Stainless steel has helped deliver improved environmental performance and increased efficiency for a major food production company.

The spirit of the Anzacs is evoked in a new architecturally stunning, stainless steel walkway that unfolds around Newcastle’s cliffs and links Strzelecki Lookout to Bar Beach.

Welding the common austenitic stainless steels such as 304 and 316 to each other or themselves is routine and the easiest of fusion welding. Nevertheless, there are many situations where it is necessary to weld stainless steel to carbon steel. Two common examples are balustrade posts attached to structural steel or doubler plates connecting supports to stainless steel vessels. There are differences in physical properties such as thermal conductivity and expansion, magnetic properties, metallurgical structure and corrosion resistance, which all require attention. This article outlines the necessary procedures for satisfactory welding, including reference to standards, and explains the necessary precautions. Appendix H of AS/NZS 1554.6:2012 has a more detailed technical discussion including advice on welding carbon steel to ferritic, duplex and martensitic stainless steels.

Stainless steel is the material of choice for subsea hydraulic and control line applications because of its excellent corrosion resistance, material strength benefits and weldability.

‘Under the Sun’ is a 1300kg, 6.5m diameter suspended stainless steel sculpture that embodies a symbol of the moon floating over the earth, and casts filigreed shadows under the sun. It is an inspiring architectural piece featured at the entrance of Stockland’s Point Cook Town Centre in Victoria, and was completed in 2014 as part of the shopping centre’s $20 million revamp.

The magic of a clear night sky filled with stars has inspired many creative souls. Now, through a collaboration between science and art, a stainless steel sculpture installed at the Australian National University in Canberra brings new depth to the connection between ourselves and the stars above.

The normal state for stainless

Stainless steels resist corrosion because they have a self-repairing “passive” oxide film on the surface. As long as there is sufficient oxygen to maintain this film and provided that the level of corrosives is below the steel’s capacity of the particular material to repair itself, no corrosion occurs. If there is too high a level of (say) chlorides, pitting occurs. As an example, 316 works well in tap water (<250ppm) all over Australia, but will rapidly corrode in seawater because seawater has very high chloride levels (20,000ppm).

Brisbane's New Farm Riverwalk is one of the city's beloved icons. Originally constructed in 2003, the Riverwalk was used daily by over 3000 cyclists, pedestrians and runners before it was washed away during the 2011 floods.

A grand ballroom demands high impact aesthetics combined with maximum functionality, both of which have been supplied in spades at the recently refurbished RACV Royal Pines on Queensland's Gold Coast

ASSDA member Australian Pickling & Passivation Service (APAPS) and ASSDA sponsor Sandvik Mining & Construction have been central to the expansion of a coal export port in North Queensland.

Almost 7 years after former Nickel Institute Director Dr David Jenkinson's 2006 Technical Bulletin, ASSDA's technical expert, Dr Graham Sussex, revisits the CrMn grades of stainless steel.

Stainless steel has transformed Perth's historic Forrest Place with a modern, interactive water sculpture.

In the beleaguered Australian manufacturing sector, it's heartening to find ASSDA member Tasman Sinkware is a world-class leader in innovative design and manufacturing. Better still, in addition to supplying the domestic market, Tasman is exporting its products to Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore.

When Sydney's Star City Casino emerged from the chrysalis of its construction scaffolding, its metamorphosis included a gleaming 340m² stainless steel-and-glass canopy facing the harbour.

Coca-Cola Amatil is reducing the carbon footprint of its 600ml PET bottles by 22% with the help of stainless steel.

Stainless steel is the material of choice to specify for severe weather conditions.

The overhead netting of Perth Zoo's Australian Wetlands and Penguin Plunge Exhibit was badly damaged when a severe hailstorm and winds of up to 128km/h swept through Perth in March 2010.

BACKGROUND

Almost all of the stainless steels in use have 16% chromium or more and have nickel or other additions to make them austenitic and hence formable, tough and readily weldable. However, the formal definition of a stainless steel is that it is an iron- and carbon-based alloy with more than 10.5% chromium. Historically, the corrosion mitigation industry regarded alloys with more than 12% chromium as stainless steels mainly because those alloys did not corrode in mild environments. Because of the perceived problem of high initial price when using stainless steels, alloys that are ‘barely’ stainless (and with low nickel to boot) are more competitive with painted or galvanised carbon steel than higher alloys.

This is an abridged version of a story that first appeared under the same title in Stainless Steel Focus No. 07/2012.

The Nickel Institute's director of promotion, Peter Cutler, and consultant Gary Coates, reveal some of the reasons for the continuing popularity of nickel in stainless steels.

Stainless steel is everywhere in our world and contributes to all aspects of our lives. We find stainless steel in our homes, in our buildings and offices, in the vehicles we travel in and in every imaginable industrial sector. Yet the first patents for stainless steel were issued only 100 years ago.

How did this metal become so desirable over the past century that more than 32 million tonnes was produced in 2011? And how does nickel, a vital alloying element in most stainless steel alloys, contribute to the high demand for stainless steel?

The Fibonacci spiral and the intersecting spines of a nautilus shell have inspired an impressive 23m high stainless steel sculpture at Kangaroo Point Park overlooking Brisbane's river.

The Go-Between Bridge

With 14,000 vehicles crossing Brisbane's Go-Between Bridge every day, stainless reinforcement is playing a vital structural role on Brisbane's first inner city bridge in over 40 years.