STAINLESS
- stainless steels and their properties
Table of Contents
Introduction .....................................................................................................................................................3
Use of stainless steel ..............................................................................................................................3
How it all started ..................................................................................................................................4
Stainless steel categories and grades..................................................................................................................5
The effects of the alloying elements........................................................................................................5
Corrosion and corrosion properties ...................................................................................................................9
PASSIVITY.............................................................................................................................................9
AQUEOUS CORROSION.........................................................................................................................10
General corrosion.........................................................................................................................10
Pitting and crevice corrosion.........................................................................................................11
Stress corrosion cracking ..............................................................................................................14
Intergranular corrosion..................................................................................................................16
Galvanic corrosion.......................................................................................................................18
HIGH TEMPERATURE CORROSION ..........................................................................................................19
Oxidation.....................................................................................................................................19
Sulphur attack (Sulphidation).......................................................................................................20
Carbon pick-up (Carburization).....................................................................................................21
Nitrogen pick-up (Nitridation).......................................................................................................21
Mechanical properties ....................................................................................................................................23
Room temperature properties...............................................................................................................23
The effect of cold work........................................................................................................................27
Toughness ..........................................................................................................................................27
Fatigue properties ...............................................................................................................................29
High temperature mechanical properties...............................................................................................30
Precipitation and embrittlement .......................................................................................................................32
475°C embrittlement ............................................................................................................................32
Carbide and nitride precipitation ..........................................................................................................32
Intermetallic phases.............................................................................................................................32
Physical properties .........................................................................................................................................34
Property relationships for stainless steels .........................................................................................................36
Martensitic and martensitic-austenitic steels .........................................................................................36
Ferritic steels ......................................................................................................................................36
Ferritic-Austenitic (Duplex) steels........................................................................................................37
Austenitic steels ..................................................................................................................................37
References .....................................................................................................................................................38
Attachment: US, British and European standards on stainless steels..........…………………………41