What causes steel to rust?
There is so much steel around us which lost its shine and start getting rusted.
What does make them rust and how to avoid it?
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There is so much steel around us which lost its shine and start getting rusted.
What does make them rust and how to avoid it?
Hugo
Steel is an alloy of various elements. There are always chemical reactions between elements in materials.
The main culprit behind rust is water. When steel gets exposure to water and oxygen, they start a chemical reaction and steel starts reverting to its original form, which is iron oxide.
Currently, in most applications, steel rusting can be overcome by coating. The coating can be metallic (commonly zinc) or organic coated (commonly paint) to protect the steel.
In some cases, stainless steel can be used to prevent rust. However, it is more expensive than carbon steel. Nickel and chromium are the main elements which are added to for making stainless steel.