Carbon Steel vs Stainless Steel

Carbon steel and stainless steel are common types in the production and processing of steel. What are the similarities and differences between them? I will discuss this topic with you today.

Whether it is stainless steel or carbon steel, their essence is steel. Stainless steel refers to the alloy that is resistant to weak corrosion media such as air, steam and water and chemical corrosive media such as acid, alkali and salt. Carbon steel refers to iron carbon alloy with carbon content less than 2.11%, also known as carbon steel. Carbon steel and stainless steel have the same basic composition of iron and carbon. The main difference between them is the alloy content - the alloy content of carbon steel is less than 10.5%, while stainless steel must contain 10.5% or more chromium.

In the composition of steel, the basic elements are carbon and iron. Because more chromium is added to stainless steel, which can increase the corrosion resistance of metal, stainless steel will be more resistant to corrosion than carbon steel. In addition, steel with high carbon content is hard and brittle, while steel with low carbon content has ductility and toughness. Therefore, the hardness of carbon steel is much higher than that of stainless steel, but it is heavier, less plastic and easy to rust. In terms of ductility, stainless steel is stronger than carbon steel. The difference in use is that carbon steel is mostly used in springs, low-speed wheels, etc., while stainless steel is more widely used in anti-theft nets and kitchen appliances.