A.

ABOUT STEEL
Steel is a metal alloy composed of steel as the main element and carbon as a robust
element. Elemental carbon can be increasing the performance. The heat treatment can change the
characteristic of the steel that soft as wire becomes hard as a knife. The cause is a heat treatment
change the microstructure of steel from cubic crystal structure with centered side into a spacecentered cubic or hexagonal side. With the change of crystal structure, sometimes steel has
magnetic characteristic. Steel is a unique substance.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Steel
1. Advantages
a. Have a high tensile strength
b. Not have different between expansion value and shrinkage values
c. Can be recycled
d. More cheaper
e. More flexible and lighter than concrete
f. More Stronger than aluminum
2. Disadvantages
a. Can Rusty
b. Less of compressive force
c. Not flexible like timber that can be cut and shaped into various profile
B. ELEMENT OF STEEL
Element of Steel is iron (Fe) with carbon (C) up to 1.67% (maximum). If the elements
carbon (C) more than 1.67%, the material is usually referred to as cast iron (Cast Iron).
The higher levels of carbon in the steel, it will result in the following matters:
yield strength and tensile strength is rises,
plasticity / elongation steel is decreases,
The more difficult to weld.

Therefore, it is important that we can reduce the carbon as low as possible to be able to
anticipate the reduction in plasticity and the difficult nature of welded over, but the nature of the
yield strength and tensile strength remains high.
The addition of the element and combined with heat treatment process will generate a
higher compressive strength, but ductility and malleability, and other special abilities remain
good. Elements - elements include: manganese (Mn), Chromium (Cr), Molybdenum (Mo), nickel
(Ni) and copper (Cu). But the power of proportional is not more than carbon. It is simply because
these elements improve the microstructure of the steel.

CONTENT OF ELEMENTS OF NON-METALLIC

Elements - non-metal that is generally restricted of steel products is sulfur (S) and
phosphorus (P). High levels of both can reduce plasticity (ductility) steel and increases the cracks
in the weld joint. In special steel, the content of the two elements above is limited to less than
0.05%.
Steels contains gases in particularly high levels: Oxygen (O) and nitrogen (N) can
cause brittle nature. To reduce the levels of these gases commonly used elements - elements that
can bind both into a compound that is light enough,so the compound will float to the surface of
the hot steel and liquid. Elements - elements of binding gas N and O are commonly used element
silicon (Si) or aluminum (Al) whose function is referred to as deoxidant.
C.

CHARACTERISTIC PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL STEEL

1. Physical Characteristic
Physical Characteristic include: weight, density, thermal conductivity and electrical
conductivity. Steel can be changed in character due to the influence of the load and heat.

2. Mechanical Characteristic
The mechanical Characteristic of a material is the ability of these materials to
provide resistance when given the load. Or the mechanical Characteristic is the power of
materials to carry the load that comes from outside.
The mechanical Characteristic of the steel include:
a. Strength Characteristic are important in tensile strength steel.
When the steel is given a load, the steel will tend to deform / deformation.
When the steel is loaded, then there is a stretch. At the time of the initial strain, where
the steel is not to change its shape and when the load that promote strain was
removed, the steel will return to its original shape. This strain is called the elastic
strain due to the nature of the material is still elastic.
There 3 kind of stress that occurs in the steel, namely:
1) Stress, which is still in a elastic steel
2) Yield stress, which the steel starts to break down / melting
3) Plastic stress, maximum stress steel, which reached maximum strength steel
b. Ductility (ductility) steel means is the ability to deform before breaking steel.
Ductility is related to the amount of strain / strain permanent steel before breaking.
This ductility is also related to the nature workable steel. Example test is a tensile test.

c . Violence is the resistance of steel to the amount of force that can penetrate surfaces of
steel. The test is with Brinell hardness , Rockwell , ultrasonic , and others .
d . Toughness ( toughness ) is the relationship between the amount of energy that can be
absorbed by the steel until the steel is broken . The smaller the energy absorbed by the
steel , the steel is increasingly to be fragile and decreasing the toughness. The test by
give pull up (impact) .