steel with a total amount of alloying elements less than 5% is called low alloy steel. Low alloy steel is relative to carbon steel. It is a type of steel that intentionally adds one or more alloying elements to improve one or several properties of the steel based on carbon steel. When the amount of alloy added exceeds the normal production method of carbon steel, it is called alloy steel. When the total amount of alloy is less than 5%, it is called low alloy steel. A medium alloy steel with an alloy content between 5-10% is called a medium alloy steel; More than 10% is called high alloy steel.

What is the difference in the scope of low alloy high-strength structural steel and carbon steel?

Low alloy steel contains more other elements compared to carbon steel.

Alloy steel refers to steel that contains not only silicon and manganese as alloying elements or deoxidizing elements, but also other alloying elements (such as chromium, nickel, molybdenum, vanadium, titanium, copper, tungsten, aluminum, cobalt, niobium, zirconium, and other elements), and some non-metallic elements (such as boron, nitrogen, etc.).

Carbon steel: mainly refers to steel whose mechanical properties depend on the carbon content in the steel, and generally does not add a large amount of alloying elements. In addition, carbon steel with higher carbon content generally has higher hardness and strength, but lower plasticity.

What are the superior properties of low alloy steel compared to carbon steel

Low alloy steel and carbon steel have the following main differences in performance:

(1) The hardenability is higher than that of carbon steel. In general, the maximum quenching diameter for carbon steel water quenching is only 10mm-20mm.

(2) The strength and yield strength are higher than those of carbon steel. Like ordinary carbon steel Q235 steel σ S is 235MPa, while the low alloy structural steel 16Mn σ S is above 360MPa. 40 steel σ S/ σ B is only 0.43, much lower than alloy steel.

(3) Tempering stability is higher than that of carbon steel. Due to poor tempering stability, when carbon steel is subjected to quenching and tempering treatment, a lower tempering temperature is required to ensure higher strength, resulting in lower toughness of the steel; In order to ensure good toughness, the strength is lower when using high tempering temperatures, so the comprehensive mechanical performance level of carbon steel is not high.

(4) Low alloy steel can meet the requirements of special properties. Carbon steel often has poor properties in terms of oxidation resistance, corrosion resistance, heat resistance, low temperature resistance, wear resistance, and special electromagnetic properties, which cannot meet the needs of special performance.

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