Dynamic image describing category
Graphic for Engineering steels

Engineering steels are essentially wrought steels designed for mechanical and allied engineering applications. These require critical and often stringent levels of elasticity, strength, ductility, toughness and fatigue resistance. In some cases, it may also require resistance to high or low temperatures, corrosive and other aggressive environments.

Applications of engineering steels include automotive, aerospace, railway, oil and gas extraction, mining, power generation, defence, agriculture, chemical, construction and general engineering and manufacturing sectors. Cars, buses, trucks and off -highway vehicles account for over half the market for engineering steels.

There is a great variety of engineering steel types and shapes. Each is carefully tailored to meet specific user requirements, in terms of properties and performance and in some cases in order to facilitate the manufacturing and fabrication techniques. These techniques are then used to make components or parts. The composition, process route and heat treatment parameters are carefully selected in order to meet the customers' needs.

The subtopics in this module explore a wide range of engineering steels, from plain carbon steels to high alloy, ultra high strength steels. In each case, the composition and processing methods used to ensure the steel is suitable for its intended application are examined.

Learning Outcomes for this Section

After completing this section, you should be able to:

  • Describe what engineering steels are, what they are used for and how they are processed
  • Select appropriate engineering steels for a variety of different market applications
  • Distinguish between black and bright bar, rod and wire and be able to interpret test certificates
  • Audit process routes for engineering steel, to anticipate practical problems and identify steps that might be taken to avoid them
  • Select the appropriate heat treatment conditions to achieve specific properties
  • Describe the role of various alloying and residual elements on the properties and microstructure of different engineering steels
  • Describe and quantify the effects of carbon on the strength, ductility, toughness, hardenability and microstructure of plain carbon steels
  • Identify the various supply forms of plain carbon steels and some of their diverse applications
  • Select the carbon content appropriate heat treatment conditions to achieve specific properties
  • Describe the process routes used to produce engineering steels, in the form of black and bright bar, rod and wire and be able to interpret test certificates
  • Describe the role of various alloying and residual elements in plain carbon steels

Pre-Requisites

Before starting, it is important that you are familiar with the following terms:  Billet, bar and rod manufacturing; Metallography;

You should be familiar with the concepts covered in:

Authors/Contributors:

<< Previous | Next >>