Materials and Metallurgical Engineering | Article | Published 2022
Today, it is an alloy of iron with carbon (from 0.02 to 2.14 %) and other elements. Typical technical steel contains 0.05 – 1.5 % carbon, up to 0.4% silicon, 0.1 – 1 % manganese, up to 0.08 % sulfur, up to 0.1 % phosphorus and 96.92 – 99.27 % consists of iron. Industrially produced steels contain permanent inclusions: silicon (Si), manganese (Mn), sulfur (S) and phosphorus (P). The difference between steel and cast iron is that cast iron contains carbon from 2.14 to 6.67 % and has more permanent inclusions. When steel is hardened, its physical and mechanical properties change dramatically, its hardness and strength increase, and it becomes malleable. Depending on the amount of carbon and alloying elements in the chemical composition, Steel is divided into carbon and alloyed types. Carbon steel (in addition to carbon, it contains up to 0.7 % manganese, up to 0.37 % silicon, up to 0.04 % sulfur and up to 0.035 % phosphorus).