Steel is a very useful material that is utilized in a multitude of applications. Steel is utilized in over 55% of all cars. The type of alloys used in its production determines its versatility, since they affect the material’s strength, durability and performance. The way in which the metal is cooled has significant impact on its microstructure and therefore, its overall properties. It is also possible to manipulate it to get more attain specific properties like yield strength, machinability and resistance to corrosion.

Steel is iron which has had other elements alloyed to it to improve its physical properties and make it suitable for specific applications. The proportion of the additional alloying elements determines what category of steel a particular steel is part of and its overall performance for different applications.

For instance stainless steel has at least 11% chromium, which makes it resistant to corrosion. This makes it ideal for a range of applications for kitchen utensils or cutlery. Tool steel is a popular choice because of its high hardness and resistance to scratching. It is also used to machine dies and hand tools. Additionally, the high weldability and ductility of carbon steels makes them ideal for a variety of applications. Electrical steel is a steel grade that has silicon (typically 3%) This enhances the magnetic properties, and reduces eddy-current losses. It is therefore ideal for laminations and transformer cores of electric motors.