Unit 2

You need to know about stainless steel, duralumin and brass. Metals are alloyed to enhance properties - you might alloy a metal to make it harder or more resistant to corrosion or to improve machining characteristics.

Stainless steel - If left uncoated and open to the air, the oxygen in the air will cause the metal to oxidise, or rust. To prevent this, the steel could be alloyed with another metal. Stainless steel is an alloy of steel, chromium and some nickel. The addition of these extra elements changes the nature of the steel…