Duplex Stainless Steel

History: Duplex stainless steels are a family of grades combining good corrosion
resistance with high strength and ease of fabrication. Duplex stainless steels,
meaning those with a mixed microstructure of about equal proportions of
austenite and ferrite, have existed for almost 80 years. The first wrought
duplex stainless steels were produced in Sweden in 1930 and were used in
the sulphite paper industry.
These first – generation duplex stainless steels provided good performance
characteristics but had limitations in as welded condition. The heat affected
zone (HAZ) of welds had low toughness because of excessive ferrite and
significantly lower corrosion resistance than that of the base metal.
In 1968 the invention of the stainless steel refining process, argon oxygen
decarburization (AOD), opened the possibility of being able to add alloys
such as nitrogen. Nitogen alloying of duplex stainless steels, makes possible
HAZ toughness and corrosion resistance which approaches that of the base
metal in the as welded condition. With increased austenite stability, nitrogen
also reduces the rate at which detrimental intermediate phases form.
The second generation of duplex stainless steels are defined by their
nitrogen alloying.
The commercialisation of this generation of stainless steels in the late 1970’s
reflected the need for stainless steel with excellent chloride corrosion
resistance, good fabricability, and high strength.
2205 became the workhorse of the second generation duplex grades. The
high strength of these steels allowed for the reduced weight on platforms and
pipe on the oil and gas platforms in the North Sea about this time.

Family: Like the austenitic stainless steels (304,316) the duplex stainless steels are a
family of grades, which range in corrosion performance depending on their
alloy content. Modern duplex steels can be divided into five groups:
 Lean duplex such as 2304, which contains no deliberate Mo
additions;
 Standard duplex such as 2205, the workhorse grade accounting
for more than 80% of duplex use;
 25 Cr duplex such as Alloy 255 with PREN* less than 40
 Super duplex (PREN 40-45), with 25-26 Cr and increased Mo and
N compared with the 25Cr grades such as 2507;
 Hyper duplex, defined as a highly alloyed duplex stainless steel
with PREN in excess of 45
 PREN = Pitting Resistance Equivalent Number
= %Cr + 3.3(%Mo + 0.5%) + 16%N
 By altering the additions of Chromium, Molybdenum, Nitrogen and Nickel differing
degrees of strength and corrosion protection can be achieved in duplex stainless
steels. The levels of these alloys also affects processing and fabricability

Corrosion Resistance: Duplex stainless steels exhibit a high level of corrosion resistance in most
environments where the standard austenitic grades are used. However, there are some notable exceptions
where they are decidedly superior. This results from the alloying that is undertaken.
Acids: Both 2205 and 2507 duplex stainless steels outperform many high nickel austenitic stainless
steels in solutions containing up to 15% acid. They are better than type 316 or 317 through at least 40% acid.
The duplex grades can also be very useful in oxidising acids of this kind containing chlorides. The duplex
stainless steels do not have sufficient nickel to resist the strong reducing conditions of mid-concentration
sulphuric acid solutions, or hydrochloric acid. Their resistance to oxidising conditions makes duplex stainless
steels good candidates for nitric acid service and the strong organic acids. Although types 304 and 316 will
handle these strong organic acids at ambient temperatures, 2205 and other duplex grades are superior in many
processes involving organic acids at high temperature. The duplex stainless steels are also used in processes
involving halogenated hydrocarbons because of their resistance to pitting and stress corrosion.
Caustics: The high chromium content and presence of ferrite provides for good performance of duplex
stainless steels in caustic environments. At moderate temperatures, corrosion rates are lower than those of the
standard austenitic grades.
Pitting and crevice corrosion and resistance: Pitting and crevice corrosion and resistance are generally
measured with reference to CPT* and CCT**.These are critical temperatures for crevice and pitting on stainless
steels. The high Chromium and Molybdenum and Nitrogen contents in duplex grades provide very good
resistance to chloride-induced localised corrosion in aqueous environments. Depending on the alloy content,
some duplex grades are among the best performing stainless steels. Because they contain relatively high
chromium content, duplex stainless steels provide a high level of corrosion resistance very economically.

Reference material: Practical Guidelines for the Fabrication of Duplex Stainless Steel – ISBN 978 -1 -907470 -00
nd
-4 – 2 Edition 2009, published by International Molybdenum Assoc. (IMOA) London UK