Austenitic Stainless Steels are the most common and familiar types of stainless steel. They are most easily recognized as nonmagnetic. They are extremely formable and weldable, and they can be successfully used from cryogenic temperatures to the red-hot temperatures of furnaces and jet engines. They contain between about 16 and 25% chromium, and they can also contain nitrogen in solution, both of which contribute to their high corrosion resistance. Were it not for the cost of the nickel that helps stabilize their austenitic structure, these alloys would be used even more widely.
The grades are grouped within five main categories: austenitic, ferritic, martensitic, duplex, and precipitation-hardened (PH). Let's take a closer look at austenitic stainless steel and how it compares to some of the others.
The term austenite is used to describe a face-centered cubic (FCC) iron or steel alloys that have this type of structure. It was named after Sir William Chandler Roberts-Austen, an Englishman known for his studies of the physical properties of metals.
This is the most used type of stainless steel, and with good reason. With its exceptional resistance to heat and corrosion, it's used extensively in many industries including medical, automotive, aerospace, and industrial applications. This category is known for unsurpassed strength and formability and that it cannot be hardened by heat treatment.
AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS
When discussing automotive manufacturing applications of austenitic stainless steel, commonly you will find it is used often in fuel rails, orifices, and deep drawn automotive parts. Manufacturers in automotive often look to austenitic grades for its formability and versatility.
INDUSTRIAL & CONSUMER APPLICATIONS
Industrial and consumer applications of cold-worked austenitic stainless steel strip material includes razor blade components, power generation parts, springs, and cutters.
AEROSPACE APPLICATIONS
There are several aerospace applications for austenitic stainless-steel strip that require precision cold processing for military and helicopter applications, jet engine components, and landing gears.
All steels contain carbon, but they can be differentiated by whether they are low carbon or high carbon. The difference between "carbon steel" and stainless steel is in the alloy content: stainless steels have at least 10.5 percent chromium, while carbon steels must have less than that to earn the carbon steel classification. Still, carbon levels vary within the stainless-steel families and even within the various austenitic stainless steels, as well. Straight grades of stainless-steel wire or stainless-steel strip & foil — or what would be considered high carbon within this category, must max out at 0.08 percent carbon, while low carbon grades contain no more than 0.03 percent carbon. Lower carbon stainless steel grades have significantly improved welding capabilities, often referred to as weldability. When considering certain alloys such as 304 Stainless Steel or it's 304L counterpart, you would choose 304L stainless steel if your manufacturing requirements called for welding the metal.