ABSTRACT
Steel is an alloy of iron and various other elements, with carbon playing a major role next to nickel and chromium. The importance of steel as a construction material in high pressure devices is evident and obviously includes applications for high pressure neutron scattering. The literature on steel fills entire libraries, and there is no point to aim for a comprehensive discussion in this chapter. Instead, this chapter will give basic and general elements of the metallurgy of steels, some of their physical and mechanical properties, the classification of steels and their designations, i.e. the various systems of naming. We will focus on high-tensile steels and some special alloys since high pressure devices tend to work under high stresses. The emphasis is on steels and alloys which are used or have the potential to be used in high pressure equipment for neutron scattering.
