a) Effect of Carbon:
Carbon makes the steel hard and more wear resistance. Steels having less than 0.3% carbon cannot be hardened. Beyond 3% carbon steels can be through hardened. Hardness of steel increases upon 0.8% carbon and beyond that, hardness does not increase but wear resistance increase.
b) Effect of Chromium:
Chromium increases hardenability, toughness and wear resistance. Chromium causes greater hardness penetration.
c) Effect of Nickel:
It improves toughness and wear resistance. When used with increasing hardness element like chromium it lowers hardening temperature and tends the steel towards oil hardening. Higher the percentage of nickel along with the chromium results in rust free steel – stainless steel.
d) Effect of manganese:
It helps to make the steel sound while casting as an ingot. It lowers the critical point and hence the hardenability by 1.5%. Addition of more manganese increases hardenability. The depth of penetration of hardness increases.
e) Effect of Tungsten:
It increases wear resistance when added in fairly large quantity (1.5%). 12 – 20% tungsten with chromium gives a new property names as “Red Hardness”. It unites with the carbon to form tungsten – carbide, which attains very high hardness and wear resistance.
f) Effect vanadium:
It helps in obtaining fine-grained steel. It increases red hardness property. Small percentage increases tensile strength, yield strength, hardness and wear resistance.
g) Effect of Molybdenum:
It has both properties of chromium and tungsten. Like chromium it increases hardness penetration and inclines the steel towards oil or oil hardening. Like tungsten it increase wear resistance and red hardness. 5 – 12% with chromium, tungsten and vanadium forms a molybdenum based HSS material.
