Multiform Tubes Engineering Ltd has always strived to provide its clients with the best tubing services. Our offerings are considerable, even including the likes of tube swaging. We have the skills and experience to work with different types of steel and various other materials.
Steel tube’s mechanical performance depends on multiple variables. These include the heat treatment type and the chemical elements. Common elements in steel are B, Ni, Mo, and Cr. Others are Al, V, Si, P, S, Mn, and C. Considering the separate kinds of elements and the percentages, the tube will exhibit distinct properties.
Our intent here is to go into detail on how some of these elements affect the steel. So, read on to learn more about the impacts they have.
Carbon
We’ll begin with C. Carbon is among the most significant elements within steel. The mechanical strength of the alloy directly links to carbon content. When it increases, tensile strength and yield point increase. Impact and plasticity decrease though. When it exceeds 0.23%, steel welding performance will decrease. For superior performance, C tends to be below 0.2%. High carbon content also minimises the air corrosion resistance of steel.
Phosphorous
Second on the list is P. Phosphorous effects steel tube in several ways depending on the amount. This is a harmful element in steel as it will increase the cold brittleness. It leads to welding and other performances getting worse and reduces plasticity. Due to this, the phosphorous content in steel tends to be less than 0.045%. With high quality steel grades, it is lower, tending to be between 0.03 and 0.05. Should P surpass 0.10 in low alloy high strength steels, it’ll increase strength and corrosion resistance. Even if the strength goes up though, the metal will become brittle. Toughness and ductility will increase. Speak to us if you need tube swaging services.
Sulfur
Next, we have the effects of S. As some know, sulfur is a harmful substance because it increases hot brittleness. Moreover, it reduces toughness and ductility, and causes cracks with rolling and forging. Sulfur is also bad for welding performance, as it reduces corrosion resistance. So, the sulfur content usually has to be 0.055%. For top tier steel, you need S to be under 0.04%. By introducing 0.08-0.2% of sulfur, you can enhance cutting performance. If sulfur content is under 0.05% it can be acceptable in general applications.
Silicon
For Si, it’s employed as a reducing agent and deoxidiser during steel making processes. Usually, the steel contains 0.15-0.30% of silicon. This material has the potential to improve steel’s elastic limit, tensile strength, and yield point. In the tempered and quenched structural steel, by introducing 1.0-1.2% Si, strength will go up by 15-20%. Silicon also combines with chromium, tungsten, and molybdenum to improve anti-oxidation and corrosion resistance.
Manganese
With the steel making process, Mn works as a decent desulphurisation and deoxidiser agent. Normal steel contains 0.3-0.35% manganese. When adding over 0.7% in carbon steel, we call it manganese steel. Not only does this have great toughness, but higher hardness and strength. It also has the means to enhance the thermal processing and quenching performance of steel.
We offer the best tube swaging services
At Multiform Tubes Engineering Ltd, we’ve worked our way up to becoming the most reputable establishment in our field. Clients know that we provide excellent services to suit all manner of applications. Whenever someone is in need of bespoke tubular products, we are there to help them.
So, please let us know if you’d like to work with us. We can offer tube swaging and much more for steel and many other types of tubing. You can even ask us for advice if you are unsure about any details.