The Importance of Steel

Steel is by far the most important, multi-functional and most adaptable of materials. The development of mankind would have been impossible but for steel. The backbone of developed economies was laid on the strength and inherent uses of steel.

The various uses of steel which in turn is a measure of adaptability of steel can be judged from the following characteristics of steel : - Hot and cold formable - Weldable - Suitable machinability - Hard, tough and wear resistant - Corrosion resistant - Heat resistant and resistance to deformation at high temperatures.

 Steel compared to other materials of its type has low production costs. The energy required for extracting iron from ore is about 25 % of what is needed for extracting aluminum. Steel is environment friendly as it can be recycled. 5.6 % of element iron is present in earth's crust, representing a secure raw material base . Steel production is 20 times higher as compared to production of all non-ferrous metals put together.

Properties of Steel

One of the major property of steel is the ability to cool down rapidly from an extremely hot temperature after being subjected to water or oil.
The physical properties of steel include: high strength low weight durability flexibility (steel can easily be molded to form any desired shape) corrosive resistance.

Chemical Components of Steel

Steels can be grouped into three major classes: carbon steels low-alloy steels high-alloy steels All steels contain a small amount of incidental elements left over from steelmaking. These include manganese, silicon, or aluminum from the deoxidation process conducted in the ladle, as well as phosphorus and sulfur picked up from ore and fuel in the blast furnace. Copper and other metals, called residuals, are introduced by scrap used in the steelmaking furnace. Because all these elements together normally constitute less than 1 percent of the steel, they are not considered alloys.

Elastic and Plastic Limit of Steel

Relationship between Stress and Strain are derived on the basis of the elastic behaviour of material bodies.
Elasticity of a body is the property of the body by virtue of which the body regains its original size and shape when the deformation force is removed. Most materials are elastic in nature to a lesser or greater extend, even though perfectly elastic materials are very rare..

Yield stress When a specimen is loaded beyond the elastic limit the stress increases and reach a point at which the material starts yielding this stress is called yield stress

A -Elastic Limit B - Upper Yield Stress C - Lower Yield Stress D -Ultimate Stress E -Breaking Stress

The behaviour of Steel in high and low temperature

High Temperature

The behavior of structural steels subjected to short-time loadings at elevated temperatures is usually determined from short-time tension tests. In general, the stress-strain curve becomes more rounded and the yield strength and tensile strength are reduced as temperatures are increased.

Low Temperature
The general effect of cold on steel is to cause a reduction in ductility. A slight increase in the strength parameters occurs and stiffness is unaffected. These changes start to occur as the steel temperature drops below 40 degrees F are very pronounced when temperatures approach 10 degrees F. Failure of cold steel tends to be brittle, which means that it generally happens suddenly and without notice. Fractures tend to originate at locations of high stress concentration and propagate rapidly through the member. This behavior is very undesirable.

Types of failure in Steel

FATIGUE

A structural member subjected to cyclic loadings may eventually fail through initiation and propagation of cracks. This phenomenon is called fatigue and can occur at stress levels considerably below the yield stress.

BRITTLE FRACTURE

Under sufficiently adverse combinations of tensile stress, temperature, loading rate, geometric discontinuity (notch), and restraint, a steel member may experience a brittle fracture. All these factors need not be present. In general, a brittle fracture is a failure that occurs by cleavage with little indication of plastic deformation. In contrast, a ductile fracture occurs mainly by shear, usually preceded by considerable plastic deformation.

RESIDUAL STRESSES

Stresses that remain in structural members after rolling or fabrication are known as residual stresses. The magnitude of the stresses is usually determined by removing longitudinal sections and measuring the strain that results. Only the longitudinal stresses are usually measured. To meet equilibrium conditions, the axial force and moment obtained by integrating these residual stresses over any cross section of the member must be zero.

LAMELLAR TEARING

In a structural steel member subjected to tension, elongation and reduction of area in sections normal to the stress are usually much lower in the throughthickness direction than in the planar direction. This inherent directionality is of small consequence in many applications, but it does become important in design and fabrication of structures with highly restrained joints because of the possibility of lamellar tearing. This is a cracking phenomenon that starts underneath the surface of steel plates as a result of excessive through-thickness strain, usually associated with shrinkage of weld metal in highly restrained joints.

Reference:
STRUCTURAL STEEL DESIGNERS HANDBOOK