Stainless Steels

Pitting corrosion is the most common form of corrosion that can occur on stainless steels.

Stainless steel will corrode if the conditions are suitable severe, but they are significantly more corrosion resistant than carbon steels.

Stainless steel is used in a plethora of applications, where alternative metals would not be suitable for either practical or aesthetic reason

The generally accepted view is that stainless steels were developed by Harry Brearley (Sheffield, UK) around 1911.

Ferralium is the world’s first super duplex stainless steel developed by Langley Alloys in 1967.

Super duplex stainless steels benefit from a combined microstructure of austenite and ferrite, which provides an optimum mix of properties.

The difference in properties between austenitic and duplex stainless steels is explained by their different microstructures.

Duplex, Super Duplex and Hyper Duplex have a combination of austenitic and ferritic microstructures, approximately 50:50.

There are a number of different austenitic stainless steels, the most common being the 300 series (304/316) produced in large volumes.

There are several different types of stainless steel including Austenitic, Ferritic, Martensic and Duplex grades.