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Stainless steel: characteristics, popular grades

Stainless steel: characteristics, popular grades

Stainless steel is a complex alloyed compound of ordinary steel and various metals with high resistance to atmospheric corrosion and other types of destruction. Stainless steel does not rust under the influence of atmospheric precipitation, in solutions of salts, alkalis, acids and some gas environments.

Main advantages of stainless steel:

  1. High melting temperature.
  2. Variety of brands.
  3. Plastic.
  4. High quality welded joints.
  5. Ease of processing.
  6. Durability.

The main component that ensures the unique qualities of steel is chromium - chromium oxides form a protective passivating film on the metal surface. The minimum mass fraction of chromium in the alloy is 10.5%, and the maximum mass fraction of carbon is 1.2%.

The introduction of various alloying elements into the alloy adds certain properties of stainless steel:

  • chromium increases the strength and hardness of the alloy, reduces the coefficient of linear expansion, increases corrosion resistance;
  • nickel increases plasticity, toughness, reduces the coefficient of thermal expansion;
  • titanium increases the strength and density of the alloy;
  • manganese contributes to an increase in hardness and wear resistance;
  • niobium provides low corrosion in welded products;
  • molybdenum increases tensile strength, elasticity, anti-corrosion properties and resistance to high temperatures;
  • tungsten reduces brittleness during heat treatment;
  • copper gives resistance to atmospheric corrosion;
  • silicon increases elasticity, heat resistance, electrical resistance, scale resistance and acidity;
  • cobalt improves heat-resistant properties;
  • aluminum reduces aging of the metal.

Classification of stainless steel

Steel is classified according to various criteria, and one of the main types of stainless steel classification is the chemical classification.

There are three main types of stainless steel:

  • ferritic (chromium) steels - these alloys contain more than 20% chromium and up to 0.15% carbon, due to which they are plastic and have high resistance to aggressive environments;
  • austenitic (austenitic-ferritic and austenitic-martensitic), which up to 33% consist of nickel and chromium;
  • martensitic and ferritic-martensitic - these alloys contain up to 17% chromium and up to 0.5% carbon, and they have maximum resistance to aggressive environments.

Popular steel grades

Steel marking Steel type Application Chemical composition
12Х18Н10Т austenitic chromium-nickel steels for the manufacture of equipment to be welded in various industries Cr 17-19
C up to 0,12
Si up to 0,8
Mn up to 2
Ni 9-11
S up to 0,02
Р up to 0,0,5
Ti 5C-0,8
08Х18Н10Т austenitic chromium-nickel steels for the manufacture of welded products operating in environments with a higher aggressiveness than steel grades 12X18H10T and 12X18H9T Cr 17-19
C up to 0,08
Si up to 1
Mn up to 2
Ni 9-12
S up to 0,02
Р up to 0,0,4
08Х18Г8Н2Т chromium-manganese-nickel steels of the austenite-ferritic class for the manufacture of welded equipment operating in aggressive environments, in the chemical, food and other industries Cr 17-19
C up to 0,08
Si up to 0,8
Mn 7-9
Ni 1,8-2,8
S up to 0,025
Р up to 0,0,35
Ti 0,2-0,5
08Х22Н6Т chromium-nickel-molybdenum steels of austenitic-ferritic class for the manufacture of welded equipment in the chemical, food and other industries, operating at a temperature not exceeding 300ºС Cr 21-23
C up to 0,08
Si up to 0,8
Mn up to 0,8
Ni 5,3-6,3
S up to 0,025
Р up to 0,0,35
Ti 5C-0,65
08Х18Н10 austenitic chromium-nickel steels for products subjected to heat treatment (hardening) Cr 17-19
C up to 0,08
Si up to 0,8
Mn up to 2
Ni 9-11
S up to 0,02
Р up to 0,0,04
Ti 5C-0,7
08Х17Н13М2, 08Х17Н13М2Т chromium-nickel molybdenum steels of the austenitic class for technological equipment of the chemical industry Cr 16-18
C up to 0,08
Si up to 0,8
Mn up to 2
Ni 12-14
S up to 0,02
Р up to 0,035
Ti 5C-0,70
Mo 2-3
03Х17Н13М2 austenitic chromium-nickel-molybdenum stainless steels for chemical equipment, instruments that come into contact with sea water and the atmosphere, for food processing plants, containers for waste oils Cr 16,5-18,0
C до 0,03
Si до 1,0
Mn до 2,0
Ni 11,0-13,5
S до 0,03
Р до 0,04
Mo 2,0 - 2,5
Fe Остальное
08Х17T corrosion-resistant heat-resistant steels of ferritic class for oxidizing environments, as well as atmospheric conditions, except for the marine atmosphere, where pitting corrosion is possible Cr 16-18
C до 0,08
Si до 0,8
Mn до 0,8
Ni до 0,6
S до 0,025
Р до 0,035
Ti до 0,08
Cu до 0,03
03X18H10 corrosion-resistant and heat-resistant steels of the austenitic class for the manufacture of cold-rolled sheet steel; expansion bellows; parts and welded structures; cold rolled strip Cr 17-19
C до 0,08
Si до 0,8
Mn до 2
Ni 9-11
S до 0,02
Р до 0,035
Ti до 0,5
V до 0,2
Cu до 0,3
W до 0,2
Mo до 0,3
Fe остальное
07X16H6 corrosion-resistant ordinary steels for products operating in atmospheric conditions, acetic acid and other saline environments and for elastic elements; for cryogenic equipment; austenitic - martensitic steel Cr 15,5-17,5
C 0,05-0,09
Si до 0,8
Mn до 0,8
Ni 5-8
S до 0,02
Р до 0,035
Ti до 0,2
V до 0,2
Cu до 0,3
W до 0,2
Mo до 0,3
Fe остальное

Analogues of stainless steel grades

In Russia, the marking of stainless steel is adopted in accordance with GOST 5632-2014, but other countries use other standardization systems. So, in Europe, steel is marked in accordance with the European Committee for Standardization EN, in the USA, AISI standards are used, in Germany - the European Institute for Standardization DIN. Below is a table of correspondences of the main types of stainless steel:

GOST marking AISI marking EN marking DIN marking
12Х18Н10Т AISI 321 1.4878 X12CrNiTi18-9
08Х18Н10 AISI 304 1.4301 X5CrNi18-10
08Х17Н13М2 AISI 316 1.4436 X5CrNiMo17-13-3
08Х17Н13М2Т AISI 316Ti 1.4571 Х6CrNiMoTi17-12-2
03Х17Н13М2 AISI 316L / 316 1.4404 / 1.4401 X2CrNiMo17-12-2
08Х17T AISI 430Ti / 439 1.4510 Х6СrTi17
03X18H10 AISI 304 L 1.4307  
07X16H6 AISI 301 1.4310 X10CrNi18-8
02Х18М2 БТ AISI 444 1.4521 X2CrMoTi18-2