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What is the percentage of carbon in carbon steel?
All plain Carbon Steels have been used for many years and with many applications ranging from Art work, Auto Body parts, Car frames, and hand rails to even some Structures. Pl…ain Carbon Steels are basically made up of 99.85 % or more of Iron for low carbon steel and 99.40 % or less of Iron for high carbon steels and the rest of the few tenths of a percent is made up of carbon. For the Society of automotive Engineers numbering system uses the last two digits in their numbering system to help describe the last tenths of a percent of carbon added to that one percent remaining. There really is only a small amount of carbon added to the Iron to make up Plain Carbon steel, and that little added amount, helps to make for a big difference between their Mechanical properties. The other alloying elements are Manganese, Silicon, Copper, and with incidental amounts of Sulfur and Phosphorus The percentages of carbon present SAE 1080 steel is eight tenths or 80% of one percent Carbon and with SAE 1020 containing two tenths or 20 % of one percent of Carbon, and SAE 1010 even less only one tenth or 10% of one percent, this is a very small amount. Typically Carbon steels are broken down into four basic types. (Low Carbon or Rimmed steel with anything lass then or up to SAE 1005 - 1015), (Mild Steel SAE 1015 - 1029), (Medium Carbon or plow Steel SAE 1030- 1059) and (High Carbon Steels 1060 - 1080 and even higher as much as 1099 of carbon) Any Higher carbon content and the Steel becomes designated in the SAE 1500 series for instance 1.3 % carbon would read SAE 1530 or a 1.70% of carbon would read SAE 1570. So remember any thing above the 99 % mark of carbon n the SAE 1000 series in the last two digit columns bumps itself up into the SAE 1500 series and the tenths are represented in the last two digit columns the same way as SAE 1000 series. All low carbon and mild steels do not responded to heat treatment, at all. They can be case hardened, they can also be joined by either brazing or welding provided their surface area of attachment most be cleaned and is bare metal. Low Carbon or Rimmed can be formed and shaped quite well sometimes it's been used to make car fenders. Mild Steel has many uses it's been used for Car frames, Furniture, Gates, Hand rails and almost anywhere you look theirs is something made with it, it is a very common grade of Plain Carbon Steel. Medium Grade or Plow Steel like SAE - 1035 as name implies is used at times for the fabrication of Plows, for the fields or Car parts . It is a very tough Carbon Steel , it does respond to heat treatments and where both high Tensile and Yield strengths are desired and higher then both those of Low Carbon and Mild Steels can offer, but also with less elongation or stretch before failure. It has less plasticity or ductility then low Carbon or Mild Steels do, or less allowable permanent plastic deformation in the material properties. The HAZ or Heat affected zones next to any of the welds will most likely require to be normalize after welding. A careful choice must be made by welders when selecting welding rods it is necessary to meet or match the AWS American welding society required rod type for that material. The same or favorable chemical composition and its carbon content in any welded base material must match before welding , the delutment of both the welding rod and its base metal is critical for a proper welded joint. If a careful choice is not made for either the selection of Welding rods the welding process and or of any of the necessary post or heat treatments process after welding, Problems can occur like micro cracks which form in the HAZ or heat effected zone next to the welds. Which can lead to a failure. (MORE)
