An Introduction to Stainless Steels (corrosionpedia.

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An Introduction to Stainless Steels

  

Michael Pfeifer | Published: August 18, 2015 | Updated: September 4, 2018

Source: Tom Dowd/Dreamstime.com

Takeaway: When selecting the grade of stainless steels available, it is important to consider

how components will be fabricated and joined together and the specific environment to which it
will be exposed, in addition to the considerations common to other alloys such as mechanical
requirements and cost.

Stainless steels are steels with a minimum of 10% chromium. They gain their resistance
to corrosion from a thin, tenacious surface layer of chromium oxide. If the oxide layer is
physically damaged, there is rapid regeneration of the layer, thus preserving
the corrosion resistance. However, a chemical environment that can disrupt this layer
can initiate corrosion. Consequently, stainless steel is highly resistant to atmospheric
corrosion, but not immune to corrosion in all environments. (Atmospheric corrosion is
examined in detail in the article The 5 Factors of Atmospheric Corrosion.)

Classes of Stainless Steel

Stainless steels fall into several general
classes: austenitic, ferritic, martensitic, duplex and precipitation hardened (PH). The
distinction between each class is based primarily on the predominant phase present in
the stainless steel as determined by the major alloying elements.
The major alloying elements in stainless steels are chromium and nickel. Chromium
primarily provides corrosion resistance and additional strength. Nickel provides strength
and some corrosion resistance. Minor alloying elements include manganese, carbon
and molybdenum. Manganese is present in steels in small quantities, but at higher
concentrations it stabilizes austenite and partially replaces nickel in the 200-series
steels. Carbon is largely an impurity in austenitic steel, but it is a strengthening element
in ferritic and martensitic steel, much as it is for carbon and low-alloy steel. Molybdenum
provides additional strength and resistance to chloride pitting. Other elements, such
as titanium or niobium, serve other purposes specific to the application for which the
alloy was developed.

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Types of Stainless Steel

400-series steels were the first versions of stainless steel. They include the ferritic and
martensitic grades that contain only chromium as a major alloying element, making
them less expensive than austenitic grades. They are magnetic, generally more
resistant to chloride attack than 300-series alloys, and some grades may be
strengthened by heat treating.
Type 410 contains about 12% chromium. The ability to strengthen this alloy by heat
treating to form martensite makes it a martensitic grade. Its low chromium content
provides modest corrosion resistance. Given enough time, exposure to weather will
cause it to rust. Type 430 is a ferritic grade that contains about 17% chromium. It cannot
be strengthened by heat treating. 400-series stainless steels are generally more
resistant to chloride attack than 300-series.
With sufficient quantities of nickel, stainless steel remains austenite at room
temperature, creating the austenitic steels. They are nonmagnetic and cannot be heat
treated for through hardening, like carbon steels, because the phase transformation to
martensite does not occur in these alloys. The primary reason for their use is their
superior resistance to corrosion in the atmosphere and aggressive chemical
environments compared to 400-series.
300-series alloys contain chromium and nickel, and are the most popular austenitic
grades. Types 301 and 304 are the most common alloys in use and are for general use.
They contain 18% chromium, 9% to 10% nickel, and up to 0.15% carbon (301) or 0.08%
carbon (304) as an impurity. Other 300-series alloys are modified versions of these
alloys to achieve specific properties. Type 316 contains 2–3% molybdenum to improve
the resistance to corrosion in chloride-containing environments. Types 304L, 316L and
other L-grades contain reduced carbon, less than 0.03%, to
avoid microstructure changes during welding and other thermal processes, which can
damage the corrosion resistance. This detrimental change is known as sensitization.
Types 321 and 347 contain small amounts of titanium and niobium, respectively, to
prevent sensitization. They are capable of service at elevated temperatures, while the L-
grades are intended to resist sensitization during fabrication. The image below shows
the austenite grains in a 304 alloy.

Austenite grains in a 304 alloy. The particles on the grain boundaries are chromium
carbides.
200-series steels, also austenitic, have manganese substituted for some of the nickel as
a cost-saving measure. Grade 201 contains about 17% chromium, 6.5% manganese
and 4% nickel. It has corrosion resistance similar to 301.
Precipitation hardening (PH) steels are strengthened by heat treating to form
precipitates, as well as by martensite formation. They can be strengthened to higher
hardness than 400-series grades by an aging method similar to that of aluminum alloys.
17-4 PH and 17-7 PH steels contain 17% chromium and 4% or 7% nickel, respectively.
Minor alloying elements can include copper, titanium and niobium, and others.
Duplex stainless steels allow savings in material costs in corrosive applications such as
chemical processing, including chloride and sulfur-bearing environments. They consist
of a mixture of austenite and ferrite in roughly equal proportions. Duplex stainless steels
are subdivided into lean, standard, super or hyper-duplex based on the quantity of
alloying elements. Duplex stainless steels contain more chromium and less nickel than
300-series and typically include nitrogen as an additional austenite stabilizer and
molybdenum for corrosion resistance. (Related reading: A Look at High Nitrogen
Stainless Steels.) 2205 (22% chromium, 5% nickel and 3% molybdenum) is a common
standard duplex stainless steel, and 2507 (25% Cr, 7% Ni plus 4% Mo) is a common
super-duplex steel. The micrograph below shows a duplex stainless steel.

Micrograph of a duplex stainless steel. The brown colored phase is ferrite and the light
colored phase is austenite. (Courtesy of Charles Young, P.E.)

How to Select the Proper Grade of Stainless Steel

The broad array of stainless steels available provides a vast portfolio of capabilities.
However, each alloy has distinct advantages and disadvantages. When selecting a
grade of stainless steels available, it is important to consider how components will be
fabricated and joined together, the specific environment to which it will be exposed and
the considerations common to other alloys such as mechanical requirements and cost.
More information about stainless steels is in "ASM Specialty Handbook: Stainless
Steels" by J.R. Davis and "ASM Metals Handbook Volume 1: Properties and Selection
of Irons, Steels, and High-Performance Alloys". This article was written with the
assistance of Charles Young, P.E.
***
The article and images previously appeared at http://www.imetllc.com/an-introduction-
to-stainless-steels. Reprinted with permission. Copyright Industrial Metallurgists, LLC.

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