Mechanical Engineering Technology ENGI-1046 Engineering Materials

Handout # 3

Important Facts Regarding Stainless Steels

Terminology

1. Passivity- Surface condition that inhibits (Slows) the electrochemical action

between a metal and the environment. A protective film.(Page 425)
2. Ferritic- Body Centered Cubic (BCC) Structure
3. Martensitic- Body Centered Tetragonal crystal structure
4. Weldable, Weldability- a property of a material where the welded joint is capable
of supporting the loading up to the full strength of the parent material. Any
material can be welded, but not every welded part can carry the full load that an
un-welded material could carry.
5. Stainless Steel- steel which is composed of a minimum of 10% Chromium and is
able to develop a passive layer. (Passivity)
6. Stress Corrosion Cracking Stainless steels are prone to cracking when surfaces
are loaded to create tensile stresses on the surface.
7. Inter-granular Corrosion corrosion that occurs at the grain boundaries in most
metals, caused primarily by alloy segregation at grain boundaries.

Basic Types of Stainless Steel

1. Martensitic Body Centered Tetragonal iron crystal structure

a. Chromium 12-18%
b. Carbon up to 1.2%
c. Carbon aids in formation of Austenite and Quench hardening
d. Usually only 3 alloying elements
e. 100% martensitic structure due to high chromium content
2. Ferritic Body Centered Cubic structure
a. Carbon less than 0.2%
b. Chromium 16-20%
c. Cannot be quench hardened
d. Poor welding, low notch strength
e. Carbides precipitate out on cooling
f. Not susceptible to stress corrosion cracking
g. Special applications only
3. Austenitic- Significantly complex structure
a. Chromium 16-20%
b. Nickel 8% to 22%
c. Nickel promotes formation of austenite
d. Cold workable
e. Most commercial forms are 100% austenite
f. Usually 4 or more alloying elements
 4. PH Precipitation Hardening
a. 3 types
i. Martensite Low Carbon
I. Chromium to Nickel Ratios of 13-8, 15-5, 17-4
II. Micro-alloys precipitate out of solution in low temp phase
III. Hardening and Strengthening
ii. Semi-Austenitic Chromium to Nickel Ratios 17-7, 15-7
I. complicated heat treatments
II. specialized applications
iii. Austenite very complex
iv. Duplex more complex

Stainless Steel Alloy Designations

1. 3 digit AISI designations commonly used

a. 200 series Chromium, Nickel, Manganese
b. 300 Series Chromium, Nickel
c. 400 Series Chromium only
d. 500 Series Low Chromium
2. Also material composition commonly used, ie: 18-8 stainless (18% Cr, 8% Ni)
3. Also UNS sometimes used ie: S31600 (316 stainless)

Other Facts About Stainless Steels

1. Density essentially the same as most carbon steels

2. Structure some are not ferro-magnetic
3. Electrical Conductivity poor electrically compared to carbon steel, up to 6 x
worse
4. Thermal Conductivity less than of the conductivity of carbon steels
5. Thermal Expansion austenitic up to 50% more growth than carbon steel, others
are about same as carbon steel
6. E, Youngs Modulus, Modulus of Elasticity- 28-29 E6 psi, slightly less than
carbon steels, BUT austenitics could be as low as 22 E6 psi.
7. Mechanical- 304 & 316 have better ductility, toughness and strength than carbon
steels of similar size or thickness, PH used in aerospace industries
8. Fabrication 50% more force required to do forming, bending, drawing etc.
Difficult to drill, free-machining grades OK to machine
9. Finishes cold rolled gives nice bright finish, (#2 B bright), foodware, etc. down
as low as 4 micro inches (very smooth), machined steel typical is 32 micro inches.
Most stainless steels need to be Pickled to clean and restore passive protective
layer after welding or machining. (passivation)
10. Machinability most are poor, can gum up tools when machining, difficult to
drill, austenites harden during machine cutting, easy machining grades have lower
corrosion resistance.
 11. Welding ferrites and martensites should avoid arc (fusion) welding, welding
negatively affects impact strength. Welding austenites is OK, but specify L
grade for welding.
12. Heat treating lots of different heat treats, read section on Heat Treating of Steels
13. Limitations read limitations on pages 488-489
14. Environments see listing in text

Selection of Stainless Steels

Each type has been designed for a certain specific application. L grades for welding.
See repertoire page 496, Read Summary at end of chapter.
430 household appliances, auto trim, good surface finish
430F free machining grade, fasteners, screws, screw applications
446 Furnace parts, heat resistant
403 High Temperature Turbines
410, 414, 420 cutlery
416 fasteners
440 tools
440C & 420 wear situations
210 & 310 work hardening grades, springs
202 & 302 & 304 General purpose stainless, also called 18-8 stainless
314 sulphuric acid resistant
316 - Chemical Use
317 Souped up 316