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Stainless steels
Alloys of iron with >11.5% chromium, plus Ni, Mn, Mo, N etc Classes of stainless steel
Ferritic stainless steels (cheap, resistant to Cl-) Martensitic stainless steels (strong, resistant to Cl-) Austenitic stainless steels (ductile, wide applications) Duplex (strong, ductile, resistant to Cl-) Precipitation hardening (very strong)
Wt loss
Corrosion rate
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Increases oxidation & corrosion resistance Increases hardenability and hardness Stabilises ferrite
above 12% no austenite at any temperature
Cr percent
General corrosion not significant Pitting corrosion Crevice corrosion Intergranular corrosion Stress corrosion cracking Galvanic corrosion
Done using oxidising acid solutions or pickling paste Passivating is necessary to restore oxide film
Avoid surface oxides (excessive heat tint) which can lead to corrosion in aggressive environments
Argon gas backing for pipe welds Acid pickling to remove scale Glass bead blasting
1500C
Liquid
g 910C
a+s
s a+s
Compositions with over 12% Cr never become austenitic Addition of austenite stabilising elements widens gamma loop Carbon, nickel, nitrogen Sigma stable at high Cr levels Slow transformation
Temperature
Fe
12%
Cr
400C
Austenite
200C 0
Ferrite or martensite
2 4 6 8
Stabilises austenite More than 8% in austenitic stainless steels 4 to 7% in duplex austenite-ferrite steels
% nickel
Iron-Chromium-Nickel
Cr
90
80 90 80
At 1100C
60 50 40 30 20 10
70
70 60
a+g
50
40 30
g
20 30 40 50 60 70 80
20 10
Fe
10
90
Ni
Impair corrosion performance and/or embrittle Carbides if carbon content is high (>0.03%) Intermetallic phases at higher levels of Cr or Mo
sigma, chi, laves, alpha prime, R and tau
Nitrides
Depends on alloy composition, temperature and time at temperature High temperatures tend to dissolve unwanted phases May occur during hot fabrication processes or in high temperature service High temperature short times during welding causes sigma in 254SMO and 2205 Extended heating during heat treatment, hot work or in service causes sigma and chi in 316L
Weld decay
Heating between 480 and 820C causes carbide precipitation at grain boundaries which lowers Cr level in adjacent matrix. Corrosion occurs at the denuded areas of sensitised steels if they are in aggressive environments.
0.06% C
800C
700C
Increasing carbon
600C
0.019% C
500C
Stabilise carbon with Ti or Nb (Cb) which form carbides that are stable at high temperature
Grades 347 or 321 are stabilised versions of 304
Avoid temperatures for the timescale at which they form Solution treat
Typically 1100C for 1 hour and rapidly cool Temperature and cooling depends on alloy
Ferritic stainless
10.5 to 30% chromium Low carbon, nickel, nitrogen Very resistant to chlorides, but tends to be brittle
Grain growth during fabrication Alpha prime (a) at 475C Sigma at higher Cr levels
High Cr types solidify as ferrite and never become austenitic Grain growth during fabrication causes loss of toughness Low Cr types can become austenitic, and may transform to martensite (cracking likely during welding)
Welding is complex
Only thin sections welded Cool quickly to avoid embrittlement
Widespread uses, piping, process vessels Minimum Ni or Ni + Mn to ensure structure is completely austenitic Some quenched from ~1100C to retain 100% austenite
Fabrication of austenitic SS
Better cold ductility than ferritic, martensitic or duplex grades, but limited Good weldability when reasonable care is exercised
All cover weld metal only and are NOT equilibrium diagrams!
Schaeffler diagram
30
A+F
Ferritic alloys
0 0
Ferrite
40
Chromium Equivalent = Cr + Mo + 1.5 Si + 0.5 Nb
4 8
10
14
20
24 30 40 50 60 70
AF A
FA
13 12
80 90
F
11
10 9 17
100
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Excellent resistance to pitting in chlorides (sea water) Serious segregation on solidification Sigma phases form in weld metal
Use nickel-based filler metals Solution anneal after welding
Martensitic stainless
Fe-Cr-C alloys Chromium and carbon balanced so that transformation to austenite occurs on heating
More than 18Cr always ferritic
High hardenability - austenite to martensite transformation under almost all cooling rates
Air hardening steels
Applications
Fabrication
Hot worked only Cold work limited applicability High risk of hydrogen cracking on welding
Preheat 200 to 320C Subcritical PWHT (700C) often applied
Tempers martensite
Weldable 13 Cr martensitic
Sufficient resistance to corrosion in H2S (sour) & CO2 contaminated petrochemicals Newly applied to pipelines Very low carbon, oxygen and nitrogen
Typically 0.02% maximum
High strength with good ductility and toughness More economical than austenitic stainless steel Better resistance to chlorides than austenitic stainless steel
Sensitive to arc energy Solidify as ferrite, austenite forms during cooling Low arc energy causes high ferrite levels Embrittlement & loss of corrosion performance High arc energy causes sigma phase to form Embrittlement & loss of corrosion performance Arc energy ranges 0.5 to 2.0 kJ/mm for 2205 0.5 to 1.5 kJ/mm for 2507
Required for aggressive environments, food or pharmaceutical industries Avoid or remove embedded iron
Test surface for contamination
Ferroxyl test is immediate, alternatively wet surface & leave for 24 hours
Remove heat tint by pickling Remove surface contaminants such as slag, dirt and paint, which are a crevice corrosion risk