Microstructure of rolled and annealed brass (400X magnification)

BRASS Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.[1] NON-FEROUS METAL

LOW CARBON STEEL

NORMALISED MILD STEEL In the States, "mild steel" refers to low carbon steel; typically the AISI grades 1005 through 1025, which are usually used for structural applications. With too little carbon content to through harden, it is weldable, which expands the possible applications. Composition: Iron alloy with 0.3% carbon Properties: Malleable and ductile, and therefore bends fairly easily Uses: nuts, bolts, screws, tubes, girders Methods of Identification: Appearance: Bright drawn mild steel has a smooth, bright surface; black mild steel is covered with a blue-grey oxide Dropping: Gives out a ringing note Grinding: Gives off a shower of long white sparks Effect of Heating: Slightly tougher but little change Mild steel is the most common form of steel as its price is relatively low while it provides material properties that are acceptable for many applications. Mild steel has a low carbon content (up to 0.3%) and is therefore neither extremely brittle nor ductile. It becomes malleable when heated, and so can be forged. It is also often used where large amounts of steel need to be formed, for example as structural steel. The light coloured region of the microstructure is the ferrite. The grain boundaries between the ferrite grains can be seen quite clearly.

The dark regions are the pearlite. It is made up from a fine mixture of ferrite and iron carbide, which can be seen as a "wormy" texture. You can also see small spots within the ferrite grains. These are inclusions or impurities such as oxides and sulphides. The properties of the steel depends upon the microstructure. Decreasing the size of the grains and decreasing the amount of pearlite improves the strength, ductility and the toughness of the steel. SUMBER RUJUKAN : http://pwatlas.mt.umist.ac.uk/internetmicroscope/micrographs/microstructures/m ore-metals/steel/low-carbon-steel/fe-0.18-normalised.html