Stainless Steel is a steel alloy which contains a minimum of 10% chromium. The additional chromium provides a pristine surface finish and exceptional corrosion resistance not found in carbon steels.
Properties
- High strength
- Self-protective
- Excellent heat resistance
- Excellent corrosion resistance
- Excellent impact resistance
- Typically doesn’t require surface finishing
Applications
- Cookware
- Home appliances
- Hand tools
- Storage containers
- Pressure tanks
- Automotive parts
Types of Stainless Steel
- Austenitic: Non-magnetic, highly formable and can be cold worked, but not heat treated. Austenitic stainless steel is corrosion resistant but prone to stress corrosion cracking. Often used to make shafts, valves, bolts, bushings, nuts, aircraft fittings, brewing equipment, and cryogenic vessels. Austenitic stainless steels are either 200 or 300 series with common grades including 201, 202, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 308, 309, 310, 314, 316, 317, 321, 347, 348, and 384.
- Ferritic: Magnetic with lower ductility and corrosion resistance than austenitic grades. Ferritic stainless steel grades have a high resistance to stress corrosion cracking and can be cold worked, but are not heat treated. Often used to make heat exchangers, automotive fasteners, and furnace components. Ferritic stainless steels are 400 series with common grades including 405, 409, 430, 434, 436, 442, and 446.
- Martensitic: Magnetic and heat treatable with higher strength but lower corrosion resistance than ferritic grades. Often used to make pump shafts, bolts and screws, valves, bushings, rivets, coal chutes, cutlery, jet engine parts, aircraft fittings, mining machinery, rifle barrels, and fire extinguisher inserts. Martensitic stainless steels are 400 and 500 series with common grades including 410, 414, 416, 420, 431, and 440.
- Precipitation Hardening Grade: These grades are heat treatable, typically have much higher strength than austenitic stainless steels and retain much of their strength in high temperatures. Often referred to as PH Type stainless steel, and used to make military equipment and aircraft structural components. Common grades include 17-7 PH, PH 15-7 Mo, 17-4 PH, and 15-5 PH.
- Duplex: A hybrid of austenitic and ferritic steels, duplex stainless steels are known for exceptionally high strength and stress corrosion cracking resistance. Duplex stainless steels are easily heat treated but difficult to cold form. Often used to make chemical processing equipment, pressure vessels, and heat exchanger components. Common UNS grades include S32101, S32304, S32003, S31803, S32205, S32760, S32750, S32550, S32707, and S33207.
