There are some categories of steels:
General-purpose non-alloy steels (construction);
Special non-alloy steels, for heat treatment, malleable, weldable, forgeable…;
Highly alloyed steels:
Stainless steels, high-speed steels, for tools with a high cutting speed such as drills.
We will differentiate between standard steels (non-alloy or low-alloy steels) from stainless steels.
Standard Stainless Steel Circle is cheaper than stainless steel. However, it is not resistant to corrosion, which therefore influences the liquid it conveys: food, drinks, drugs, or even pure gas.
Stainless steel has become indispensable.
Stainless steel has become essential in many areas: kitchen utensils, everyday objects. It is also used in medicine, surgery, construction and public works, shipbuilding, automotive, aeronautics, tools, mechanical industries, food, chemicals, transport, etc. These markets are subject to a large number of standards and cannot afford to choose a standard Stainless Steel Round Bar. It risks being damaged and contaminating sensitive fluids.
The service life of the installations is also better when using stainless steel. Due to their composition, they are not, or little, subject to corrosion and oxidation. They are therefore much more resistant than standard steels.
These standards ASTM A105 Flange are mainly used in all construction and building companies. They are suitable for outdoor uses, which are not afraid of corrosion and oxidation.
What is stainless steel and in which industries is it found?
Stainless steel, short for Grade 12.9 Bolt, is made of a steel alloy (with at least 1.2% carbon) and more than 10.5% chromium. This alloy has the property of being insensitive to corrosion and of not degrading to rust.
The fact that there is more than 10.5% chromium in the alloy causes the formation of a protective layer of chromium oxide which makes the steel stainless.
Main families of stainless steels:
Ferritic: iron-chromium, carbon <0.1%, ferromagnetic (magnetic). Chromium and molybdenum increase corrosion resistance. Titanium and niobium improve weldability;
Martensitic: iron-chromium, carbon> 0.1%, ferromagnetic (“magnetic”), Suitable for hardening, for example in the case of the manufacture of hammers which must be harder than nails.
Austenitic: iron-chromium-nickel, carbon <0.1%, it is more than 65% of the use of stainless steel;
Duplex: iron-chromium-nickel, mixed austenitic-ferritic structure, magnetic: these steels have better corrosion resistance than most common austenitic and ferritic grades.
Which category of the tube for which type of industry?
In principle, API 5L Grade B Pipe, thanks to their alloy, is designed to resist corrosion, oxidation and creep (deformation).
Their differentiation into four categories seen above will allow them to be applied to the right industries. There is no exact science since the end use of the tube will determine the choice of it, but we can still define the main lines:
Ferritic steels:
Used as a corrosion resistance barrier, it is found for example to equip the walls of Grade 10.9 Bolt steel pressure equipment used in the petrochemical and chemical industries. They are also suitable for agro-food industries.
Austenitic steels:
They are the most numerous, due to their very high chemical resistance, their flexibility comparable to that of copper, and their high mechanical characteristics. These Inconel 625 Bolts sheets of steel also have a range of use at low temperatures for the production of equipment intended for cryogenics. They are also suitable for the marine environment.