Glossary of Steel Terms
Steel is a diverse and essential material used across various industries. Understanding its terminology is crucial for selecting the right product for your needs. Below, we provide an extended and detailed glossary of common and advanced steel terms.
AISI (American Iron and Steel Institute)
An organization that develops steel standards and promotes the usage of steel. It plays a critical role in providing guidelines for material specifications and advancements in steel technologies.
Alloy
A blend of two or more chemical elements where at least one is a metal, designed to achieve specific mechanical or chemical properties, such as increased strength, corrosion resistance, or thermal stability.
Alloy Steel
A category of steel enriched with one or more alloying elements like chromium, nickel, or molybdenum. Alloy steel is tailored for enhanced performance, such as increased wear resistance or strength under extreme temperatures.
Annealing
A heat treatment process used to soften steel, relieve internal stresses, and improve ductility. The process involves heating the steel to a specific temperature, holding it there, and then cooling it slowly in a controlled environment.
ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials)
A globally recognized organization that sets technical standards for material testing, quality, and performance, ensuring consistency and reliability in the steel industry.
Austenitic Stainless Steel
A type of non-magnetic stainless steel with a face-centered cubic crystal structure, typically containing chromium and nickel. Known for excellent corrosion resistance, it’s widely used in food processing, construction, and medical equipment.
Bar Steel
Steel formed into long, uniform lengths, available in various shapes such as round, square, flat, or hexagonal. These bars are used in construction, engineering, and manufacturing.
Brinell Hardness (HB)
A method to measure a steel surface’s hardness by applying a steel or tungsten carbide ball under a fixed load. It determines the material’s resistance to indentation, often used for structural steel applications.
Bright Drawn Steel
Steel that undergoes a cold drawing process through a die, resulting in a smooth surface and precise dimensional tolerances. This material is preferred for applications requiring aesthetic finishes and consistent mechanical properties.
Carbon Steel
A versatile steel type primarily composed of iron and carbon, with traces of other elements. It’s classified into low, medium, and high carbon steels, each suited for specific applications such as construction, tools, or automotive components.
Case Hardening
A surface treatment process where carbon or nitrogen is diffused into the outer layer of steel, creating a hard surface while retaining a tough core. Commonly used in gears, shafts, and fasteners for enhanced wear resistance.
Cast Iron
An iron-carbon alloy with a carbon content ranging between 1.8% and 4.5%. It is brittle but has excellent compressive strength, making it ideal for machine bases, engine blocks, and pipes.
Centreless Grinding
A machining process where material is removed from the surface of round steel bars using a grinding wheel. It achieves superior surface finishes and tight tolerances, making it ideal for high-precision components.
Charpy Impact Test
A test to measure the amount of energy a material can absorb during fracture. It provides insights into steel’s toughness and its performance under impact conditions.
Creep
A slow and permanent deformation of metal under sustained stress and elevated temperature over time. It is a critical consideration in high-temperature environments like power plants and aerospace.
DIN Standards
A set of technical standards developed by the Deutsches Institut für Normung in Germany. These standards are widely used in the European steel industry for material grades and testing procedures.
Duplex Stainless Steel
A high-performance stainless steel that combines the properties of austenitic and ferritic structures. It offers superior strength and resistance to pitting, crevice corrosion, and stress corrosion cracking.
Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)
A furnace that melts steel scrap and raw materials using an electric arc. It’s a modern and efficient process used to produce steel billets, blooms, and slabs with reduced environmental impact.
Ferrous Metals
Metals and alloys primarily composed of iron, such as carbon steel, stainless steel, and cast iron. They are known for their strength, durability, and magnetic properties.
Fatigue
The progressive weakening of steel caused by repeated loading and unloading cycles. Fatigue failure is common in structures subjected to fluctuating stress, like bridges and airplanes.
Flame Cutting
A thermal cutting process that uses an oxy-fuel gas flame to cut carbon steel. It is widely used in metal fabrication for creating precise shapes from steel plates.
Forging
A manufacturing process where steel is shaped using compressive forces, such as hammering or pressing. Forged steel components are stronger and more reliable than cast or machined parts.
Galvanizing
A process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel to prevent rusting. It is commonly used for outdoor applications like fencing, roofing, and structural supports.
Grade
A classification of steel based on its chemical composition, mechanical properties, and intended use. Common grades include A36, 304 stainless, and S275 structural steel.
Hardness
A measure of a material’s resistance to indentation, scratching, or wear. Steel hardness is assessed using methods like Rockwell, Brinell, and Vickers tests.
Heat Treatment
A collection of processes such as annealing, quenching, and tempering used to alter the physical and mechanical properties of steel. Heat treatment improves strength, toughness, and hardness.
Mild Steel
A low-carbon steel with excellent weldability and ductility, commonly used in construction, pipelines, and machinery manufacturing.
Pickling
A surface treatment where steel is immersed in acid to remove rust, scale, or other impurities. This process ensures a clean surface for further processing or coating.
Precipitation Hardening
A heat treatment that enhances the strength and hardness of specific steel grades by creating fine precipitates within the material’s structure.
Shearing
A cutting process where steel is separated by applying a sharp blade, commonly used for sheet and plate processing.
Tempering
A heat treatment process that reheats hardened steel to a specific temperature to reduce brittleness and enhance toughness while maintaining hardness.
Yield Strength
The stress at which steel begins to deform plastically. Beyond this point, the material will not return to its original shape.
