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Ferrous Alloy Definition

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Even the sturdiest metal object often begins as molten liquid.

An alloy is a material formed of a main, or base, metal and at least one other element---either another metal, a non-metal or a metalloid such as silicon. Most metal products are constructed of alloys because pure metals are too malleable, brittle or prone to corrosion for industrial use.

  1. Etymology

    • The term "ferrous" comes from the Latin "ferrum," meaning "iron." The noun "alloy" comes from the French "aloi," meaning "a noble metal relatively safe from impurities."

    Definition

    • The online edition of Encyclopedia Britannica refers to ferrous alloys as "ferroalloys," defining them simply as alloys containing less than 50 percent iron and at least one other metal. There are numerous types of ferroalloys, including ferromanganese, ferrophosphorus, ferrochromium, ferromolybdenum, ferrovanadium, ferrosilicon, ferroboron and ferrotitanium.

    Importance

    • Iron is the most important industrial metal. All steels contain large amounts of iron (as well as small amounts of carbon and manganese), making ferroalloys an essential part of most alloy steels. Combining ferroalloys with pure metals makes the resulting material easier to work with (because of its lowered melting range), far stronger and more durable.

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  • Photo Credit Metal image by jun zhou from Fotolia.com

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