The material. Think of steel and you think of railroads, oil rigs, tankers, and skyscrapers. And what you are thinking of is not just steel, it is carbon steel. That is the metal that made them possible; nothing else is at the same time so strong, so tough, so easily formed, and so cheap. Carbon steels are alloys of iron with carbon and often a little manganese, nickel, and silicon. Low carbon or "mild" steels have the least carbon—less than 0.25%. They are relatively soft, easily rolled to plate, I-sections or rod (for reinforcing concrete), and are the cheapest of all structural metals; it is these that are used on a huge scale for reinforcement, steel-framed buildings, ship plate, and the like.
Composition
Fe/0.02-0.3C.
|
General properties
|
Thermal properties
|
Melting point |
1480 – |
1530 |
°C |
|
Maximum service temperature Thermal conductor or insulator? |
*350 – Good conductor |
400 |
°C |
|
Thermal conductivity |
49 – |
54 |
W/m. K |
|
Specific heat capacity |
460 – |
505 |
J/kg. K |
|
Thermal expansion coefficient |
11.5 – |
13 |
p, strain/°C |
Electrical properties
Electrical conductor or insulator? Electrical resistivity
Ecoproperties: material
Annual world production
Reserves
Embodied energy, primary production CO2 footprint, primary production Water usage Eco-indicator
Typical uses. Low carbon steels are used so widely that no list would be complete. Reinforcement of concrete, steel sections for construction, sheet for roofing, car-body panels, cans, and pressed-sheet products give an idea of the scope.
