Overview
ABSTRACT
This article is an introduction to the subject of corrosion resistance, physical properties and mechanical characteristics of stainless steels. Stainless steels are iron alloys containing a minimum of about 11% chromium. It is well known that steel containing at least this amount of chromium is corrosion resistant in many environments. This property based on the passivity phenomenon involves the formation of a very thin barrier at the alloy surface so-called passive film or passive layer. The first part of this article is dealing with corrosion resistance of stainless steels in relation with their chemical composition and their structure. The second part is a comprehensive review of physical properties and mechanical characteristics.
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Pierre-Jean CUNAT: Former Technical Director, EURO-INOX, Brussels, Belgium
INTRODUCTION
Metal corrosion is a process whereby metals tend to return to their original state under the influence of their surrounding environment. In the case of iron, this takes the form of an oxide: mainly hematite Fe 2 O 3 but also magnetite Fe 3 O 4 . The consequences of this phenomenon can be serious, even catastrophic.
On the other hand, other metals such as chromium, under the same conditions, develop a stable protective film, or passive film, which protects the underlying metal from corrosion. This property is also exploited in stainless steels because, at a content of around 11%, chromium transfers this property to the iron-chromium alloy thus formed.
This passive layer is more stable when the chromium content is higher. The first threshold is around 11% chromium. The second is 17% chromium, where the stability of the passive layer is enhanced. For reasons of industrial feasibility, the upper limit for chromium is around 30%.
This article consists of two parts: § 1 deals with the corrosion resistance of stainless steels; § 2 deals with their physical properties and mechanical characteristics. These two aspects play a key role in their application.
Section 1 reviews the different ways of understanding...
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KEYWORDS
physical properties | corrosion resistance | mechanical characteristics | uniform or general corrosion resistance | localized corrosion resistance: pitting, crevice, intergranular, stress corrosion cracking, galvanic, fatigue cracking | high-temperature corrosion resistance
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Stainless steels
Corrosion resistance
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