Carbon equivalent

Takes the influence of the accompanying elements equal to the effect of the carbon into account and provides information on the composition relative to the eutectic composition in analogy to the degree of saturation, . i.e. it expresses the equivalent carbon content with respect to the iron-carbon binary system:

Eq. 1:

In eutectic compositions, CE equals 4.3%; the following relationships exist between the degree of saturation (s. d.) and the carbon equivalentCE, mainly used in the Anglo-American countries:

Eq. 2:

Eq. 3:

In all formulas, C is to be repalced with the total carbon content.