Mild steel - Properties of Mild Steel (Mechanical Properties)

Mild steel is the most commonly used steel. It is used in the industries as well in the different everyday objects we use. Even the pans and spoons of the kitchen are sometimes made of mild steel. The main target of this article is to discuss about different mild steel properties. The mild steel is very important in the manufacturing of metal items. Almost 90% steel products of the world is made up of mild steel because it is the cheapest form of steel.  

Read: Mechanical Properties of Materials 

What is mild steel? 

Mild steel is the most widely used steel which is not brittle and cheap in price. Mild steel is not readily tempered or hardened but possesses enough strength. 

Mild steel Composition  

Mild steel contains - 
carbon 0.16 to 0.18 % (maximum 0.25% is allowable)
Manganese  0.70 to 0.90 %
Silicon maximum 0.40% 
Sulfur maximum 0.04% 
Phosphorous maximum 0.04% 

Mildest grade of carbon steel or mild steel contains a very low amount of carbon - 0.05 to 0.26% 

Importance of knowledge of mild steel properties 

The use of mild steel is huge and a person who is into manufacturing or production business need to know a lot about the important characteristics of mild steel. 
The study of mild steel becomes more significant for a student of mechanical engineering or metallurgical engineering. Mild steel is an alloy. And alloy is a product made by mixing metals and non metals. Sometimes a pure metal cannot fulfill all the properties needed for manufacturing product. So additives are included in the pure metal to obtain some specific properties necessary for the production. Mild steel is made by adding carbon and other elements in the iron. These elements improve the hardness, ductility and tensile strength of the metal.   

Most Important Mild Steel Properties

• A small amount of carbon makes mild steel to change it properties. Different amount of carbon produces different types of steels. There are small spaces between the iron lattice. Carbon atoms get attached to this spaces and makes it stronger and harder. The harder the steel the lesser the ductility. 
• The modulus of elasticity calculated for the industry grade mild steel is 210,000 Mpa. It has a average density of about 7860 kg/m3. 
•  Mild steel is a great conductor of electricity. So it can be used easily in the welding process. 
• Because of its malleability, mild steel can be used for constructing pipelines and other construction materials. Even domestic cookwares are made of mild steel. It is ductile and not brittle but hard. 
• Mild steel can be easily magnetized because of its ferromagnetic properties. So electrical devices can be made of mild steel. 
• Mild steel is very much suitable as structural steel. Different automobile manufacturers also use mild steel for making the body and parts of the vehicle. 
• Mild steel can be easily machined in the lathe, shaper, drillling or milling machine. Its hardness can be increased by the application of carbon. 
• Mild steel is very much prone to rust because it has high amount of carbon. When rust free products are needed people prefer stainless steel over mild steel. 

Image courtesy : http://waqarsteel.com/

I hope this compilation of mild steel properties will help the people involved in the manufacturing process as well as the engineering students. 

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