Carbon Steel: Properties, Production, Examples and Applications
Carbon steel is an iron-carbon alloy, which contains up to 2.1 wt.% carbon. For carbon steels, there is no minimum specified content of other alloying elements, however, they often contain manganese. The maximum manganese, silicon and copper content should be less than 1.65 wt.%, 0.6 wt.% and 0.6 wt.%, respectively.
Types of carbon steel and their properties
Carbon steel can be classified into three categories according to its carbon content: low-carbon steel (or mild-carbon steel), medium-carbon steel and high-carbon steel [1]. Their carbon content, microstructure and properties compare as follows:
| Carbon content (wt.%) | Microstructure | Properties | Examples |
| Low-carbon steel | < 0.25 | Ferrite, pearlite | Low hardness and cost. High ductility, toughness, machinability and weldability |
| Medium-carbon steel | 0.25 – 0.60 | Martensite | Low hardenability, medium strength, ductility and toughness |
| High-carbon steel | 0.60 – 1.25 | Pearlite | High hardness, strength, low ductility |
Carbon Steel DescriptionGrade:1)GB: Q195, Q215, Q235A, Q235B, Q235C, Q235D, Q255A, 255B, Q275, Q295A, Q295B, Q345B, Q345C, Q345D, Q345E, Q390A, Q390B, Q390C,Q390D, Q390E, Q420, Q420B, Q420C, Q420D, Q420E, Q460D, Q460E, Q500D, Q500E, Q550D, Q550E, Q620D, Q620E, Q690D, Q690E2)EN: S185,S235JR, S275JR, S355JR, S420NL, S460NL S500Q, S550Q, S620Q, S690Q3)ASTM: Grade B, Grade C, Grade D, A36, Grade 36, Grade 40, Grade42, Grade 50, Grade 55, Grade 60, Grade 65, Grade 804)JIS: SS330, SPHC, SS400, SPFC, SPHD, SPHEPRODUCT DETAILS
| 1045 Cold Rolled Steel Plate |
| Carbon steels are a category of steels with 0.12 to 2% carbon content. AISI 1045 is a medium carbon steel designed to be able to function in areas requiring greater strength and hardness. This steel possesses excellent size accuracy, concentricity, and straightness which together enable to minimize wear in high speed applications. AISI 1045 can be formed into turned, ground and polished bars that can be machined unsymmetrically with limited distortion. |
| The following sections will discuss in detail about AISI 1045 carbon steel. |
| Product Parameters |
| Product Name | 1045 Cold Rolled Steel Plate |
| Production Process | Hot Rolling, Cold Rolling |
| Material Standards | AISI, ASTM, ASME, DIN, BS, EN, ISO, JIS, GOST, SAE, etc. |
| Width | 100mm-3000mm |
| Length | 1m-12m, or Customized Size |
| Thickness | 0.1mm-400mm |
| Delivery Conditions | Rolling, Annealing, Quenching, Tempered or Standard |
| Surface Process | Ordinary, Wire Drawing, Laminated Film |
| Chemical Composition |
| Element | Content (%) |
| Carbon, C | 0.43-0.50 |
| Manganese, Mn | 0.60-0.90 |
| Sulfur, S | 0.05 (max) |
| Phosphorous, P | 0.04 (max) |
| Iron, Fe | Balance |
| Mechanical Properties |
| Properties | Metric | Imperial |
| Tensile strength | 585 MPa | 84800 psi |
| Yield strength | 450 MPa | 65300 psi |
| Modulus of elasticity | 200 GPa | 29000 ksi |
| Shear modulus (typical for steel) | 80 GPa | 11600 ksi |
| Poisson’s ratio | 0.29 | 0.29 |
| Elongation at break (in 50 mm) | 12% | 12% |
| Hardness, Brinell | 163 | 163 |
| Hardness, Knoop (converted from Brinell hardness) | 184 | 184 |
| Hardness, Rockwell B (converted from Brinell hardness) | 84 | 84 |
| Hardness, Vickers (converted from Brinell hardness) | 170 | 170 |
| Scope of Application |
| The following are the application areas of AISI 1045 carbon steel: |
| ● Bolts |
| ● Studs |
| ● Gears |
| ● Axles |
| ● Shafts |
| ● Machine parts. |
