What is carbon steel?
Carbon steel is a commonly known type of steel that is a mixture of iron and carbon. Carbon steel has
high tensile strength and hardness, but is much more susceptible to corrosion. Carbon steel typically
contains 0.01-1.5% of the carbon content of its alloy.
This diversity gives us different types of carbon steel. Low carbon or mild steel with a carbon content
of 0.25%. In this case, medium carbon steel contains 0.25-0.70% carbon. High carbon steel with a
carbon content of 0.7-1.5%, used in knives and tools.
Since carbon steel is very hard, it retains its shape for a long time and is highly resistant to wear.
Unfortunately, hard metals are brittle. Under extreme tensile stress, high carbon steel will crack
rather than bend.
What is stainless steel?
In fact, stainless steel is a general term and can be considered as different types of steel. Stainless
steel, like all other types of steel, is made primarily from iron and carbon in a two-step process.
Stainless steel is distinguished by the addition of other alloying elements such as chromium (Cr) and
nickel (Ni) to create a corrosion-resistant product. When chromium is added to steel, chromium rust
is formed, which acts as a protective surface that prevents it from rusting like regular steel.
From 0.5 to 0 chromium is added depending on the application or environment in which the steel is
used.
There are many different varieties of stainless steel, but they can be divided into five main types.
Austenitic stainless steel is used in the manufacture of kitchen utensils, industrial pipes and tanks,
and civil and architectural facades. It has excellent corrosion and heat resistance and good
mechanical properties over a wide temperature range. Ferritic stainless steel has the same
properties as mild steel but is more resistant to corrosion, heat and cracking. This steel is widely used
in washing machines, boilers and interior architecture. Duplex stainless steel is a combination of
austenitic and ferric steels. Duplex steel is both strong and flexible and is used in the paper, pulp,
shipbuilding and petrochemical industries. Containing about the same amount of chromium,
martensitic stainless steel is very hard and strong but does not resist corrosion as well as austenitic
or ferric steel grades. It is mainly used in the construction of wings and turbine blades.
Similarities Between Carbon Steel and Stainless Steel
The biggest similarity between carbon and stainless steel is the content of the main component iron.
Both steels have different properties such as machinability, durability, tensile strength, etc. It has
different features such as. It has similar features to . But they differ significantly in corrosion
resistance. Both types of steel have different properties depending on the amount of carbon in the
alloy. The higher the percentage of carbon in any type of alloy, the harder but more brittle it is than
its low-carbon counterparts.