Module 5 – Steel

Lesson 1 – History of Steel

General objectives:
 To be knowledgeable about the history of steel.
 To know the processes in the steel making industry.
 To know the basic application and uses of steel.
 To know the advantages and disadvantages in using steel.

Specific objectives:
 To know the origin of steel.
 To know the different countries who used steel as their main source of
construction material.

Introduction:
Steel is an alloy of iron and other elements, primarily carbon that is widely used
in construction and other applications because of its high tensile strength and low cost. It
is a material composed of metals combined together to form a much stronger metal.
Nowadays, steels are used mainly on construction projects because of its strength and its
durability. It can withstand heavy loads thus making it a perfect material for building
purposes. The most famous type of steel is the “stainless steel” it is a combination of steel
and chromium. Chrome is the main factor why stainless steel are shiny or metallic in
color. But where do steel really originated?

Body:
History of steel
Steel was known in antiquity, and possibly was produced in bloomeries and
crucibles.
A bloomery is a type of furnace once widely used for smelting iron from
its oxides.

 The earliest known production of steel are pieces of ironware excavated from
an archaeological site in anatolia (kaman-kalehoyuk) and are nearly 4,000 years
old, dating from 1800 bc.

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  The reputation of seric iron of south india (wootz steel) amongst the rest of the
world grew considerably. South indian and mediterranean sources
including alexander the great (3rd c. Bc) recount the presentation and export to
the greeks of 100 talents worth of such steel.
 The chinese of the warring states period (403–221 bc) had quench-
hardened steel, while chinese of the han dynasty (202 bc – 220 ad) created steel
by melting together wrought iron with cast iron, gaining an ultimate product of a
carbon-intermediate steel by the 1st century ad.
 The hayapeople of east africa invented a type of furnace they used to make carbon
steel at 1,802 °c (3,276 °f) nearly 2,000 years ago. East african steel has been
suggested by richard hooker to date back to 1400 bc.
 Evidence of the earliest production of high carbon steel in the indian
subcontinent are found
in kodumanal in tamilnadu area, golconda in andhrapradesh area and karnataka,
and in samanalawewa areas of srilanka.
 This came to be known as wootz steel, produced in south india by about sixth
century bc and exported globally.

History of wootz steel/damascus steel wootz, also known as damascus steel, is

famous for its durability and ability to hold an edge. It was originally created from a
number of different materials including various trace elements, apparently ultimately
from the writings of zosimos of panopolis

It was essentially a complicated alloy with iron

as its main component.
crucible steel, formed by slowly heating
and cooling pure iron and carbon (typically in the
form of charcoal) in a crucible, was produced
in merv by the 9th to 10th century ad.

Modern steelmaking
Since the 17th century the first step in European steel production has been the
smelting of iron ore into pig iron in a blast furnace. Originally employing charcoal,
modern methods use coke, which has proven more economical.

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Post Test:
1. The first known steel making contraption is called
a. Open heart
b. Bessemeer
c. Bloomery
d. Electric arc furnace

2. The most famous type of steel is

a. Aluminum steel
b. Stainless steel
c. Crucible steel
d. Damascus steel

3. Stainless steel is a combination of steel and

a. Carbon
b. Aluminum
c. Chrome
d. Tungsten

4. Is formed by slowly heating and cooling pure iron and carbon

a. Crucible steel
b. Damascus steel
c. Stainless steel
d. Bloom

5. Wootz is also called as

a. Iron steel
b. Damascus steel
c. Crucible steel
d. Stainless steel

6. The earliest form of steel is found at

a. Tanilnadu area
b. Anatolia
c. Indian subcontinent
d. East africa

7. The first people to make a furnace to produce carbon type steel are
a. Chinese people
b. Komandu tribe
c. Lerete group
d. Haya people

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8. The people who had quenched hardened steel
a. Chinese people
b. Komandu tribe
c. Chinese of warring states
d. Haya people

9. Is an alloy of iron and other elements, primarily carbon that is widely used in
construction and other applications because of its high tensile strength and low
cost?
a. Steel
b. Metal
c. Tungsten
d. Copper

10. Seric iron was made known at

a. Anatolia
b. Peru
c. East india
d. South india

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Post Test Answer Key:
1. C
2. B
3. A
4. A
5. B
6. B
7. D
8. C
9. A
10. D

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/steel

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Module 5 – Steel

Lesson 2 – Process of Steel

General objectives:
 To be knowledgeable about the history of steel.
 To know the processes in the steel making industry.
 To know the basic application and uses of steel.
 To know the advantages and disadvantages in using steel.

Specific objectives:
 To know the different steel making processes
 To familiarize with the processes and its equipment
 To determine the different steel heat treatment

Body:
Steel making processes
The original sources of all our common structural metals are natural ores. These
are generally oxides or sulfides of the metal, although there have been some instances of
pure metal found in the natural state. The first step in the commercial production of a
metal is the reduction of the ore or the removal of undesirable impurities
Iron ores are iron oxides , such as hematite (fe2o2) with some undesirable sulfur
and phosphorus also present. Iron ore are suitable for reduction to iron.

Blast furnace
This is the reduction of iron ore
carried out in a tall vertical stack line with
firebrick. The ore, the fuel (coke), and a flux
(usually limestone) are fed in successive
layers. The proportions are approximately
one-sixth flux, one-third fuel, and one-half
iron ore. The combustion of the coke takes
place mainly at the bottom of the furnace in
a blast of heated air and the coke burns to
carbon monoxide which is a powerful
reducing agent. The ore is reduced to metallic iron which drips down to the bottom of the
furnace. The product of blast furnace is called pig iron

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Refining of pig iron into steel
Pig iron is a mixture of iron, combined carbon , and impurities of which sulfur
and phosphorus are the most troublesome. To transform the pig iron to steel, the carbon
content may be reduced by iron oxide which under heat forms a slag floating on top of
the molten pig iron or may be decarburized by blowing air through the molten mass.

Open-hearth process
The process most
widely used in united
states. This process is also
called siemens-martin
process. . William siemens,
a german living in england
in the 1860s, seeking a
means of increasing the
temperature in a
metallurgical furnace,
resurrected an old proposal
for using the waste heat
given off by the furnace;
directing the fumes from
the furnace through a brick
checker work, he heated the brick to a high temperature, then used the same pathway for
the introduction of air into the furnace; the preheated air materially increased the flame
temperature. The first to use the device to produce steel were pierre and émile martin of
sireuil, france, in 1864, charging the furnace with pig iron and some wrought-iron scrap.
The ores most readily available in both great britain and the united states were especially
well suited to the open-hearth process.

Bessemer process
In the bessemer process, a blast of
cold air is blown through molten pig iron,
and the oxygen of the air burns out the
carbon and most of the impurities of the pig
iron. To this decarburized molten iron is
added ferromanganese or other alloy rich n
carbon and manganese to give the desired
carbon and manganese content in the finished
product.
The molten pig iron is first poured
into this pear-shaped vessel called bessemer
converter, which is on a horizontal position.
The bottom of the converter is pierced with small holes called tuyeres, and through these
holes, air is forced inside the vessel.

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Electric furnace steel
If the heat is necessary
to refine pig iron is produced
by an electric current, the heat
can be applied in direct
contact with the charge in the
furnace without contact of the
with the outside air. Direct
contact with the charge of a
furnace means a more
efficient heat transfer than is
possible in the open-hearth or
in the bessemer process.

Heat treatment of steel

Annealing
Annealing is a rather generalized term. Annealing consists of heating a metal to a
specific temperature and then cooling at a rate that will produce a refined microstructure,
either fully or partially separating the constituents. The rate of cooling is generally slow.
Annealing is most often used to soften a metal for cold working, to improve
machinability, or to enhance properties like electrical conductivity.
In ferrous alloys, annealing is usually accomplished by heating the metal beyond
the upper critical temperature and then cooling very slowly, resulting in the formation of
pearlite. In both pure metals and many alloys that cannot be heat treated, annealing is
used to remove the hardness caused by cold working. The metal is heated to a
temperature where recrystallization can occur, thereby repairing the defects caused by
plastic deformation. In these metals, the rate of cooling will usually have little effect.
Most non-ferrous alloys that are heat-treatable are also annealed to relieve the hardness of
cold working. These may be slowly cooled to allow full precipitation of the constituents
and produce a refined microstructure.
Ferrous alloys are usually either "full annealed" or "process annealed." full
annealing requires very slow cooling rates, in order to form coarse pearlite. In process
annealing, the cooling rate may be faster; up to, and including normalizing. The main
goal of process annealing is to produce a uniform microstructure. Non-ferrous alloys are
often subjected to a variety of annealing techniques, including "recrystallization
annealing," "partial annealing," "full annealing," and "final annealing." not all annealing
techniques involve recrystallization, such as stress relieving.

Normalizing
Normalizing is a technique used to provide uniformity in grain size and
composition throughout an alloy. The term is often used for ferrous alloys that have been
austenitized and then cooled in open air. normalizing not only produces pearlite, but also
martensite and sometimes bainite, which gives harder and stronger steel, but with less
ductility for the same composition than full annealing.

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Stress relieving
Stress relieving is a technique to remove or reduce the internal stresses created in
a metal. These stresses may be caused in a number of ways, ranging from cold working to
non-uniform cooling. Stress relieving is usually accomplished by heating a metal below
the lower critical temperature and then cooling uniformly.

Aging
Some metals are classified as precipitation hardening metals. When a
precipitation hardening alloy is quenched, its alloying elements will be trapped in
solution, resulting in a soft metal. Aging a "solutionized" metal will allow the alloying
elements to diffuse through the microstructure and form intermetallic particles. These
intermetallic particles will nucleate and fall out of solution and act as a reinforcing phase,
thereby increasing the strength of the alloy. Alloys may age "naturally" meaning that the
precipitates form at room temperature, or they may age "artificially" when precipitates
only form at elevated temperatures. In some applications, naturally aging alloys may be
stored in a freezer to prevent hardening until after further operations - assembly of rivets,
for example, may be easier with a softer part.
Examples of precipitation hardening alloys include 2000 series, 6000 series, and
7000 series aluminium alloy, as well as some superalloys and some stainless steels. Steels
that harden by aging are typically referred to as maraging steels, from a combination of
the term "martensite aging."

Quenching
Quenching is a process of cooling a metal at a rapid rate. This is most often done
to produce a martensite transformation. In ferrous alloys, this will often produce a harder
metal, while non-ferrous alloys will usually become softer than normal.
To harden by quenching, a metal (usually steel or cast iron) must be heated above
the upper critical temperature and then quickly cooled. Depending on the alloy and other
considerations (such as concern for maximum hardness vs. Cracking and distortion),
cooling may be done with forced air or other gases, (such as nitrogen). Liquids may be
used, due to their better thermal conductivity, such as oil, water, a polymerdissolved in
water, or a brine. Upon being rapidly cooled, a portion of austenite (dependent on alloy
composition) will transform to martensite, a hard, brittle crystalline structure. The
quenched hardness of a metal depends on its chemical composition and quenching
method. Cooling speeds, from fastest to slowest, go from fresh water, brine, polymer (i.e.
Mixtures of water + glycol polymers), oil, and forced air. However, quenching a certain
steel too fast can result in cracking, which is why high-tensile steels such as aisi 4140
should be quenched in oil, tool steels such as iso 1.2767 or h13 hot work tool steel should
be quenched in forced air, and low alloy or medium-tensile steels such as xk1320 or aisi
1040 should be quenched in brine.
However, most non-ferrous metals, like alloys of copper, aluminum, or nickel,
and some high alloy steels such as austenitic stainless steel (304, 316), produce an
opposite effect when these are quenched: they soften. Austenitic stainless steels must be
quenched to become fully corrosion resistant, as they work-harden significantly.

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Tempering
Untempered martensitic steel, while very hard, is too brittle to be useful for most
applications. A method for alleviating this problem is called tempering. Most applications
require that quenched parts be tempered. Tempering consists of heating steel below the
lower critical temperature, (often from 400 to 1105 ˚f or 205 to 595 ˚c, depending on the
desired results), to impart some toughness. Higher tempering temperatures (may be up to
1,300 ˚f or 700 ˚c, depending on the alloy and application) are sometimes used to impart
further ductility, although some yield strength is lost.
Tempering may also be performed on normalized steels. Other methods of
tempering consist of quenching to a specific temperature, which is above the martensite
start temperature, and then holding it there until pure bainite can form or internal stresses
can be relieved. These include austempering and martempering.

Tempering colors

Tempering colors of steel

Steel that has been freshly ground or polished will form oxide layers when heated.
At a very specific temperature, the iron oxide will form a layer with a very specific
thickness, causing thin-film interference. This causes colors to appear on the surface of
the steel. As temperature is increased, the iron oxide layer grows in thickness, changing
the color. these colors, called tempering colors, have been used for centuries to gauge the
temperature of the metal. At around 350˚f (176˚c) the steel will start to take on a very
light, yellowish hue. At 400˚f (204˚c), the steel will become a noticeable light-straw
color, and at 440˚f (226˚c), the color will become dark-straw. At 500˚f (260˚c), steel will
turn brown, while at 540˚f (282˚c) it will turn purple. At 590˚f (310˚c) the steel turns a
very deep blue, but at 640˚f (337˚c) it becomes a rather light blue.
The tempering colors can be used to judge the final properties of the tempered
steel. Very hard tool steel is often tempered in the light to dark straw range,
whereas spring steel is often tempered to the blue. However, the final hardness of the
tempered steel will vary, depending on the composition of the steel. The oxide film will
also increase in thickness over time. Therefore, steel that has been held at 400˚f for a very
long time may turn brown or purple, even though the temperature never exceeded that
needed to produce a light straw color. Other factors affecting the final outcome are oil
films on the surface and the type of heat source used.

Selective heat treating

Many heat treating methods have been developed to alter the properties of only a
portion of an object. These tend to consist of either cooling different areas of an alloy at
different rates, by quickly heating in a localized area and then quenching, by
thermochemical diffusion, or by tempering different areas of an object at different
temperatures, such as in differential tempering.

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Differential hardening

A differentially hardened katana. The bright, wavy line following the hamon,
called the nioi, separates the martensitic edge from the pearlitic back. The inset shows a
close-up of the nioi, which is made up of individual martensite grains (niye) surrounded
by pearlite. The wood-grain appearance comes from layers of different composition.
Some techniques allow different areas of a single object to receive different heat
treatments. This is called differential hardening. It is common in high
quality knives and swords. The chinese jian is one of the earliest known examples of this,
and the japanese katana may be the most widely known. The nepalese khukuri is another
example. This technique uses an insulating layer, like layers of clay, to cover the areas
that are to remain soft. The areas to be hardened are left exposed, allowing only certain
parts of the steel to fully harden when quenched.

Flame hardening
Flame hardening is used to harden only a portion of a metal. Unlike differential
hardening, where the entire piece is heated and then cooled at different rates, in flame
hardening, only a portion of the metal is heated before quenching. This is usually easier
than differential hardening, but often produces an extremely brittle zone between the
heated metal and the unheated metal, as cooling at the edge of this heat affected zone is
extremely rapid.

Induction hardening
Induction hardening is a surface hardening technique in which the surface of the
metal is heated very quickly, using a no-contact method of induction heating. The alloy is
then quenched, producing a martensite transformation at the surface while leaving the
underlying metal unchanged. This creates a very hard, wear resistant surface while
maintaining the proper toughness in the majority of the object. Crankshaft journals are a
good example of an induction hardened surface.

Case hardening
Case hardening is a thermochemical diffusion process in which an alloying
element, most commonly carbon or nitrogen, diffuses into the surface of a monolithic
metal. The resulting interstitial solid solution is harder than the base material, which
improves wear resistance without sacrificing toughness

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 Laser surface engineering is a surface treatment with high versatility, selectivity
and novel properties. Since the cooling rate is very high in laser treatment, metastable
even metallic glass can be obtained by this method.

Cold and cryogenic treating

Although quenching steel causes the austenite to transform into martensite, all of
the austenite usually does not transform. Some austenite crystals will remain unchanged
even after quenching below the martensite finish (m f) temperature. Further
transformation of the austenite into martensite can be induced by slowly cooling the
metal to extremely low temperatures. Cold treating generally consists of cooling the steel
to around -115 ˚f (-81 ˚c), but does not eliminate all of the austenite. Cryogenic treating
usually consists of cooling to much lower temperatures, often in the range of -315 ˚f (-
192 ˚c), to transform most of the austenite into martensite.
Cold and cryogenic treatments are typically done immediately after quenching,
before any tempering, and will increase the hardness, wear resistance, and reduce the
internal stresses in the metal but, because it is really an extension of the quenching
process, it may increase the chances of cracking during the procedure. The process is
often used for tools, bearings, or other items that require good wear resistance. However,
it is usually only effective in high-carbon or high-alloy steels in which more than 10%
austenite is retained after quenching.

Decarburization
The heating of steel is sometimes used as a method to alter the carbon content.
When steel is heated in an oxidizing environment, the oxygen combines with the iron to
form an iron-oxide layer, which protects the steel from decarburization. When the steel
turns to austenite, however, the oxygen combines with iron to form slag, which provides
no protection from decarburization. The formation of slag and scale actually increases
decarburization, because the iron oxide keeps oxygen in contact with the decarburization
zone even after the steel is moved into an oxygen-free environment, such as the coals of a
forge. Thus, the carbon atoms begin combining with the surrounding scale and slag to
form both carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, which is released into the air.
Steel contains a relatively small percentage of carbon, which can migrate freely
within the gamma iron. When austenized steel is exposed to air for long periods of time,
the carbon content in the steel can be lowered. This is the opposite from what happens
when steel is heated in a reducing environment, in which carbon slowly diffuses further
into the metal. In an oxidizing environment, the carbon can readily diffuse outwardly, so
austenized steel is very susceptible to decarburization. This is often used for cast steel,
where a high carbon-content is needed for casting, but a lower carbon-content is desired
in the finished product. It is often used on cast-irons to produce malleable cast iron in a
process called "white tempering." this tendency to decarburize is often a problem in other
operations, such as blacksmithing, where it becomes more desirable to austenize the steel
for the shortest amount of time possible to prevent too much decarburization.

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Post Test:
1. Used to harden only a portion of a metal.
a. Flame hardening
b. Annealing
c. Quenching
2. Is a process of cooling a metal at a rapid rate.
a. Flame hardening
b. Annealing
c. Quenching
3. Is a technique used to provide uniformity in grain size and composition
throughout an alloy.
a. Normalizing
b. Quenching
c. Annealing
4. Consists of heating a metal to a specific temperature and then cooling at a rate
that will produce a refined microstructure, either fully or partially separating the
constituents.
a. Annealing
b. Quenching
c. Normalizing
5. A furnace that uses electric current to produce heat to refine pig iron.
a. Bessemer process
b. Electric furnace
c. Blast furnace
6. The original sources of all our common structural metals are _________.
a. Natural ores
b. Artificial ores
c. Heavy ores
7. This is the reduction of iron ore carried out in a tall vertical stack line with
firebrick
a. Blast furnace
b. Bessemer process
c. Electric furnace
8. Fed in the blast furnace before operation.
a. Coke, flux, ore
b. Coke, heat, ore
c. Coke, water, ore
9. The portion of flux fed in the blast furnace.
a. 1/6
b. 1/8
c. 1/2
10. the commonly used ore in steel making
a. Iron
b. Manganese
c. Limestone

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Post Test Answer Key
1. a
2. c
3. a
4. a
5. b
6. a
7. a
8. a
9. a
10. a

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/steel
http://www.steel.org/making-steel/how-its-made/processes/how-a-blast-furnace-
works.aspx

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Module 5 – Steel

Lesson 3 – Products, uses, advantage and disadvantages

General objective:
 To have knowledge about steel on how it was made and where it began

Specific objective:
 To know the different products and uses of steel and its advantages/disadvantages

Carbon steel
Steel in which the main alloying element is carbon, and whose properties are
chiefly dependent on the percentage of carbon present.
Types of carbon steel
 Low carbon steel
 Medium carbon steel
 High carbon steel
 Ultra-high carbon steel
Low carbon steel (0.10-0.30% c)
Girders, car body panels, nuts and bolts, food cans, car body panels.

Medium carbon steel (0.30-0.70% c)

Nails and screws, metal chains, wire ropes, screw driver blades, engine parts,
bicycle wheel rims.

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High carbon steel (2.0-1.30% c)
(Tool steel) chisels, hammers, drills, files, lathe tools, taps, dies.

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Ultra-high carbon steel(2.0-3.5% c)
Knives, punches, axels. (very limited engineering uses due to high brittle nature)

Alloy steel
Is steel that owes its distinctive properties chiefly to some elements or elements
other than carbn, or jointly to such other elements and carbon.

Manganese alloy
Known for its high impact strength and resistance to abrasion once in its work-
hardened state.

Silicon alloy
Is an important constituent of electrical steel, modifying
its resistivity and ferromagnetic properties. Silicon also significantly improves the
hardness and thus wear-resistance of aluminum.

Nickel alloy
Are used for a wide variety of applications, the majority of which involve
corrosion resistance and/or heat resistance. Some of these include: turbine blades, highly
stressed screws, bolts, and nuts.

Titanium alloy
Have very high tensile strength and toughness (even at extreme temperatures).
They are light in weight, have extraordinary corrosion resistance and the ability to
withstand extreme temperatures.

Copper alloy
They have high resistance against corrosion. The best known traditional types are
bronze; where tin is a significant addition, and brass, using zinc instead.

Aluminum alloy
Lightness, electrical and thermal conductivity, corrosion resistance, easy to use,
recycable.

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Advantages
 High strength
 Uniformity
 Elasticity
 Ductility
 Maintain is strength indefinitely
 Can be recycled
 Very strong and flexible

Disadvantages
 Maintenance cost
 Steel has very small resistance against fire as compared to concrete.
 Susceptibility to buckling
 Fatigue
 Brittle
 Steel cannot be mold in any direction you want.
 Has a high expansion rate in changing temperatures
 Heavy and thus expensive to transport

90
Post Test:
1. Is a type of carbon steel which ranges of 0.30-0.70% c
a. Low carbon steel
b. Medium carbon steel
c. High carbon steel
d. Ultra high carbon steel
2. Is a type of carbon steel which ranges of 0.10-0.30% c
a. Low carbon steel
b. Medium carbon steel
c. High carbon steel
d. Ultra high carbon steel
3. Is a type of carbon steel which ranges of 2.00-1.30% c
a. Low carbon steel
b. Medium carbon steel
c. High carbon steel
d. Ultra high carbon steel
4. Is a type of carbon steel which ranges of 2.0-3.5% c
a. Low carbon steel
b. Medium carbon steel
c. High carbon steel
d. Ultra high carbon steel
5. Is steel that owes its distinctive properties chiefly to some elements or elements
other than carbn, or jointly to such other elements and carbon.
a. Carbon steel
b. Alloy steel
c. Stainless steel
d. Low carbon steel
6. Is an important constituent of electrical steel, modifying
its resistivity and ferromagnetic properties. Silicon also significantly improves the
hardness and thus wear-resistance of aluminum.
a. Manganese alloy
b. Silicon alloy
c. Nickel alloy
d. Titanium alloy
7. Are used for a wide variety of applications, the majority of which involve
corrosion resistance and/or heat resistance. Some of these include: turbine blades,
highly stressed screws, bolts, and nuts.
a. Manganese alloy
b. Silicon alloy
c. Nickel alloy
d. Titanium alloy
8. Have very high tensile strength and toughness (even at extreme temperatures).
They are light in weight, have extraordinary corrosion resistance and the ability to
withstand extreme temperatures.
a. Manganese alloy
b. Silicon alloy

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 c. Nickel alloy
d. Titanium alloy
9. Known for its high impact strength and resistance to abrasion once in its work-
hardened state.
a. Manganese alloy
b. Silicon alloy
c. Nickel alloy
d. Titanium alloy
10. Lightness, electrical and thermal conductivity, corrosion resistance, easy to use,
recycable.
a. Aluminum alloy
b. Silicon alloy
c. Nickel alloy
d. Titanium alloy
11. They have high resistance against corrosion. The best known traditional types are
bronze; where tin is a significant addition, and brass, using zinc instead.
Aluminum alloy
a. Silicon alloy
b. Nickel alloy
c. Copper alloy
12-16. Give some advantages of steel
17-20. Give some disadvantages of steel.

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Post Test Answer Key:
1. B
2. A
3. C
4. D
5. B
6. B
7. C
8. D
9. A
10. A
11. D
12-16.
 High strength
 Uniformity
 Elasticity
 Ductility
 Maintain is strength indefinitely
 Can be recycled
 Very strong and flexible
17-20.
 Maintenance cost
 Steel has very small resistance against fire as compared to concrete.
 Susceptibility to buckling
 Fatigue
 Brittle
 Steel cannot be mold in any direction you want.
 Has a high expansion rate in changing temperatures
 Heavy and thus expensive to transport

References:
http.www.google.com
www.wikipedia.com

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