What is the Stainless Steel?
Stainless Steel is an important material and it is worth understanding how it has been used in the past as well as the present. As with other alloys, stainless steel is formed by mixing several different base metals to produce a new material that is stronger than each of the raw components alone. Stainless steel is a durable material and will continue to be used for many years to come.
While stainless steel has a wide range of applications due to its impressive durability, steel engineers have experimented with alloy manufacturing over the years to give Stainless Steel Pipes more desirable qualities.
Different Types of Stainless Steel
Austenitic
These stainless steels have a high chromium and nickel content, making them highly corrosion resistant. Austenitic steels are the most widely used of all stainless steel types and makeup over 70% of total production. They also have the best corrosion resistance and cannot be hardened by heat treatment. Austenitic stainless steel usually has 16-26% chromium and up to 35% nickel, as well as small amounts of carbon, silicon, and manganese. This steel family is nonmagnetic, strong, and ductile. They are sensitive to carbide precipitation during welding though, so welding should be done with low heat input.
Ferritic
This stainless steel, also known as chromium steel, is a type of magnetic stainless steel characterized by a body-centered cubic crystal structure. Ferritic steels are incapable of being hardened by heat treatment, unlike austenitic stainless steels. They contain 10.5-27% chromium and no nickel. The most popular grades of ferritic stainless steel include 409, 430, 439, and 441.
Martensitic
There is only one major difference between martensitic and ferritic stainless steel. And that is the presence of about 1% more carbon in martensitic steel. Due to this fundamental distinction, martensitic stainless steel has one unique property. Its strength can be significantly increased compared to that of its related alloys when hardened to a sufficient degree.
Duplex
Duplex stainless steel is an alloy made by combining austenitic and ferritic stainless steel. This combination makes it stronger than the two types of stainless steel from which it’s created individually and is highly resistant to corrosion. It’s most often used in oil rigs, gas facilities, and similar environments where corrosion resistance is a high priority.
Precipitation Hardening
Precipitation hardening stainless steel combines the corrosion resistance of austenitic stainless steel with the hardening strength of martensitic stainless steel. To achieve these traits, precipitation hardening stainless steel undergoes a process of heat treatment. Solution treatment, and quenching to gradually increase its strength.