Question

Which of these are applications of high-carbon steel?

(a) Gears, valves

(b) Steel wires, sheets, screws

(c) Clutch discs, valve springs

(d) Machine tools, leaf and coil springs

This question was posed to me by my college director while I was bunking the class.

This interesting question is from Fick’s Law, Carbon Steels in section Diffusion in Solids & Ferrous Materials of Engineering Material & Metallurgy

Answer 1

Correct option is (d) Machine tools, leaf and coil springs

The explanation is: High-carbon steels with a tensile strength of 580 N/mm^2 are used for making machine tools, leaf and coil springs, and similar tools. Medium-carbon steels (1230 N/mm^2) are used for making clutch discs and valve springs. Mild steels (555 N/mm^2) are used for making gears and valves, whereas dead mild steels (390 N/mm^2) are used for making wires, sheets, and screws.