Chromium alloying element

Common alloying elements include nickel to improve low temperature mechanical properties chromium, molybdenum, and vanadium to improve elevated-temperature properties and silicon to improve properties at ordinary temperatures. Low alloy steels ate not used where corrosion is a prime factor and are usually considered separately from stainless steels. 

Plain Carbon and Low Alloy Steels. For the purposes herein plain carbon and low alloy steels include those containing up to 10% chromium and 1.5% molybdenum, plus small amounts of other alloying elements. These steels are generally cheaper and easier to fabricate than the more highly alloyed steels, and are the most widely used class of alloys within their serviceable temperature range. Figure 7 shows relaxation strengths of these steels and some nickel-base alloys at elevated temperatures (34). 

Because of its position in the Periodic Table, molybdenum has sometimes been linked to chromium (see Chromiumand chromium alloys) or to other heavy metals. However, unlike those elements, molybdenum and its compounds have relatively low toxicity, as shown in Table 3. On the other hand, molybdenum has been identified as a micronutrient essential to plant life (11,12) (see Fertilizers), and plays a principal biochemical role in animal health as a constituent of several important enzyme systems (see Mineral nutrients). 

In addition to these principal alloying elements, which provide soHd solution strengthening and/or precipitation strengthening, wrought alloys may contain small amounts of titanium and boron [7440-42-8J, B, for control of ingot grain size, and ancillary additions of chromium, manganese, and zirconium to provide dispersoids. AH commercial alloys also contain iron and siUcon. 

Alloying elements such as nickel, chromium, molybdenum, and copper, which may be introduced with scrap, can increase the hardenability, although only slightly, because the concentrations are ordinarily low. However, the heat-treating characteristics may change, and for appHcations in which ductihty is important, as in low carbon steels for deep drawing, the increased hardness and lower ductiHty imparted by these elements may be harmful. 

The important (3-stabilizing alloying elements are the bcc elements vanadium, molybdenum, tantalum, and niobium of the P-isomorphous type and manganese, iron, chromium, cobalt, nickel, copper, and siUcon of the P-eutectoid type. The P eutectoid elements, arranged in order of increasing tendency to form compounds, are shown in Table 7. The elements copper, siUcon, nickel, and cobalt are termed active eutectoid formers because of a rapid decomposition of P to a and a compound. The other elements in Table 7 are sluggish in their eutectoid reactions and thus it is possible to avoid compound formation by careful control of heat treatment and composition. The relative P-stabilizing effects of these elements can be expressed in the form of a molybdenum equivalency. Mo (29) ... 

Mechanical properties depend on the alloying elements. Addition of carbon to the cobalt base metal is the most effective. The carbon forms various carbide phases with the cobalt and the other alloying elements (see Carbides). The presence of carbide particles is controlled in part by such alloying elements such as chromium, nickel, titanium, manganese, tungsten, and molybdenum that are added during melting. The distribution of the carbide particles is controlled by heat treatment of the solidified alloy. 

Copper is primarily alloyed to increase strength, however, electrical and thermal conductivities, corrosion resistance, formabiUty, and color are also strongly affected by alloying. Elements typically added to copper are 2inc, tin, nickel, iron, aluminum, siUcon, chromium, and beryUium. 

Copper—chromium and copper—nickel—silicon—chromium alloys are also precipitation hardenable. The precipitates are nickel sdicides, chromium silicides, and elemental chromium. If conductivity is critical, the chromium—silicon ratio should be held at 10 1 so that appreciable amounts of either element are not left in soHd solution in the copper after aging. Lithium can be used as a deoxidizer in copper alloys when conductivity is important. For a discussion of the principle of age- or precipitation-hardening copper alloys, see Copperalloys,wrought copperalloys. 

Around 1930, in Ameriea, presumably with the early superchargers in mind, several metallurgists sought to improve the venerable alloy used for eleetric heating elements, 80/20 nickel-chromium alloy (nichrome), by adding small amounts of titanium and aluminum, and found significant increase in creep resistance. 

Low-carbon, low-alloy steels are in widespread use for fabrication-welded and forged-pressure vessels. The carbon content of these steels is usually below 0.2%, and the alloying elements that do not exceed 12% are nickel, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, boron and copper. The principal applications of these steels are given in Table 3.8. 

Chromium is the most effective alloying element for promoting resistance to oxidation. Table 3.10 gives temperatures at which steels can be used in air without excessive oxidation. In atmospheres contaminated with sulfur, lower maximum temperatures are necessary. 

The ferritic chromium steels (chromium is the principal alloying element) are the most economical for very lightly loaded high-temperature situations. However, they are inadequate when creep must be accounted for. Austenitic steels are often recommended for such conditions. The 17% chromium alloys (Type 430) resist scaling up to 800°C and 25% alloy (Type 446) up to llOO C [21]. 

Steel is essentially iron with a small amount of carbon. Additional elements are present in small quantities. Contaminants such as sulfur and phosphorus are tolerated at varying levels, depending on the use to which the steel is to be put. Since they are present in the raw material from which the steel is made it is not economic to remove them. Alloying elements such as manganese, silicon, nickel, chromium, molybdenum and vanadium are present at specified levels to improve physical properties such as toughness or corrosion resistance. 

Chromium, silicon and other alloying elements are used to create cast irons for corrosion resistance in specific environments. Silicon-containing cast irons are used for sulfuric acid duty. 

Tomashov, N. D., Chernova, G. P. and Markova, O. N., Effect of Alloying Elements on the Tendency of Stainless Chromium-Nickel Steels to Pitting Corrosion , Sa. Korroziya Meta i Splavov, 73 (1963) C.A., 60, 3805b... 

Approximately 90% of all RPDs are now cast from base metal alloys containing principally chromium, cobalt and nickel, with chromium being the element present in all such alloys. Commonly, these cast chromium alloys contain various alloying elements, typically <5% Mo, <1% Fe, 25-30% Cr and the balance Co although there are some widely used alloys containing... 

Low-alloy steels, which contain about 2-3% of alloying elements, commonly copper, chromium and nickel. These steels still rust, but under certain conditions in the atmosphere, the rust formed becomes adherent and protective so that the corrosion rate becomes several times less rapid than with the ordinary steels mentioned above. These steels are often termed weathering steels. 

Stainless steels, which contain high percentages of alloying elements, e.g. 18% chromium, 8% nickel and 3% molybdenum. Steels of this type are practically non-corrodible in appropriate circumstances. 

The corrosion behaviour of amorphous alloys has received particular attention since the extraordinarily high corrosion resistance of amorphous iron-chromium-metalloid alloys was reported. The majority of amorphous ferrous alloys contain large amounts of metalloids. The corrosion rate of amorphous iron-metalloid alloys decreases with the addition of most second metallic elements such as titanium, zirconium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, cobalt, nickel, copper, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, iridium and platinum . The addition of chromium is particularly effective. For instance amorphous Fe-8Cr-13P-7C alloy passivates spontaneously even in 2 N HCl at ambient temperature ". (The number denoting the concentration of an alloy element in the amorphous alloy formulae is the atomic percent unless otherwise stated.)... 

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