Mechanical Properties of Mild Steel

Mild Steel

Steel is something that has become very common nowadays. We use it in our home in various utensils and products. Furthermore, steel is harder than many metals as it is a compound made from various substances. Let’s take a look at mild steel and its properties.

Definition of Mild Steel

Mild steel refers to a type of carbon steel that has a low amount of carbon in it. Furthermore, it is also referred to as low carbon steel.

Furthermore, the ranges of carbon in mild steel vary from 0.05 per cent to 0.25 per cent by weight. Whereas, higher carbon steel contains carbon from 0.30 per cent to 2.0 per cent.

In addition, mild steel is not alloy steel and that’s why it does not contains a large number of other elements besides iron.

Since the content of other elements in it is low so the properties of it differentiate from high carbon and low steel.

Properties of Mild Steel

At its highest level, mild steel contains 40 points of carbon. Also, one carbon is 0.1 per cent of the carbon in the steel, which means at most mild steel have around 0.4 per cent of the carbon in it.

Besides, most of the steels have other elements in them which give them certain desirable mechanical properties.

A type of mild steel 1018 steel; is a common type of steel that contains approximately 0.6 per cent to 0.9 per cent of manganese, up to 0.05 per cent sulfur, and up to 0.04 per cent phosphorus.

In addition, the varying of these elements affect the properties of steel such as resistance, strength, and corrosion.

Strength

It is very strong due to the presence of a low amount of carbon that it contains. Besides, in material science strength is a complicated term. In scientific term, mild steel has a high resistance against breakage.

In addition, mild steel, as conflicting to higher carbon steel, is quite malleable (soft) even when it is cold. Most noteworthy, it means that it has a high impact and tensile strength.

Besides, high carbon steel usually cracks or shatter under stress, while on the contrary, mild steel either bends or deforms in stress.

Quantitative Physical Properties

It has a density of 0.248 pounds per square inch. Also, it melts at 2,570 degrees Fahrenheit (1,410 degrees Celsius). According to British Thermal Units (BTU), it has a specific heat of around 0.122 BTU per pound, per cubic inch.

Usability

Due to its weldability and machinability, it is much desirable for construction. Moreover, the other reason for its use in construction is its malleability and strength and it is quite soft. Also, it means it can be easily machined in comparison to other forms of harder steels.

In addition, it is very easy to weld both to itself and other forms of steels. Besides, it takes on a nice finish and is polishable which make it an ideal choice.

Furthermore, additional heat has no effect on its hardness and heat treatment process do not do any hardening to it as it does to other steels.

Above all, this property is quite good as hardened steels have less resistance against breakage and that makes them a poor choice for construction.

Elasticity

Its elasticity is 205 GPa in matric scale and 29700 ksi in imperial scale which means it is quite elastic as compared to other forms of steels.

Solved Question for You

Question. Which of the following is not high tensile steel?

A. 41xx steel
B. 4140 Steel
C. Stainless steel
D. 4340 Steel

Answer. The correct answer is option C. As all the other are mild steel means they have high resistance while stainless steel is a hard steel that has low resistance.