Stainless Steel Grades | Corrosion Resistant Alloys

The maintenance and mechanical properties of different types of stainless steel depend on its chemical composition. Therefore, before starting any actions with stainless rolled metal, you should choose the right grade of stainless steel. The right choice of steel grade is the key to your success in working with and operating a stainless product in the future.

International standards

AISI - American Institute of Steel and Alloys. AISI standards are a group of standards developed by the institute to designate alloy and stainless steels. This standard is the most commonly used in the USA and Europe.

EN - is an abbreviation and a unique designation for standards published by the European Committee for Standardization. This organization is part of the special institutions for creating specifications approved by the European Union and EFTA - the European Free Trade Association.

DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung) - the German Institute for Standardization (ISO member) is Germany's national organization for developing standards. DIN members include various companies and associations, as well as government organizations, trade companies, and scientific institutes that have significant experience in developing normative documents.

DSTU (State Standards of Ukraine) - standards developed in accordance with the current legislation of Ukraine, establishing for general and repeated application rules, general principles or characteristics related to the activity or its results, with the aim of achieving an optimal degree of orderliness, developed on the basis of consensus and approved by the authorized body. DSTU standards have existed since 1993.

Stainless Steel Grades | Corrosion Resistant Alloys

Alloys containing less than 50% iron and having even better properties in terms of corrosion resistance, acid resistance and heat resistance are not considered steels.

In addition to the traditional well-known grades of stainless steel and corrosion-resistant alloys, there are others: patented, powder - specially developed for specific purposes and conditions of use. Usually they can be compared with each other, but each of these grades (alloys) is unique in its properties, chemical composition and structure.

These are mainly steels and alloys produced by powder metallurgy. They have an improved balanced chemical composition and better properties:

Advantages

• Improved strength and hardness: these stainless steels have a more uniform grain structure than traditional stainless steel, making them stronger and harder..
• Increased resistance to corrosion: more resistant to corrosion than their traditional counterparts due to their more uniform grain structure.
• Better machinability: easier to machine than traditional stainless steels and alloys, making them more suitable for some complex shapes.

Flaws

However, such stainless steel and alloys also have some disadvantages:

• High cost: generally, these stainless steels are more expensive than traditional stainless steels.
• Limited availability: not all grades of stainless steel are readily available.
• Production complexity: the production of these stainless steel grades and alloys is a more complex process than the production of traditional stainless steel.