OVERVIEW OF STAINLESS STEELS

The demand for stainless steels has increased dramatically in recent years as more and more companies specify these materials for their products. Industries which utilize stainless steels extensively include chemical and power, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and transportation. Other major uses are in architecture, domestic appliances, household utensils and small electrical and electronic appliances. Stainless steels owe their widespread use to a combination of unique properties that have advantages over those of other steels and nonferrous metals for many applications. The principal outstanding characteristics are their resistance to corrosion in many environments, their good mechanical properties over an extremely wide range of temperatures, and their superior resistance to oxidation and scaling at very high temperatures. These unique properties are achieved through substantial additions of chromium to iron and carbon, with or without the addition of other elements such as nickel, manganese, molybdenum, and nitrogen. Chromium, however, is the key ingredient since a dramatic increase in corrosion resistance occurs when a level of about 10.5% chromium is reached. Steels with at least 10.5% chromium have traditionally been designated as stainless steels. These steels attain their stainless characteristics by virtue of their ability to form an invisible, adherent, chromium-rich oxide film which strongly resists attack by the atmosphere and many industrial gases and chemicals. The chemical compositions of 21stainless steels and 3 high temperature alloys are listed in this website, in addition to a general description of each alloy, its physical properties, its specified mechanical properties and typical applications. This website also includes a list of standard specifications, an overview of stainless steels and a glossary of terms for stainless sheet, strip and plate products. DESCRIPTION OF STAINLESS STEELS Stainless steels may be divided into five main groups, the first four of which are based upon a common crystalline structure of the steels within the group. The fifth group, known as precipitation hardening steels, consists of alloys that can be hardened by an aging treatment. AUSTENITIC STAINLESS STEELS Austenitic stainless steels containing chromium and nickel are given a 300 Series classification and austenitic steels containing chromium, nickel and manganese are given a 200 Series classification. It should be noted, however, that some austenitic stainless steels do not have these 200 and 300 Series designations. The steels in this austenitic group have many compositions and properties, but they have many characteristics in common. They can be hardened by cold working but not by heat treatment. In the annealed condition all are essentially nonmagnetic, but some may become slightly magnetic by cold working. In the annealed condition they have excellent formability. The various grades of austenitic steels have excellent corrosion resistance in many environments, resisting attack by the atmosphere and by many industrial gases and many chemicals. They have a resistance to scaling at temperatures as high as 2000F (1095C). The resistance of an individual austenitic alloy to corrosion or oxidation in a particular environment will depend upon that steels alloy content. Many of these steels have good strength at high temperatures which accounts for their wide use at elevated temperatures. They are also among the primary materials selected for use at extremely low temperatures since they do not become brittle as with other types of steel. All austenitic stainless steels are sensitive, to some degree, to chloride stress corrosion cracking and fully austenitic types may be sensitive to solidification cracking. Some types are susceptible to carbide precipitation or intermetallic phase precipitation under adverse conditions of fabrication and use. Type 304 stainless steel is the most widely used steel of the austenitic group. It has a nominal composition of 18% chromium and 8% nickel. FERRITIC STAINLESS STEELS Ferritic stainless steels are straight chromium 400 Series steels that contain from 11 to 27% chromium and little or no nickel. They cannot be hardened by cold working. These steels are magnetic. They have moderate ductility and resistance to corrosion and oxidation. Ferritic stainless steels are relatively weak at high temperatures, and in heavier sections they may be lacking in toughness at below ambient temperatures. Type 430 is the general purpose steel of the ferritic group. It has a nominal composition of 17% chromium and is used for highly polished trim applications in mild atmospheres. It is also used in food processing and for consumer goods. Type 409 and its recently standardized variations are the most widely used ferritic grades of all the nickel free stainless steels. They are among the least expensive of all stainless steels. These grades have a nominal composition of 11% chromium and their major use is in automotive exhaust systems. MARTENSITIC STAINLESS STEELS Martensitic stainless steels, like the ferritic steels, are straight chromium types in the 400 Series. They have from 11 to 18% chromium with or without small additions of nickel or other elements. These steels are magnetic. Unlike the austenitic and the ferritic steels, the martensitic steels are hardenable by heat treatment and are generally used in the hardened and tempered condition. Type 410 stainless steel is the general purpose grade in the martensitic group. It has a nominal chromium content of 12.5% and the carbon content is limited to a maximum of 0.15%. A tensile strength as high as 190 ksi (1380 MPa) can be obtained with Type 410 stainless steel after heat treatment, but with reduced ductility. DUPLEX STAINLESS STEELS Duplex stainless steels have an annealed structure which typically consists of about equal parts of austenite and ferrite. These steels have 18 to 29% chromium, 3 to 8% nickel and various other elements, particularly nitrogen and molybdenum. The duplex grades are highly resistant to chloride stress corrosion cracking, they have excellent pitting and crevice corrosion resistance and have about twice the yield strength of the common austenitic grades. Type 329 and Alloy 2205 are typical duplex steel grades. PRECIPITATION HARDENING STAINLESS STEELS Precipitation hardening steels are not characterized by a single crystalline structure, but rather by a particular strengthening mechanism in one of the structures. They contain 11 to 18% chromium, 3 to 27% nickel and similar amounts of other metals. They combine high strength and hardness with corrosion resistance which is superior to that of the martensitic chromium stainless steels. They can be hardened by solution treating and aging to develop tensile strengths as high as 240 ksi (1655 MPa) for the grade designated as UNS S17700 (17-7PH), for example.