PRODUCT GUIDE

What is stainless steel?

'Stainless' is a term coined early in the development of these steels for cutlery applications. It was adopted as a generic name for these steels and now covers a wide range of steel types and grades for corrosion or oxidation resistant applications.

 Stainless steels are iron alloys with a minimum of 10.5% chromium. Other alloying elements are added to enhance their structure and properties such as formability, strength and cryogenic toughness. These include metals such as:

• Nickel
• Molybdenum
• Titanium
• Copper

Non-metal additions are also made, the main ones being:

• Carbon
• Nitrogen

The main requirement for stainless steels is that they should be corrosion resistant for a specified application or environment. The selection of a particular "type" and "grade" of stainless steel must initially meet the corrosion resistance requirements. Additional mechanical or physical properties may also need to be considered to achieve the overall service performance requirements.

 Duplex stainless steels are used where combinations of high strength and corrosion resistance are needed.

COPPER, BRASS & BRONZE ALLOYS

Copper, brass and bronze alloys are non-ferrous metals with excellent electrical and thermal conductivity as well as good corrosion resistance, ductility and strength. Pure copper (Cu) is an unalloyed metallic element. Low alloy copper contains very small amounts of alloying elements such as aluminum and titanium. Brass, bronze, leaded brass, nickel silver, copper nickel, aluminum bronze, phosphor bronze and silicon bronze are examples of copper alloys. Many copper, brass and bronze alloys are hardened or strengthened with cold working processes, solution treating, precipitation hardening, or spinodal decomposition.

There are two basic types of copper, brass and bronze alloys: cast alloys and wrought alloys. Cast alloys are melted and then cast continuously, centrifugally, or statically into a mold. Wrought alloys are deformed mechanically during manufacturing in rolling, extrusion, or forging processes.