Carbon: The higher the carbon content, the higher the hardness of the steel, but the lower its plasticity and toughness.
Sulfur: It is a harmful impurity in steel. Steel with a high sulfur content is prone to brittle cracking when subjected to pressure processing at high temperatures. This is usually called hot brittleness.
Phosphorus: It can significantly reduce the plasticity and toughness of steel, especially at low temperatures. This phenomenon is called cold brittleness. In high-quality steel, sulfur and phosphorus must be strictly controlled. On the other hand, the high sulfur and phosphorus content in low-carbon steel can make it easier to cut and break, which is beneficial to improving the machinability of steel.
Manganese: It can increase the strength of steel, weaken and eliminate the adverse effects of sulfur, and improve the hardenability of steel. High-alloy steel (high manganese steel) with a high manganese content has good wear resistance and other physical properties.
Silicon: It can increase the hardness of steel, but reduce its plasticity and toughness. Electrical steel contains a certain amount of silicon, which can improve its soft magnetic properties.
Tungsten: It can increase the red hardness and heat resistance of steel, and improve its wear resistance.
Chromium: It can improve the hardenability and wear resistance of steel, and improve its corrosion resistance and oxidation resistance.
Zinc: In order to improve the corrosion resistance, general steel pipes (black pipes) are galvanized. Galvanized steel pipes are divided into hot-dip galvanizing and electro-galvanizing. Hot-dip galvanizing has a thicker galvanizing layer, while electro-galvanizing has a lower cost, so galvanized steel pipes are available.
