How to distinguish between ordinary carbon steel and low alloy steel

Ordinary carbon steel and low-alloy steel are both structural steels. Ordinary carbon steels aregenerally rolled into steel plates or profiles. Ordinary carbon steelsare generally not strengthened by heat treatment, and their yield strength are relatively low, which can be divided intofive types: Q195, Q215, Q235, Q355, and Q275. The low-alloy high-strength steels are used in hot-rolled or normalized conditions, and have high strength. There are five categories of yield strength: Q295, Q345, Q390, Q420, and Q460. The main difference between ordinary carbon steel and low alloy steel are actually the different yield strength range.

Ordinary carbon steel, which is a low-carbon steel, contains less than 0.38% carbon, and less than 0.25% is most commonly used. Each metal grade represents the lowest yield point of the steel when the thickness is less than 16mm.

The total amount of alloying elements of low-alloy steel is less than 5%. Compared with carbon steel, low-alloy steel contains one or several properties of alloy elements which can improve the performance of steel. When the total amount of alloy is less than 5%, it is called low alloy steel. The alloy content between 5-10% is called medium alloy steel; the one with more than 10% is called high alloy steel.

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