Basic Material of Steel Construction Steel:

Steel is an alloy consisting of the combination of the element iron and the amount of carbon, which usually varies between 0.2% and 2.1%. The amount of carbon in the steel alloy plays an active role in the classification of steel. Although carbon is generally the alloying agent of iron, different elements such as magnesium, chromium, vanadium and tungsten[1] can also be used in alloying the iron element. Carbon and other elements act as a hardening agent by preventing the crystal lattices in the iron atom from sliding past each other. The varying amounts of alloying elements in the steel and the forms in which they are present (dissolved elements, precipitation phase) control properties such as hardness, ductility and stress point in the formed steel. Steels with high carbon content are harder and stronger than iron, but less ductile.