Carbon Steel
Carbon steel, also called plain carbon steel, is a metal alloy, a combination of two elements, iron and carbon, where other elements are present in quantities too small to affect the properties. The only other alloying elements allowed in plain-carbon steel are manganese (1.65% max), silicon (0.60% max), and copper (0.60% max). Steel with a low carbon content has the same properties as iron, soft but easily formed. As the percentage of carbon increases, there is a tendency for the metal to harden and crack.
Abbreviations
- CS - carbon steel
- LCS - low-carbon steel
- MCS - medium-carbon steel
- HCS - high-carbon steel
- UHCS - ultrahigh-carbon steel