unlegiertem

Unlegiertem is the inflected form of the German adjective unlegiert, which describes a material that has not been alloyed with other elements. In metallurgy, many metals are deliberately combined with additional elements to enhance properties such as strength, hardness, or corrosion resistance; materials that do not undergo such deliberate alloying are referred to as unlegiert or unlegierte, depending on grammatical case and gender.

In practical use, unlegierte Stähle (unalloyed steels) typically contain iron and carbon with only minor impurities, and they lack the additional alloying elements found in legierte Stähle (alloyed steels) such as chromium, nickel, vanadium, or molybdenum. The term can also apply to other metals, for example unlegiertes Aluminium, although most aluminum products are produced as alloys to achieve desired mechanical properties.

Characteristics of unlegierte materials include generally lower strength and hardness compared with their alloyed counterparts, and often lower corrosion resistance or hardenability. They can offer advantages in weldability, ductility, and cost, making them suitable for applications where simple, predictable behavior is sufficient and high performance is not required. Typical uses include certain structural components, basic engineering parts, and situations where straightforward processing is advantageous.

Linguistically, unlegiert is declined like a regular adjective. The form unlegiertem appears in dative singular contexts (for example, in unlegiertem Zustand or in Stahl in unlegiertem Zustand), while other cases yield forms such as unlegierter Stahl or unlegiertes Metall. The opposite concept is legiert, meaning intentionally alloyed to modify material properties.