Harry
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AboutWhile seeking a corrosion-resistant alloy for gun barrels in 1913, Harry Brearley of the
Brown-Firth research laboratory in Sheffield, England, discovered and subsequently
[33]
industrialized a martensitic stainless steel alloy, later known as AISI type 420. The
discovery was announced two years later in a January 1915 newspaper article in The New
[19]
York Times.
The metal was later marketed under the "Staybrite" brand by Firth Vickers in England
[36]
and was used for the new entrance canopy for the Savoy Hotel in London in 1929.
Brearley applied for a US patent during 1915 only to find that Haynes had already
registered one. Brearley and Haynes pooled their funding and, with a group of investors,
formed the American Stainless Steel Corporation, with headquarters in Pittsburgh,
[23]: 360
Pennsylvania.
Rustless steel[edit]
Brearley initially called his new alloy "rustless steel". The alloy was sold in the US under
different brand names like "Allegheny metal" and "Nirosta steel". Even within the
metallurgy industry, the name remained unsettled; in 1921, one trade journal called it
[37]
"unstainable steel".
Brearley worked with a local cutlery manufacturer, who gave it the name "stainless
[38]
steel". As late as 1932, Ford Motor Company continued calling the alloy "rustless steel"
[39]
in automobile promotional materials. However, stainless tended to predominate
worldwide, and even in modern Japan, Western cutlery is simply referred to as "stainless
(without "steel") spoon/fork" etc. [ステンレス: sutenresu].
In 1929, before the Great Depression, over 25,000 tons of stainless steel were manufactured
[40]
and sold in the US annually.
Major technological advances in the 1950s and 1960s allowed the production of large
tonnages at an affordable cost:
● AOD process (argon oxygen decarburization), for the removal of carbon and
sulfur
[41]
● Continuous casting and hot strip rolling
[42][43]
● The Z-Mill, or Sendzimir cold rolling mill
● The Creusot-Loire Uddeholm (CLU) and related processes which use steam
[44]
instead of some or all of the argon
Families[edit]
Stainless steel is classified into five different "families" of alloys, each having a distinct set
of attributes. Four of the families are defined by their predominant crystalline structure -
the austenitic, ferritic, martensitic, and duplex alloys. The fifth family, precipitation
hardening, is defined by the type of heat treatment used to develop its properties.
Austenitic[edit]
Main article: Austenitic stainless steel
[45][46]
Austenitic stainless steel is the largest family of stainless steels, making up about
[47]
two-thirds of all stainless steel production. They have a face-centered cubic crystal
[48]
structure. This microstructure is achieved by alloying steel with sufficient nickel,
manganese, or nitrogen to maintain an austenitic microstructure at all temperatures,
[48]
ranging from the cryogenic region to the melting point. Thus, austenitic stainless steels
are not hardenable by heat treatment since they possess the same microstructure at all
[48]
temperatures.
Austenitic stainless steels consist of two subfamilies:
[49]
● 200 series are chromium-manganese-nickel alloys that maximize the use of
manganese and nitrogen to minimize the use of nickel. Due to their nitrogen
addition, they possess approximately 50% higher yield strength than 300-series
stainless sheets of steel. Representative alloys include Type 201 and Type 202.
● 300 series are chromium-nickel alloys that achieve their austenitic
microstructure almost exclusively by nickel alloying; some very highly alloyed
grades include some nitrogen to reduce nickel requirements. 300 series is the
largest group and the most widely used. Representative alloys include Type 304
and Type 316.
Ferritic[edit]
Main article: Ferritic stainless steel
Ferritic stainless steels have a body-centered cubic crystal structure, are magnetic, and are
hardenable by cold working, but not by heat treating. They contain between 10.5% and
27% chromium with very little or no nickel. Due to the near-absence of nickel, they are less
expensive than austenitic stainless steels. Representative alloys include Type 409, Type 429,
Type 430, and Type 446. Ferritic stainless steels are present in many products, which
include:
[50]
● Automobile exhaust pipes
[51]
● Architectural and structural applications
[citation
● Building components, such as slate hooks, roofing, and chimney ducts
needed]
● Power plates in solid oxide fuel cells operating at temperatures around 700 °C
[52]
(1,300 °F)
Martensitic[edit]
Main article: Martensitic stainless steel
Martensitic stainless steels have a body-centered tetragonal crystal structure, are magnetic,
and are hardenable by heat treating and by cold working. They offer a wide range of
properties and are used as stainless engineering steels, stainless tool steels, and
creep-resistant steels. They are not as corrosion-resistant as ferritic and austenitic stainless
steels due to their low chromium content. They fall into four categories (with some
[53]
overlap):
● Fe-Cr-C grades. These were the first grades used and are still widely used in
engineering and wear-resistant applications. Representative grades include Type
410, Type 420, and Type 440C.
● Fe-Cr-Ni-C grades. Some carbon is replaced by nickel. They offer higher
toughness and higher corrosion resistance. Representative grades include Type
431.
● Martensitic precipitation hardening grades. 17-4 PH (UNS S17400), the
best-known grade, combines martensitic hardening and precipitation hardening
to increase strength and toughness.
● Creep-resisting grades. Small additions of niobium, vanadium, boron, and cobalt
increase the strength and creep resistance up to about 650 °C (1,200 °F).
Martensitic stainless steels can be heat treated to provide better mechanical properties. The
[54]
heat treatment typically involves three steps:
1. Austenitizing, in which the steel is heated to a temperature in the range
980–1,050 °C (1,800–1,920 °F), depending on grade. The resulting austenite
has a face-centered cubic crystal structure.
2. Quenching. The austenite is transformed into martensite, a hard
body-centered tetragonal crystal structure. The quenched martensite is very
hard and too brittle for most applications. Some residual austenite may
remain.
3. Tempering. Martensite is heated to around 500 °C (930 °F), held at
temperature, then air-cooled. Higher tempering temperatures decrease yield
strength and ultimate tensile strength but increase the elongation and impact
resistance.
Duplex[edit]
Main article: Duplex stainless steel
Duplex stainless steels have a mixed microstructure of austenite and ferrite, the ideal ratio
being a 50:50 mix, though commercial alloys may have ratios of 40:60. They are
characterized by higher chromium (19–32%) and molybdenum (up to 5%) and lower
nickel contents than austenitic stainless steels. Duplex stainless steels have roughly twice
[citation needed]
the yield strength of austenitic stainless steel . Their mixed microstructure
provides improved resistance to chloride stress corrosion cracking in comparison to
[citation needed]
austenitic stainless steel types 304 and 316 . Duplex grades are usually divided
into three sub-groups based on their corrosion resistance: lean duplex, standard duplex,
and super duplex. The properties of duplex stainless steels are achieved with an overall
lower alloy content than similar-performing super-austenitic grades, making their use
cost-effective for many applications. The pulp and paper industry was one of the first to
extensively use duplex stainless steel. The oil and gas industry became the largest user and
has pushed for more corrosion resistant grades, leading to the development of super duplex
and hyper duplex grades. More recently, the less expensive (and slightly less
corrosion-resistant) lean duplex has been developed, chiefly for structural applications in
building and construction (concrete reinforcing bars, plates for bridges, coastal works) and
[citation needed]
in the water industry.
Precipitation hardening[edit]
Precipitation hardening stainless steels are characterized by the ability to be precipitation
hardened to higher strength. There are three types of precipitation hardening stainless
[55]
steels which are classified according to their crystalline structure:
● Martensitic precipitation hardenable stainless steels are martensitic at room
temperature in both the solution annealed and precipitation hardened
conditions. Representative alloys include 17-4 PH (UNS S17400), 15-5 PH (UNS
S15500), Custom 450 (UNS S45000) and Custom 465 (UNS S46500).
● Semi-austenitic precipitation hardenable stainless steels are initially austenitic in
the solution annealed condition for ease of fabrication, but are subsequently
transformed to martensite to provide higher strength and to be precipitation
hardened. Representative alloys include 17-7 PH (UNS S17700), 15-7 PH (UNS
S15700), AM-350 (UNS S35000), and AM-355 (UNS S35500).
● Austenitic precipitation hardenable stainless steels are austenitic at room
temperature in both the solution annealed and precipitation hardened
conditions. Representative alloys include A-286 (UNS S66286) and Discalloy
[56]
(UNS S66220).