CHAPTER 2.

Introduction

2.1General
'Stainless' is a term coined early in the development of these steels for cutlery
applications. It was adopted as a generic name for these steels and now covers a
wide range of steel types and grades for corrosion or oxidation resistant
applications.

Stainless steels are iron alloys with a minimum of 10.5% chromium. Other
alloying elements are added to enhance their structure and properties such as
formability, strength and cryogenic toughness. These include metals such as:

 Nickel
 Molybdenum
 Titanium
 Copper
Non-metal additions are also made, the main ones being:

 Carbon
 Nitrogen
The main requirement for stainless steels is that they should be corrosion resistant
for a specified application or environment. The selection of a particular "type"
and "grade" of stainless steel must initially meet the corrosion resistance
requirements. Additional mechanical or physical properties may also need to be
considered to achieve the overall service performance requirements.

Fig1.1:Stainless steel cladding is used on the Walt Disney Concert Hall

In metallurgy, stainless steel is a steel alloy with a minimum of
10.5% chromium content by mass.
Stainless steels are notable for their corrosion resistance, which increases with
increasing chromium content. Additions of molybdenumincrease corrosion
resistance in reducing acids and against pitting attack in chloride solutions. Thus,
there are numerous grades of stainless steel with varying chromium and
molybdenum contents to suit the environment the alloy must endure. Stainless
steel’s resistance to corrosion and staining, low maintenance, and familiar lustre
make it an ideal material for many applications where both the strength of steel
and corrosion resistance are required.
Stainless steels are rolled into sheets, plates, bars, wire, and tubing to be used
in: cookware, cutlery, surgical instruments, major appliances; construction
material in large buildings, such as the Chrysler Building; industrial equipment
(for example, in paper mills, chemical plants, water treatment); and storage tanks
and tankers for chemicals and food products (for example, chemical
tankers and road tankers).

2.1.1. Corrosion resistance

Fig1.2: Stainless steel (bottom row) resists salt-water corrosion

Stainless steels do not suffer uniform corrosion, like carbon steel, when exposed
to wet environments. Unprotected carbon steel rusts readily when exposed to the
combination of air and moisture. The resulting iron oxide surface layer (the rust)
is porous and fragile. Since iron oxide occupies a larger volume than the original
steel this layer expands and tends to flake and fall away exposing the underlying
steel to further attack. In comparison, stainless steels contain sufficient chromium
to undergo passivation, spontaneously forming a microscopically thin inert
surface film of chromium oxide by reaction with the oxygen in air and even the
small amount of dissolved oxygen in water. This passive film prevents further
corrosion by blocking oxygen diffusion to the steel surface and thus prevents
corrosion from spreading into the bulk of the metal. This film is self-repairing if
it is scratched or temporarily disturbed by an upset condition in the environment
that exceeds the inherent corrosion resistance of that grade.
However, stainless steels may suffer uniform corrosion when exposed to acidic
or basic solutions. Whether a stainless steel corrodes depends on the kind and
concentration of acid or base, and the solution temperature. Uniform corrosion is
typically easy to avoid because of extensive published corrosion data or easy to
perform laboratory corrosion testing.
However, stainless steels are susceptible to localized corrosion under certain
conditions, which need to be recognized and avoided. Such localized corrosion is
problematic for stainless steels because it is unexpected and difficult to predict.
2.1.2 Acids
Acidic solutions can be categorized into two general categories, reducing acids
such as hydrochloric acid and dilute sulfuric acid, and oxidizing acids such as
nitric acid and concentrated sulfuric acid. Increasing chromium and molybdenum
contents provide increasing resistance to reducing acids, while increasing
chromium and silicon contents provide increasing resistance to oxidizing acids.
Sulfuric acid is one of the largest tonnage industrial chemical manufactured. At
room temperature Type 304 is only resistant to 3% acid while Type 316 is
resistant to 3% acid up to 50 °C and 20% acid at room temperature. Thus Type
304 is rarely used in contact with sulfuric acid. Type 904L and Alloy 20 are
resistant to sulfuric acid at even higher concentrations above room temperature.
Concentrated sulfuric acid possesses oxidizing characteristics like nitric acid and
thus silicon bearing stainless steels also find application.
Hydrochloric acid will damage any kind of stainless steel, and should be avoided.
All types of stainless steel resist attack from phosphoric acid and nitric acid at
room temperature. At high concentration and elevated temperature attack will
occur and higher alloy stainless steels are required.
2.1.3 Bases
Stainless steels Type 304 and 316 are unaffected by any of the weak bases such
as ammonium hydroxide, even in high concentrations and at high temperatures.
The same grades of stainless exposed to stronger bases such as sodium
hydroxide at high concentrations and high temperatures will likely experience
some etching and cracking.
Increasing chromium and nickel contents provide increasing resistance.
2.1.4 Organics
All grades resist damage from aldehydes and amines, though in the latter case
Type 316 is preferable to 304; cellulose acetate will damage 304 unless the
temperature is kept low. Fats and fatty acids only affect Type 304 at temperatures
above 150 °C (302 °F), and Type 316 above 260 °C (500 °F), while Type 317 is
unaffected at all temperatures. Type 316L is required for processing of urea.
2.1.5 Localized corrosion
Localized corrosion can occur in a number of ways, e.g. pitting corrosion, crevice
corrosion and stress corrosion cracking. Such localized attack is most common in
the presence of chloride ions. Increasing chromium, molybdenum and nitrogen
contents provide increasing resistance to localized corrosion and thus increasing
chloride levels require more highly alloyed stainless steels. Design and good
fabrication techniques combined with correct alloy selection can prevent such
corrosion.
Localized corrosion can be difficult to predict because it is dependent on many
factors including:

 Chloride ion concentration (However, even when the chloride solution

concentration is known, it is still possible for chloride ions to concentrate,
such as in crevices (e.g. under gaskets) or on surfaces in vapor spaces due to
evaporation and condensation.)
 Increasing temperature increases susceptibility
 Increasing acidity increases susceptibility
 Stagnant conditions increase susceptibility
 The presence of oxidizing species, such as ferric and cupric ions
2.1.6 Galvanic Corrosion
Galvanic corrosion (also called ' dissimilar metal corrosion') refers to corrosion
damage induced when two dissimilar materials are coupled in a corrosive
electrolyte. The most common electrolyte is water, ranging from fresh water to
seawater. When a galvanic couple forms, one of the metals in the couple becomes
the anode and corrodes faster than it would all by itself, while the other becomes
the cathode and corrodes slower than it would alone. Stainless steel, due to its
superior corrosion resistance relative to most other metals, including steel and
aluminum, becomes the cathode accelerating the corrosion of the anodic metal.
An example is the corrosion of aluminum rivets fastening stainless steel sheets in
contact with water.
2.1.7 High temperature corrosion (scaling)
At elevated temperatures all metals react with hot gases. The most common high
temperature gaseous mixture is air, and oxygen is the most reactive component
of air. Carbon steel is limited to ~900 °F (480 °C) in air. Chromium in stainless
steel reacts with oxygen to form a chromium oxide scale which reduces oxygen
diffusion into the material. The minimum 10.5% chromium in stainless steels
provides resistance to ~1,300 °F (700 °C), while 26% chromium provides
resistance up to ~2,200 °F (1,200 °C). Type 304, the most common grade of
stainless steel with 18% chromium is resistant to ~1,600 °F (870 °C). Other gases
such as sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, chlorine, etc. also
attack stainless steel. Resistance to other gases is dependent on the type of gas,
the temperature and the alloying content of the stainless steel.
2.2 Properties
Physical properties
Tables below from "Raccolta di Tabelle Techniche', compiled by Centro Inox ,
Italy. It has subsequently been re-published in English with permission from
Centro Inox.
Electricity and magnetism

Fig 2.1 left nut is not in inox and is rusty

Like steel, stainless steels are relatively poor conductors of electricity, with
significantly lower electrical conductivity than copper.
Ferritic and martensitic stainless steels are magnetic.
Annealed austenitic stainless steels are non-magnetic. Work hardening can make
austenitic stainless steels slightly magnetic.
Galling
Galling, sometimes called cold welding, is a form of severe adhesive wear which
can occur when two metal surfaces are in relative motion to each other and under
heavy pressure. Austenitic stainless steel fasteners are particularly susceptible to
thread galling, although it also occurs in other alloys that self-generate a
protective oxide surface film, such as aluminum and titanium. Under high
contact-force sliding this oxide can be deformed, broken and removed from parts
of the component, exposing bare reactive metal. When the two surfaces are the
same material, these exposed surfaces can easily fuse together. Separation of the
two surfaces can result in surface tearing and even complete seizure of metal
components or fasteners.
2.3 Chemical compositions
Though they can be strengthened by cold working, but this is limited to thin sheet
and small diameter bar. Their austenitic microstructure gives them excellent
formability and weldability and they are essentially non-magnetic and maintain
their ductility at cryogenic temperatures.
They can be further subdivided into two sub-groups, 200 series and 300 series:

 200 Series are chromium-manganese-nickel alloys, which maximize

the use of manganese and nitrogen to minimize the use of nickel. Due
to their nitrogen addition they possess approximately 50% higher yield
strength than 300 series stainless steels. Type 201 is hardenable through
cold working; Type 202 is a general purpose stainless steel. Decreasing
nickel content and increasing manganese results in weak corrosion
resistance.
 300 Series are chromium-nickel alloys, which achieve their austenitic
microstructure almost exclusively by nickel alloying, some very highly
alloyed grades include some nitrogen to reduce nickel requirements.
300 series is the largest group and the most widely used. The best
known grade is Type 304, also known as 18/8 and 18/10 for its
composition of 18% chromium and 8%/10% nickel, respectively. The
second most common austenitic stainless steel is Type 316. The
addition of 2% molybdenum provides greater resistance to acids and to
localized corrosion caused by chloride ions.
Low-carbon versions, for example 316L or 304L, are used to avoid corrosion
problems caused by welding. The "L" means that the carbon content of the
alloy is below 0.03%, which prevents sensitization (precipitation
of chromium carbides at grain boundaries) caused by the high temperatures
involved in welding.
Superaustenitic stainless steels, such as Allegheny Technologies' alloy AL-
6XN and Outokumpu’s alloy 254 SMO, possess even greater resistance to
chloride pitting and crevice corrosion because of their
high molybdenum content (>6%) and nitrogen additions. They possess useful
service to seawater applications.
Chemical composition of Ferritic Stainless Steels from EN 10088-1:2005
Standard
Common ferritic grades are: Type 430 with 17% chromium, which is used in
washing machine drums, dishwasher interiors and refrigerator exteriors. Type
409 with 11% chromium is used extensively in the manufacture of automotive
exhausts.
Chemical composition of major martensitic and precipitation hardening stainlesss
steels, from EN 10088-1:2005 standard
In addition, there are a number of proprietary grades, most of them being close to
standardized one
Heat Treatment of martensitic Stainless steels
Martensitic stainless steels form a family of stainless steels that can be heat
treated to provide the adequate level of mechanical properties.
The heat treatment typically involves three steps

 Austenitizing, in which the steel is heated to a temperature in the range 980 -

1050 °C -depending on the grades. The austenite is a face centered cublc phase
 Quenching (a rapid cooling in air, oil or water). The austenite is transformed
into martenisite, a hard a body-centered tetragonal crystal structure. The as-
quenched martensite is very hard and too brittle for most applications. Some
residual austenite may remain.
 Tempering, i.e. heating around 500 °C, holding at temperature, then air
cooling. Increasing the tempering temperature decreases the Yield and
Ultimate tensile strength but increases the elongation and the impact
resistance.
Mechanical properties of heat-treated martensitic stainless steels from EN 10088-
3:2014 standard
In the mechanical properties of martensitic stainless steels below, QT stands for
Quenched & Tempered
The annealed condition, allow easy machining and forming, whereas the QT
condition is required for strength (shafts, valve stems, mechanical components...)
The above standard provides also guidelines for the heat treatment required to
obtain the right mechanical properties
It should be pointed out that there are a number of proprietary grades that are not
listed here.
Martensitic stainless steels, especially those with a High Carbon ( i.e. above about
0.4%) are mostly used for cutting tools: Cutlery, Razor blade steel, Blender
blades, etc..
The graph below represents the position of a number of common martensitic
stainless steels grades used for cutting tools.
For cutting ability, a high hardness is required. The higher the PREN the higher
the corrosion resistance.

Fig2.2: Hardness vs corrosion resitance of culterty grades

Note: Modified PREN
▪ The Pitting Resistance Equivalent Number (PREN) is a measure of the relative
pitting corrosion resistance of a stainless steel grade in a chloride- containing
environment. The higher the PREN value, the more corrosion resistant the grade
will be. It is defined for austenitic grades by PREN = %Cr+3.3%Mo+16%N.
▪ In martensitic stainless steels, however, some of the Cr may be tied up in
Carbides, reducing thereby the amount of available Cr for the passive film.
Aperam suggested the following formula: PREN = %Cr+3.3%Mo+16%N-5%C
Creep-resisting Martensitic stainless steels Creep-resisting martensitic stainless
steels are not included in the EN 10088-1:2005 standard (compositions listed
above). The EN 10302:2008 standard "Creep-resisiting steels, nickel and cobalt
alloys" includes in Table 1 some special martensitic stainless steels
2.4.Production Process
Most of the world stainless steel production is produced by the following process
EAF (Electric Arc Furnace) in which stainless steel scrap, other ferrous scrap and
ferro alloys (Fe Cr,Fe-Ni, Fe Mo, Fe Si ...) are melted. The molten metal is then
poured into a ladle and transferred into the AOD
AOD (Argon Oxygen Decarburization) allows the removal of carbon in the
molten steel and other composition adjustments to achieve the desired chemical
composition of the steel
CC (Continuous Casting) in which the molten metal is solidified into slabs
(typical section is 20cm thick and 2 m wide) for flat products or blooms (sections
vary widely but 25cmx25cm is about the average).
HR (Hot Rolling) The slabs and blooms are reheated in a fournace and then hot
rolled. Hot rolling reduces the thickness of the slabs to produce about 3mm thick
coils. Blooms on the other hand are hot rolled into bars (that are cut into lengths
at the exit of the rolling mill) or wire rod which is coiled.
CF (Cold finishing) . This is a very simplified overview
Hot rolled coils are pickled in acid solutions to remove the oxide scale on the
surface, then subsequently cold rolled (Sendzimir rolling mills), annealed in a
protective atmosphere, until the desired thickness and surface finish is obtained.
Further operations such as slitting, tube forming, etc..... can be carried out in
downstream facilities.
Hot rolled bars are straightened, then machined to the required tolerance and
finish.
Wire rod coils are subsequently processed to produce
- cold finished bars on drawing benches
- fasteners on boltmaking machines
- wire on single or multipass drawing machines
Further information can be obtained on the websites of most producers. An
example is provided here
Production Figures
World stainless steel production figures re published every year by ISSF
2.5.Applications

Fig 5.1: art of Niagara-Mohawk Power building in New York

Stainless steel is used for industrial equipment when durability and cleanability
are important
Architecture
Stainless steel is used for buildings for both practical and aesthetic reasons.
Stainless steel was in vogue during the art deco period. The most famous example
of this is the upper portion of the Chrysler Building Some diners and fast-food
restaurants use large ornamental panels and stainless fixtures and furniture.
Because of the durability of the material, many of these buildings still retain their
original appearance. Stainless steel is used today in building construction because
of its durability and because it is a weldable building metal that can be made into
aesthetically pleasing shapes. An example of a building in which these properties
are exploited is the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton, which is wrapped in
stainless steel.
Bridges
Stainless steel is quite frequently used for pedestrian and for road bridges.
Product forms are tubes (Helix bridge), plates (Cala Galdana bridge), or
reinforcing bar (Champlain Bridge)

 The Helix Bridge is a pedestrian bridge linking Marina Centre with Marina
South in the Marina Bay area in Singapore.

 Cala Galdana Bridge in Menorca (Spain) was the first stainless steel road
bridge.
 Sant Fruitos Pedestrian Bridge (Catalonia, Spain), arch pedestrian bridge.
 Padre Arrupe Bridge (Bilbao, Spain) links the Guggenheim museum to the
University of Deusto.
 Oudesluijs bridge in Amsterdam, a 3D printed stainless steel bridge
using Construction 3D printing
 Champlain Bridge, Montreal, Canada
 Stonecutter's bridge, Hong Kong, China

Monuments and sculptures

 Unisphere, constructed as the theme symbol of the 1964 New York World's
Fair, is constructed of Type 304L stainless steel as a spherical framework with
a diameter of 120 feet (37 m) (New York City)
 Gateway Arch (pictured) is clad entirely in stainless steel: 886 tons (804
metric tons) of 0.25 in (6.4 mm) plate, #3 finish, type 304 stainless
steel.[51] (St. Louis, Missouri)
 United States Air Force Memorial has an austenitic stainless steel structural
skin (Arlington, Virginia)
 Atomium was renovated with stainless-steel cladding in a renovation
completed in 2006; previously the spheres and tubes of the structure were clad
in aluminium (Brussels, Belgium)
 Cloud Gate sculpture by Anish Kapoor (Chicago, Illinois)
 Sibelius Monument is made entirely of stainless steel tubes (Helsinki,
Finland)
 The Kelpies (Falkirk, Scotland)
 Man of Steel (sculpture) under construction (Rotherham, England)
 Juraj Jánošík monument (Terchova, Slovakia)

Airports
Stainless steel is a modern trend for roofing material for airports due to its low
glare reflectance to keep pilots from being blinded, also for its properties that
allow thermal reflectance in order to keep the surface of the roof close to ambient
temperature. The Hamad International Airport in Qatar was built with all
stainless steel roofing for these reasons, as well as the Sacramento International
Airport in California.
Water
Stainless steels have a long history of application in contact with water due to
their excellent corrosion resistance. Applications include a range of conditions
from plumbing, potable and waste water treatment to desalination.
Important considerations to achieve optimum corrosion performance are:

 choose the correct grade for the chloride content of the water;
 avoid crevices when possible by good design;
 follow good fabrication practices, particularly removing weld heat tint;
 drain promptly after hydrotesting.
A wide range stainless steels are used throughout the paper making process. For
example, duplex stainless steels are being used in digesters to convert wood chips
into wood pulp. 6% Mo superaustenitics are used in the bleach plant and
Type 316 is used extensively in the paper machine.
Chemical Processing and Petrochemical
Stainless steels are used extensively in these industries for their corrosion
resistance to both aqueous, gaseous and high temperature environments, their
mechanical properties at all temperatures from cryogenic to the very high, and
occasionally for other special physical properties.
Food and Beverage
Austenitic (300 series) stainless steel, in particular Type 304 and 316, is the
material of choice for the Food & Beverage industry. Stainless steels do not affect
the taste of the product, they are easily cleaned and sterilized to prevent bacterial
contamination of the food, and they are durable. Acidic foods with high salt
additions, such as tomato sauce, and highly salted condiments, such as soya sauce
may require higher alloyed stainless steels such as 6% Mo superaustenitics to
prevent pitting corrosion by chloride.
Automobiles
The Allegheny Ludlum Corporation worked with Ford on various concept
cars with stainless steel bodies from the 1930s through the 1970s to demonstrate
the material's potential. The 1957 and 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham had a
stainless steel roof. In 1981 and 1982, the DeLorean DMC-12 production
automobile used Type-304 stainless steel body panels over a glass-reinforced
plastic monocoque. Intercity buses made by Motor Coach Industries are partially
made of stainless steel. The aft body panel of the Porsche Caymanmodel (2-door
coupe hatchback) is made of stainless steel. It was discovered during early body
prototyping that conventional steel could not be formed without cracking (due to
the many curves and angles in that automobile). Thus, Porsche was forced to use
stainless steel on the Cayman.
Passenger rail cars
Rail cars have commonly been manufactured using corrugated stainless steel
panels (for additional structural strength). This was particularly popular during
the 1960s and 1970s, but has since declined. One notable example was the
early Pioneer Zephyr. Notable former manufacturers of stainless steel rolling
stock included the Budd Company (USA), which has been licensed to
Japan's Tokyu Car Corporation, and the Portuguese company Sorefame. Many
railcars in the United States are still manufactured with stainless steel, unlike
other countries who have shifted away.

Aircraft
The first, which had fabric wing coverings, is on display at the Franklin Institute,
being the longest continuous display of an aircraft ever, since 1934. The RB-
2 Was almost all stainless steel, save for the control surfaces. One survives at
the Pima Air & Space Museum, adjacent to Davis–Monthan Air Force Base.
The American Fleetwings Sea Bird amphibious aircraft of 1936 was also built
using a spot-welded stainless steel hull.
The use of stainless steel in mainstream aircraft is hindered by its excessive
weight compared to other materials, such as aluminium.
Energy
Stainless steels are extensively used in all manner of power stations, from
nuclear to solar. Furthermore, stainless steels are ideally suited as mechanical
supports for power generation units when the permeation of gases or liquids are
required, such as filters in cooling water or hot gas clean up or as structural
supports in electrolytic power generation.
Recycling and reusing
Stainless steel is 100% recyclable. An average stainless steel object is composed
of about 60% recycled material of which approximately 40% originates from end-
of-life products and about 60% comes from manufacturing processes. There is a
secondary market that recycles usable scrap for many stainless steel markets. The
product is mostly coil, sheet, and blanks. This material is purchased at a less-than-
prime price and sold to commercial quality stampers and sheet metal houses. The
material may have scratches, pits, and dents but is made to the current
specifications.