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Differences between carbon steel and stainless steel

Carbon steel
Mainly refers to steel whose mechanical properties depend on the carbon content in the steel, and generally does not add a large amount of alloying elements. It is sometimes also called plain carbon steel or carbon steel.
Carbon steel is also called carbon steel, which refers to an iron-carbon alloy with a carbon content of less than 2%.
In addition to carbon, carbon steel generally contains a small amount of silicon, manganese, sulfur, and phosphorus.
According to the purpose, carbon steel can be divided into three categories: carbon structural steel, carbon tool steel and free-cutting structural steel. Carbon structural steel is further divided into building structural steel and machine manufacturing structural steel;
According to the smelting method, it can be divided into open-hearth steel, converter steel and electric furnace steel;
According to the deoxidation method, it can be divided into boiling steel (F), killed steel (Z), semi-killed steel (b) and special killed steel (TZ);
According to the carbon content, carbon steel can be divided into low carbon steel (WC ≤ 0.25%), medium carbon steel (WC0.25%-0.6%) and high carbon steel (WC>0.6%);
According to the phosphorus and sulfur content, carbon steel can be divided into ordinary carbon steel (higher phosphorus and sulfur content), high-quality carbon steel (lower phosphorus and sulfur content), high-quality steel (lower phosphorus and sulfur content) and special high-quality steel.

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

Stainless steel
Stainless steel acid-resistant steel is called stainless steel for short. It is composed of two parts: stainless steel and acid-resistant steel. In short, steel that can resist atmospheric corrosion is called stainless steel, and steel that can resist chemical corrosion is called acid-resistant steel. Stainless steel is a high-alloy steel with more than 60% iron as the matrix and alloy elements such as chromium, nickel, and molybdenum added.

When the chromium content in steel exceeds 12%, the steel is not easy to corrode and rust in the air and dilute nitric acid. The reason is that chromium can form a very tight chromium oxide film on the surface of the steel, which effectively protects the steel from corrosion. The chromium content in stainless steel is generally more than 14%, but stainless steel is not absolutely rust-free. In coastal areas or some places with serious air pollution, when the chloride ion content in the air is high, there may be some rust spots on the surface of stainless steel exposed to the atmosphere, but these rust spots are limited to the surface and will not corrode the internal matrix of the stainless steel.

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