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Higher strength leading to weight saving Greater corrosion resistance particularly stress corrosion cracking Better price stability Lower price
There is a conference on the subject of duplex every 2-3 years where dozens of highly technical papers are presented. There is a lot of marketing activity surrounding these grades. New grades are being announced frequently. Yet, even with all this interest, the best estimates for global market share for duplex are between 1 and 3%. The purpose of this article is to provide a straightforward guide to this steel type. The advantages and disadvantages will be described.
Higher strength The range of 0.2% PS for the current duplex grades is from 400 550 MPa. This can lead to reduced section thicknesses and therefore to reduced weight. This advantage is particularly significant for applications such as: o Pressure Vessels and Storage Tanks o Structural Applications e.g. bridges Good weldability in thick sections Not as straightforward as austenitics but much better than ferritics. Good toughness Much better than ferritics particularly at low temperature, typically down to minus 50 deg C, stretching to minus 80 deg C. Resistance to stress corrosion cracking Standard austenitic steels are particularly prone to this type of corrosion. The kind of applications where this advantage is important include: o Hot water tanks o Brewing tanks o Process plant o Swimming pool structures
How the Austenite/Ferrite Balance is Achieved To understand how duplex steels work, first compare the composition of two familiar steels austenitic 304 (1.4301) and ferritic 430 (1.4016).
Si
Mn P
Cr
Ni
Mo -
16.0/18.0 -
Austenitic 304
The important elements in stainless steels can be classified into ferritisers and austenitisers. Each element favours one structure or the other: Ferritisers Cr (chromium), Si (silicon), Mo (molybdenum), W (tungsten), Ti (titanium), Nb (niobium) Austenitisers C (carbon), Ni (nickel), Mn (manganese), N (nitrogen), Cu (copper) Grade 430 has a predominance of ferritisers and so is ferritic in structure. Grade 304 becomes austenitic mainly through the use of about 8% nickel. To arrive at a duplex structure with about 50% of each phase, there has to be a balance between the austenitisers and the ferritisers. This explains why the nickel content of duplex steels is generally lower than for austenitics. Here are some typical compositions of duplex stainless steels: Grade EN No/UNS 1.4162/ S32101 1.4062/ S32202 1.4482/ S32001 1.4362/ S32304 1.4462/ S31803/ S32205 1.4410/ S32750 1.4501/ S32760 1.4507/ S32520/ S32550 Type Approx Composition Cr Ni Mo N 2101 LDX DX2202 RDN 903 2304 Lean Lean Lean Lean Mn W Cu -
22 25 25 25
3.2 0.25 -
In some of the recently developed grades, nitrogen and manganese are used together to bring the nickel content to very low levels. This has a beneficial effect on price stability. At present, we are still very much in the development phase of duplex steels. Therefore, each mill is promoting its own particular brand. It is generally agreed that there are too many grades. However, this is likely to continue until the winners emerge.
Grade 430 304 441 RDN 903 316 444 316L 2.5 Mo 2101 LDX 2304 DX2202 904L 2205 Zeron 100 Ferrinox 255/ Uranus 2507Cu 2507 6% Mo
EN No/UNS Type 1.4016/ S43000 1.4301/ S30400 1.4509/ S43932 1.4482/ S32001 1.4401/ S31600 1.4521/ S44400 1.4435 1.4162/ S32101 1.4362/ S32304 1.4062/ S32202 1.4539/ N08904 1.4462/ S31803/ S32205 1.4501/ S32760 1.4507/ S32520/ S32550 1.4410/ S32750 1.4547/ S31254 Ferritic Austenitic Ferritic Duplex Austenitic Ferritic Austenitic Duplex Duplex Duplex Austenitic Duplex Duplex Duplex Duplex Austenitic
Typical PREN 18 19 19 22 24 24 26 26 26 27 34 35 41 41 43 44
It must be emphasised that this table is only a guide to material selection. It is always important to assess the suitability of a particular with a full knowledge of the corrosive environment.
Tensile stress Corrosive environment Sufficiently high temperature. Normally 50 deg C but can occur at lower temperatures around 25 deg C in specific environments, notably swimming pools.
Unfortunately, the standard austenitic steels like 304 (1.4301) and 316 (1.4401) are the most susceptible to SCC. The following materials are much less prone to SCC:
The resistance to SCC makes duplex steels suitable materials for many processes which operate at higher temperatures, notably:
Stainless steel structures in swimming pools are known to be prone to SCC. The use of standard austenitic stainless steels like 304 and 316 is forbidden in this application. The best steels to use for this purpose are the high nickel austenitic steels such as the 6% Mo grades. However, in some cases, duplex steels such as 2205 (1.4462) and the superduplex grades can be considered.
The metallurgy of duplex stainless steels is much more complex than for austenitic or ferritic steels. This is why 3 day conferences can be devoted just to duplex! This factor means that they are more difficult to produce at the mill and to fabricate. In addition to ferrite and austenite, duplex steels can also form a number of unwanted phases if the steel is not given the correct processing, notably in heat treatment. Two of the most important phases are illustrated in the diagram below: Sigma phase
Both of these phases lead to embrittlement, i.e. loss of impact toughness. The formation of sigma phase is most likely to occur when the cooling rate during manufacture or welding is not fast enough. The more highly alloyed the steel, the higher the probability of sigma phase formation. Therefore, superduplex steels are most prone to this problem.
475 degree embrittlement is due to the formation of a phase called (alpha prime). Although the worst temperature is 475 de g C, it can still form at temperatures as low as 300 deg C. This leads to a limitation on the maximum service temperature for duplex steels. This restriction reduces the potential range of applications even further. At the other end of the scale, there is a restriction on the low temperature use of duplex stainless steels compared to austenitic grades. Unlike austenitic steels duplex steels exhibit a ductile-brittle transition in the impact test. A typical test temperature is minus 46 deg C for offshore oil and gas applications. Minus 80 deg C is the lowest temperature that is normally encountered for duplex steels.
Going Further with Duplex Stainless Steels More detailed information on duplex can be found in: Practical Guidelines for the Fabrication of Duplex Stainless Steels
Twice design strength of austenitic and ferritic stainless steels Wide range of corrosion resistance to match application Good toughness down to minus 80 deg C but not genuine cryogenic applications Particular resistance to stress corrosion cracking Weldable with care in thick sections More difficult to form and machine than austenitics Restricted to 300 deg C maximum