Stainless Steel: Properties, Types, and Applications
Stainless Steels: Properties and Applications
Stainless steels contain chromium, nickel, and other alloying elements that make them shiny and resistant to oxidation. Some stainless steels are very tough and resilient, maintaining long-term resistance to extreme temperatures. Due to its brightness, architects use it extensively for decorative purposes. It is also widely used for pipes, oil depots, and chemical products because of its resistance to oxidation, and in the manufacture of surgical instruments or bone replacements because it resists the action of body fluids. It’s also used for manufacturing kitchen utensils, like pots, because it doesn’t darken with food and is easy to clean.
Tool Steels
These steels are used for making tools, cutting heads, and machine models. They contain tungsten, molybdenum, and other alloying elements that provide high strength, hardness, and durability.
Uses of Steel
In Construction
In the construction of bridges or buildings, steel plays multiple roles. It’s used for making concrete, reinforcing foundations, and carrying water, gas, or other fluids. It also forms the frame of buildings, whether offices, schools, factories, residential buildings, or sports facilities. Steel is also used in dressing (facades, roofs). In short, it is an essential element of a project’s architecture and aesthetics.
In the Automotive Sector
This sector represents the second-largest steel market, after building and public works. Steel accounts for 55% to 70% of a car’s weight, used in the chassis, bodywork, engine parts, steering, transmission, exhaust systems, and tire carcasses.
In Everyday Life
Cans, jars, and other containers are often manufactured from sheet steel coated on both sides with a thin layer of tin, making them resistant to change. Known as “white iron” (due to the white tin), this steel is used for packaging, becoming cans for food and drinks, aerosol spray cans, lipstick tubes, jars, paint cans, greases, solvents, and other products requiring a tight seal for storage.
Food Preservation
Non-alloy steel, called carbon steel, requires corrosion protection: a layer of zinc and paint for car bodies, or a layer of varnish for tin cans or beverages. Alloy steel, containing nickel and chromium, can remain uncoated; the mass remains unchanged. Dishes, pans, and cutlery made of stainless steel indefinitely resist water and detergents, are perfectly healthy, and do not alter the flavor or color of foods.
Communication
The electronic components used in computers or telecommunications, as well as the functional elements of a television tube, are delicate parts with special requirements. Therefore, they are made with alloys tailored to each specific application.
Energy Sector
The energy, oil, and nuclear industries require infrastructure, equipment, and networks with very specific fluid conduits. Steel is a key material in this sector, which, like the chemical industry, faces many challenges: highly corrosive media, high temperatures, and highly demanding mechanical conditions.
Properties of Metallic Materials
Key properties include: forgeability, ductility, toughness, weldability, oxidation resistance, and ease of cutting.
Cabilla (Rebar)
Weight Tolerance
Cabilla: A steel bar with a circular, corrugated section obtained by hot rolling billets. It is primarily used as reinforcement in reinforced concrete constructions.
Length Tolerance
