corrosion: carbon in steel? (1 Viewer)

mushroom_head

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can someone plz explain to me how the percentage composition of carbon in steel can determine its properties? something to do with the more carbon, the more corrosive??
 

xiao1985

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more carbon, the harder the steel gets... but less tensile, and mroe susceptible to corrosion (as carbon act as a cathodic site)
 

Xayma

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Yay for engineering studies finally helping for something.

The more carbon the more cementite (Fe<sub>3</sub>C) forms, this forms in phases with ferrite, to form pearlite up to .8% carbon, where all grains consist of pearlite.

Basically it will get harder, more brittle, loses a specific yield point (and goes to a progressive yield), less tensile, it also becomes denser (as carbon doesnt replace iron it takes in gaps between the structure.

In a steel under .8% (above that it gets slightly more complex) inside the grain the cementite acts as a cathode, whereas the ferrite phase is anodic, this corrodes and then the cementite due to its brittleness snaps off.

This also happens between the pearlite grains and ferrite grains.

Above .8% you form a cementite precipitate which generally stops corrosion around the grain boundries (areas of high stress). Then you get into the cast irons which is different again.
 

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