Stainless Steel Grade AISI 203 | S20300

AISI 203 | S20300 is one of the 200 series austenitic stainless steels containing a high percentage of chromium and nickel. The nickel and chromium content makes the alloy resistant to many chemicals, including chlorine, sulfuric and nitric acids. As a result, it is not affected by extreme temperatures and is often used in cryogenic systems.

Among the available grades of stainless steel, type 203 is one of the most common. The steel was first developed in the 1930s by German metallurgist Friedrich Krupp. It is currently used in a variety of industries and applications. This includes the food, chemical, and automotive industries. The material is also used in architecture because it is easy to work with.

Characteristics

Stainless steel grade AISI 203 has a number of unique characteristics that make it an excellent choice for your projects:

1. Strength: it has good strength and excellent resistance to scale formation and oxidation.
2. Machinability: the steel can be easily machined using conventional tools and methods.
3. Heat treatability: the material is heat treatable and can be hardened by cold working.
4. Weldability: it has good weldability and can be welded by all common welding methods.
5. Formability: it is easily formed and can be made into complex shapes.
6. Corrosion resistance: the alloy is resistant to general corrosion, pitting corrosion, and stress corrosion cracking caused by chloride solutions.
7. Magnetic properties: the material is non-magnetic and can be used where a magnetic response is undesirable.

You can use this specific metal alloy for applications ranging from chemical processing to the automotive industry and more.

Annealing

The annealing process involves heating the material to a temperature of 1040 °C - 1120 °C. Then cooling at a rate of 10 °C - 20 °C per hour to a temperature below 650 °C, followed by air cooling. It is important to maintain a low heat treatment temperature and a low cooling rate to avoid embrittlement of the material. After annealing, the steel should be pickled in an acid bath to remove scale and oxides that may have formed during the process.

Cold processing

Cold working is a process in which steel is formed at temperatures below its recrystallization temperature. This process is often used to create parts of a desired shape, size, and strength. To cold work 203 steel, follow these steps:

• Make sure the steel is clean. Use a chemical degreaser to remove dirt, oils, and other contaminants.
• Preheat the steel to a temperature of 200 ℃ to 480 ℃.
•  Shape the steel by cold stamping, or rolling.
• Allow the steel to cool slowly to room temperature.
• Finish by heat treating, annealing, or quenching.

Hot processing

Hot forming of this stainless steel can be done by heating it to a temperature of 1150 °C to 1250 °C. It is then given the desired shape using a hammer or press. It is then necessary to quickly cool the workpiece after forming so that the material does not become too soft and lose strength. After hot forming, stainless steel should be annealed to restore its original properties.

Etching and passivation

This process can be completed using the following steps:

• Clean the surface of the material with a wire brush or chemical cleaner.
• Create a pickling bath by mixing an acidic solution of nitric or hydrofluoric acid and water.
• Submerge the stainless steel in the pickling bath for a few minutes, then rinse it with water.
• Passivate the steel by submerging it in a solution of sodium dichromate and water.
• Rinse it with water to remove any chemical residue.
• Inspect the stainless steel to ensure it is free of corrosion and contaminants.