Carbon Steel vs Stainless Steel

Stainless steel compares with ordinary carbon steel as follows:

Stainless steel:

The two parts of stainless steel and acid-resistant steel are combined to form stainless steel, also known as stainless acid resistant steel. Simply put, steel that can withstand atmospheric corrosion is known as stainless steel, and steel that can withstand chemical medium corrosion is known as acid resistant steel. Generally speaking, steel that contains more than 12% chromium exhibits stainless steel properties. Following heat treatment, stainless steel can be classified into five groups based on its microstructure: austenitic stainless steel, austenitic ferritic stainless steel, martensitic stainless steel, and precipitated carbonized stainless steel.

Stainless steel is usually divided into:

1.    ferritic stainless steel . 12% to 30% chromium. As the chromium content rises, so do the material's capacity to resist corrosion, be tough, and be welded.Compared to other types of stainless steel, it has a superior resistance to chloride stress corrosion.

2.    austenitic stainless steel. Although the amount of chromium is greater than 18%, there is also a modest amount of nickel (approximately 8%), molybdenum, titanium, nitrogen, and other elements. Good overall performance; can withstand corrosion caused by different media.

3. duplex stainless steel with austenite-ferrite. It has extreme plasticity and the benefits of austenitic and ferritic stainless steel.

4, stainless steel martensitic. Strong but lackluster in terms of plasticity and weldability.

carbon steel

Occasionally referred to as "carbon steel," this term primarily refers to the mechanical qualities of steel that are dependent on the amount of carbon present in the metal.Iron-carbon alloys with a carbon content of less than 2% are referred to as carbon steel.Carbon steel often includes tiny amounts of silicon, manganese, sulfur, and phosphorus in addition to carbon.According to its intended purpose, carbon steel may be separated into three types: carbon tool steel, free cutting structural steel, and carbon structural steel, which is further divided into two types: building structural steel and machine manufacturing structural steel; Steel can be split into open hearth steel, converter steel, and electric furnace steel depending on the smelting process;

Boiling steel (f), killed steel (z), semi-killed steel (b), and special killed steel (tz) can all be classified based on the deoxidation process;

Low carbon steel (wc0.25%), medium carbon steel (wc0.25%0.6%), and high carbon steel (wc0.6%) can all be classified as carbon steel based on their carbon content;

Carbon steel can be classified as ordinary carbon steel (higher phosphorus and sulfur content), high-quality carbon steel (lower phosphorus and sulfur content), high-grade high-quality steel (lower phosphorus and sulfur content), and extra high quality steel based on the amount of phosphorus and sulfur present in the material.

Generally, the higher the carbon content in carbon steel, the greater the hardness and strength, but the lower the plasticity.

The difference between carbon and stainless steel

1. Different types and materials

The term "acid-resistant steel" refers to steel that is resistant to chemical corrosion media, such as acid, alkali, salt, and other chemical etching. Stainless steel (StainlessSteel) is the shorthand for steel that is resistant to air, steam, water, and other weak corrosive media.Ordinary carbon structural steel is also known as ordinary carbon steel.Less than 0.38% of the material's carbon content—typically less than 0.25%—is utilised.The lowest yield point of the mild steel when the thickness is less than 16 mm is shown by each metal grade.

2. Different categories

The several types of stainless steel include martensitic, ferritic, austenitic, austenitic ferritic (duplex), precipitation-hardening stainless steel, etc.Additionally, chromium stainless steel, chromium nickel stainless steel, and chromium manganese nitrogen stainless steel can be classified based on composition.

The three classifications of standard carbon steel are as follows: Special steel (Class C steel) ensures both chemical composition and mechanical properties while Class A steel (Class A steel) only ensures mechanical properties and does not guarantee chemical composition. Class B steel (Class B steel) does the same.Most frequently, special steel is employed to create more significant structural components.

3, different product use and performance

The majority of stainless steel products, including some varieties of tableware, kitchenware, water heaters, drinking fountains, etc., require good corrosion resistance. Some foreign businessmen also test products for corrosion resistance by heating them to boiling in NACL solution, dumping the solution after a while, washing and drying them, and measuring weight loss.A class of tableware, even some pot companies, generally does not require welding performance to assess the degree of corrosion.However, the great majority of items, including inferior dinnerware, thermos cups, steel pipes, water heaters, drinking fountains, and so on, require raw materials with good welding performance.

Carbon structural steel has more impurities and non-metallic inclusions, but it is also easier to smelt, has a good manufacturing process, is inexpensive, and can be produced in large quantities. Steel with harmful impurities like sulfur and phosphorus is typically used to make mechanical parts with low forces and structural components for engineering.It is hence commonly utilized.For the construction of structures like plants, bridges, ships, etc., carbon structural steel is often rolled into steel plates and a variety of profiles (round, square, flat, angle, channel, I-steel, etc.).

4. The price is different

While adding a small number of additional alloys to carbon steel is quite similar to adding many other alloys to stainless steel, this is not the case with carbon steel, hence stainless steel is far more expensive than carbon steel.

5. Different ductility

The reason stainless steel will have better ductility than carbon steel is primarily due to the relatively high nickel concentration of the material. Since these elements also have superior ductility, stainless steel will have better ductility overall.Although carbon steel has a low nickel content and may therefore be ignored, it has poor ductility.