An alloy steel is a type of steel combined with more than one element (alloying elements). Alloying elements increase strength, hardness, wear resistance, and toughness, producing more robust and substantive steel. The alloying elements added to the base iron and carbon structure typically total no more than 5% of the alloy steel’s material composition.

Steel Alloy Advantages

Whether your project requires advanced corrosion resistance, machinability, strength, or a bevy of other qualities, there is an alloy steel that provides the features you need. With added heat treatment, alloy steels can offer a wide range of beneficial attributes, including:

• Enhanced corrosion resistance
• Increased hardenability
• Superior strength and hardness
• Unique alloyed features

Steel Alloy Manufacturing Processes

Steel alloys are traditionally manufactured by combining percentages of pure elements until the proper chemical makeup is achieved. Adequate mixing is easily accomplished within liquid states but extremely slow and challenging in solid forms. The components are purified in the liquid state, mixing the alloying agents with the base metals.

High & Low Steel Alloy Differentiating Qualities

High alloy steel has alloying elements (not including carbon or iron) that make up more than 8% of its composition. These alloys are less common because most steel only dedicates a few percent to the additional elements. Stainless steel is the most popular high alloy, with at least 10.5% chromium by mass. This ratio gives stainless steel more corrosion resistance. The chromium oxide coating acts as a sacrificial layer that slows down rusting of the substrate material.
Low alloy steel is only modified slightly with other elements, which provides slight advantages in hardenability, strength, and free machining. By lowering the carbon content to around 0.2%, the low alloy steel will retain its strength and boast improved formability.

Common Steel Alloying Elements

When it comes to steel, many elements can be added to the base material, allowing the purchaser to tweak variances until the proper alloy is found. Common alloying elements include the following:

• Manganese: Used in tandem with small amounts of sulfur and phosphorus, the steel alloy becomes less brittle and easier to hammer.

• Chromium: A small percentage (0.5% - 2%) can help to harden the alloy; more significant percentages (4% - 18%) have the added effect of preventing corrosion.

• Vanadium: With only .15%, this element can boost strength, heat resistance, and overall grain structure. Mixed with chromium, the steel alloy becomes much harder but retains its formability.

• Nickel: Up to 5%, this alloying element will improve the steel’s strength. In excess of 12%, it provides impressive corrosion resistance.

• Tungsten: Boosts heat resistance, so the melting point is higher. It also improves the structural makeup of the steel.

Typical Steel Alloy Applications

Steel alloys can be forged into various shapes, including pipes, tubes, plates, sheets, coils, bars, rods, wires, forged fittings, buttweld fittings, flanges, fasteners, and more. Steel alloy industrial applications include the following:

• Automotive
• Mining
• Machinery
• Road construction
• Railways
• Appliances
• Offshore duties
• Buildings

Alloy Steel Shape & Material Options

Whether you are searching for a 
Steel Alloy Shapes Stainless Steel Alloy Shapes

The IMS Difference

What separates IMS from other metals companies? With an abundance of metal options and customer service that is second to none, IMS has you covered with the following advantages:
 

• Next-day delivery of processed material via our trucks
• Same-day pick-up in Will-Call
• No minimum purchase
• Support of Just-in-Time manufacturing processes
• Salespeople that act as an extension of your purchasing department (we will get any metal products you need)
• Material management (stocking and delivery on a scheduled basis)
• Credit lines with good terms
• Knowledgeable staff that knows metal
• Seven stores are open six days a week (check each location for specific times)
• Shop by metal alloy

Find the Steel Alloy You Need

Whether your project requires advanced corrosion resistance, machinability, strength, or a bevy of other qualities, there is an alloy steel that provides the features you need. With added heat treatment, alloy steels can offer a wide range of beneficial attributes, including:Steel alloys are traditionally manufactured by combining percentages of pure elements until the proper chemical makeup is achieved. Adequate mixing is easily accomplished within liquid states but extremely slow and challenging in solid forms. The components are purified in the liquid state, mixing the alloying agents with the base metals.High alloy steel has alloying elements (not including carbon or iron) that make up more than 8% of its composition. These alloys are less common because most steel only dedicates a few percent to the additional elements. Stainless steel is the most popular high alloy, with at least 10.5% chromium by mass. This ratio gives stainless steel more corrosion resistance. The chromium oxide coating acts as a sacrificial layer that slows down rusting of the substrate material.Low alloy steel is only modified slightly with other elements, which provides slight advantages in hardenability, strength, and free machining. By lowering the carbon content to around 0.2%, the low alloy steel will retain its strength and boast improved formability.When it comes to steel, many elements can be added to the base material, allowing the purchaser to tweak variances until the proper alloy is found. Common alloying elements include the following:Steel alloys can be forged into various shapes, including pipes, tubes, plates, sheets, coils, bars, rods, wires, forged fittings, buttweld fittings, flanges, fasteners, and more. Steel alloy industrial applications include the following:Whether you are searching for a steel or stainless steel alloy, several material and shape options are worth considering.What separates IMS from other metals companies? With an abundance of metal options and customer service that is second to none, IMS has you covered with the following advantages:

Searching for premium alloy steel products? IMS stocks a wide selection of steel alloys in the shapes and sizes you need. We also provide metal cutting services to make purchasing easy and convenient. Stop by one of our California or Arizona locations or get a steel alloy quote today.

Pros and Cons of Alloy (Steel) Armor

Metal alloys (such as steel) are a popular choice for rifle-rated body armor. If you’re more focused on pistol-rated armor, you should check out our soft armor section. If steel's additional weight is a concern, you may want to check out our polyethylene page.

There are some things you should know about steel armor before deciding. As with soft, polyethylene, and ceramic armor, there are pluses and minuses to running steel. In this section, we want to go through each of the pros and cons so you can decide if steel armor is suitable for you. 

First, we’ll cover the basics of steel armor.

 

What is Steel Body Armor?

Manufacturers make steel armor out of high-carbon metal alloys. What type of steel is used in body armor? The most common are steels like AR500 and AR650. These materials can withstand significant impact and are abrasion-resistant (AR). Their hardness and durability make them ideal recreational targets for the range. 

Unlike polyethylene armor, which “captures” the bullet, and soft armor, which “catches” the bullet, steel armor disintegrates and redirects the bullet upon impact.

Steel armor plates go up to level III (including III+), meaning they also protect against the threats in level II and IIIA. Most proponents would tout steel's high ballistic rating and affordable price as two main draws. But those aren’t the only appealing features.

Let’s look at the main reasons people like steel body armor.

 

What's Better Steel or Ceramic Armor?

At Armored Republic we've put together another Knowledge Base article to deep dive into that comparison: Steel vs Ceramic Armor Plates

 

Pros of Steel Body Armor 

Why is steel good for armor?

Of all the body armor categories, steel gives us the most highlights to discuss. But don’t decide just based on the sheer number of benefits. Ensure those benefits are the specific ones you're looking for in your body armor. 

• Rifle-Rated Protection: When you want protection against rifle threats, you need to start at level III ballistic ratings. That automatically rules out some materials. Level III steel plates can stop all the following:
  • 7.62x51 M80 Ball at 2780 feet per second (FPS)

  • 5.56 M855/SS109 (Green Tip) at a velocity of 2,780 FPS

If you go up to level III+, you get the following additional protection:

• • 7.62x39/7.62x51/5.56 M193s

  • .223/.308 WIN

• Affordable Price and Long Shelf Life: Two huge benefits of steel are the initial price tag and the shelf life. These are both helpful if you’re operating within a budget. The price of steel armor makes it some of the most attainable armor available for the average citizen. It has similar protection to polyethylene plates without the added cost.
• How long does steel body armor last? Now, consider the shelf life. All other types of armor have a 5-year shelf life, meaning the manufacturer’s warranty is 5 years. That can get a little pricey for most people. Does steel body armor expire? Yes, but steel armor has a

  20-year shelf life

  , so you don’t have to replace it nearly as often.
• Extreme Durability: When you’re into the rifle protection category, you may end up looking at ceramics as well. Ceramic armor is brittle and susceptible to cracks. Polyethylene armor can break down under extreme temperatures, either hot or cold. Not so with steel. As we mentioned above, steel is exceptionally durable. Steel armor owners have the assurance that there won't be invisible weak points when they need their armor. And they know that their armor can handle extreme heat or cold without degradation.
• Multi-Hit Protection: Not only can you drop steel armor, but it can also withstand multiple hits. Again, the composition of a ceramic plate doesn’t allow for this. Think about the environment and the types of threats you're preparing for. How concerned are you with facing multiple shots on target? Steel can handle multiple strikes better than any other armor material.
• Edge-to-Edge Protection: Complete edge-to-edge protection is one of the top benefits of steel. When you purchase a 10" x 12" ballistic plate, you're expecting 10" x 12" of ballistic protection. But that's not always what you get. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) standards allow your armor to perform within a particular edge shot zone. That means the outer 2-3” of the material may not even offer you ballistic protection. With metal alloys like steel, you don't have to worry about how your armor will perform along those edges. Check out our edge-to-edge protection Knowledge Base article for further details.
• Low Backface Deformation: If you spend any amount of time researching body armor, you'll come across the term backface deformation (BFD). That's when the ballistic plate deforms to the interior (the side against your body) after a projectile strike. The NIJ .06 standards allow for up to 44mm, or 1.73” of BFD. That’s the amount of BFD a plate can display and still pass. You may very well survive that strike, but your internal organs will be in rough shape. Steel armor doesn’t come anywhere close to that limit. Steel boasts the least amount of BFD of all types of body armor due to its rigidity. That said, we recommend utilizing a trauma pad no matter what type of armor you go with.

 

Cons of Steel Body Armor

Now that we've covered the many benefits of steel armor, let's talk about a couple of drawbacks. Steel armor certainly has its share of critics. Why is steel body armor bad, according to them? Most of the complaints fall into two categories. 

• Heaviness: First, some people don’t like the weight of steel body armor. How much does steel body armor weigh? That depends on the size of the plate, the type of cut, and the amount of coating. At a minimum, your plate will probably be roughly 5 pounds. Some plates could be closer to 10 pounds, depending on the variables we mentioned. This weight may not be for everybody. As we stated above, those interested in lightweight armor designed to defeat rifle rounds could also look at polyethylene armor. The weight of steel is comparable to the weight of ceramic.
• Risk of Fragmentation: There are lots of opinions online about steel armor spalling, many of which are based on flawed testing. When we talk about fragmentation and spalling we’re describing what happens when the bullet breaks up into pieces upon impact. Remember, steel armor defeats the threat by disintegrating the bullet. That's called bullet fragmentation, and that shrapnel must go somewhere. The concern is that it will injure the wearer’s neck, face, and arms. So, is steel body armor safe? Yes, with the proper precautions. It’s a misconception that all steel has a frag problem. We recommend using a quality ballistic steel core plate, your plate carrier, and a proper spall and frag coating like our FragLock™. We fully addressed this concern in our video: Does Steel Armor Have a Frag Problem?

 

Conclusion

Our goal is always to equip free men with the tools of liberty to protect their God-given rights. That means providing you with the knowledge you need to make an informed decision on your end. For more information on alloy body armor, head to our Body Armor page and check out our A series.