Stainless Steels
The stainless steels all derive their fundamental characteristic of corrosion resistance, from an addition of chromium, which forms a passive surface layer on the steel when exposed to oxygen. The alloys fall into five basic classifications, according to their metallurgical characteristics, each of which endows the stainless steels with a specific combination of engineering attributes.
The five basic types of stainless steel are Austenitic, Ferritic, Martensitic, Precipitation Hardening and Duplex grades. The metallurgical structures combined with the chemical compositions give varying levels of corrosion resistance, pitting resistance, strength, hardness and temperature resistance to mention a few. Columbia Metals holds stocks of a wide range of these stainless alloys and, in addition to the more standard grades, specialises in the high performance duplex alloys, some special precipitation hardening grades and a range of aerospace specification materials.
Some of these specialised grades include alloys such as 310 heat resisting stainless steel, 17/4 PH & 660B precipitation hardening stainless, S31803, S32550, S32750, S32760 duplex and superduplex stainless steels. In addition to these, Columbia Metals also holds stocks of specialist aerospace stainless steels such as S80, S130 and S143 in rods and sections.
For more information on our range of stainless steel alloys please click here.