Mild steel is one of the most common materials for creating ERW tubes. It is a very popular choice for a number of reasons. We want to have a closer look at it today.
What is it?
This type of steel is the commercial name used for low-carbon steel. It contains roughly 0.04 to 0.3% carbon. There are individual grades of mild steel. Although, anything holding over 0.3% is either high-carbon or medium-carbon steel.
This is a ductile, cheap, soft, and easy to weld material. Normally, you’d add other elements to the alloy so you can enhance certain attributes. Examples of these include corrosion resistance and strength.
As for how we make the steel, you’d do so using a blast furnace. Coal and iron ore are extracted from the earth as the main raw substances. You then heat them until they melt, remove the impurities, and add other alloying elements after. Following that, you’d pour the mild steel into a mould so it can take shape and solidify. We call this phase the casting process.
The steel then gets taken through a procedure called hot rolling. It creates a slab you can cut into the necessary shapes and sizes. Afterwards, secondary forming processes like coating and cold rolling give it the final shape and characteristics. If you’re looking to obtain high quality ERW tubes, talk to us.
Properties
The physical properties of mild steel influence its usage within every industry. One property is ductility. It is possible to deform mild steel and reshape it without losing the hardness. This makes it reusable, economical, and long-lasting.
Magnetism is another property. Thanks to so much iron being present in the steel, it is magnetic. That makes it useful for some situations, but can cause issues with others.
Last on the physical property list is the metal being machinable. It is so because of the low levels of carbon. The lower the total, the more malleable your material will be. Carbon functions as a barrier to dislocation movement. Mild steel’s ductile nature makes it weldable and appropriate for many steel fabrication procedures.
Addressing corrosion
These physical properties influence how frequently people use the steel in daily life and industrial environments. The addition of certain alloying elements can improve the attributes. There are also different finishing options that can help, whether it is ERW tubes or other forms.
One of the most important things to look at is corrosion resistance. Mild steel is vulnerable when exposed to the environment. As a result, it’s usually coated further with an element like zinc to stop rusting. Or you can add chromium to the alloy. It will react with oxygen in the air to create chromium oxide. That safeguards the steel from corrosion.
Uses
This is among the most popular materials in the world. It is possible to use mild steel to create products for use in all sorts of markets and industries. You are able to use it in machinery, automobile building, and pipelines. Construction, cookware, fencing, and gating are other applications. From industry use to everyday life, you can find the steel all over the place.
We have plenty of options for ERW tubes
At Union Steel Tubes, we have plenty of tubing. This includes a large quantity of sizes and shapes. Having so many options enables customers to find something that works for them. We can also offer advice for various applications.
So, please let us know if you’d like to shop for ERW tubes with us; we are a reliable specialist with great prices and short lead times.
