When the United States Navy required 35 lightweight transportable recompression chambers in the late 1980s, Cowan Manufacturing took up the challenge of developing the units. 

Cowan Manufacturing developed a prototype out of a virtually unknown material. It was duplex 2205 (UNS 31803) stainless steel.

No other manufacturer in the world was producing chambers out of 2205 and, after six years of negotiations, Cowan was sourced as the sole supplier of the chambers.

Cowan chose 2205 for its high strength, light weight and corrosion resistant properties. This enabled them to meet the Navy's requirements without the weight and corrosion problems of

Queensland Rail has achieved international recognition for its use of stainless steel in coal wagons by winning the ferritic stainless steel category in the Stainless Steel Awards in South Africa recently.

Entrants were judged on criteria including usage, application, substitution, growth, fitness for purpose, cost saving and effectiveness of solutions.

The award recognised Queensland Rail's use of weldable UNS S41 003 stainless steel as the preferred material for coal wagons. These wagons have performed successfully for 10 years.

According to Queensland Rail, the stainless has proven to be long lasting and low maintenance in comparison to aluminium and carbon steel

The Regency Institute of TAFE (Elizabeth Campus) in Adelaide has developed an exciting new course that will 'bridge the gap' in knowledge about the welding and fabrication of stainless steel.

Until now there have been only three fabrication and welding training modules available in Australia and they have all applied to light sheet metal. The need for a practical course to teach skills for heavier gauge stainless steel was identified by the Regency Institute of TAFE.

After close consultation with industry, the Regency Institute developed new modules that will fill this need by teaching skills appropriate for upskilling of existing

15 million dollars worth of stainless steel has been used to construct the largest rotary fermentation area in Australia.

The facility at Southcorp's Karadoc Winery in Victoria comprises 88 stainless steel red grade processing tanks, pipes and tubes, brine jackets and rotary fermenters.

Southcorp Wines Engineering Manager (Eastern Region) Geoff Leighton said stainless steel was preferred by the wine industry because it is "corrosion resistant, provides a stable environment for the wine, is easy to clean and maintain and has a long service life."

Grade 304 stainless steel was used for the tanks, with a thickness range of 2mm -

When the Gold Coast City Council was seeking a stable and visually stunning medium for use on their Kirra Point board walk project, they looked no further than stainless steel!

Geoff Clemence, Design Coordinator, said Council engineers chose stainless steel for the upright posts and moveable hand rail system for safety, corrosion resistance and aesthetic reasons.

"Stainless is far superior to wooden handrails in terms of safety and lasting life and will require far less maintenance," Mr Clemence said.

"From an aesthetic point of view, the stainless steel fits in beautifully with both the concrete pavement and the timber board

75 tonnes of stainless steel has been used to replace the floor in an enormous tank at QNI Limited's Yabulu Refinery near Townsville in North Queensland.

The tank is one of a series of seven thickener tanks, each of which is 50 metres in diameter. The purpose of the tanks is to form a counter current decant wash circuit for leached ore. Solid tailings are separated from liquor streams in the tanks which act as large settling devices, separating leached ore from a leached solution for the recovery of nickel and cobalt.

When the floor plate of one of the

As we pack up our Christmas decorations, vow to lose those extra kilos gained over the holidays and make plans for the new year, the festive season seems so long ago - not so far for travellers and pedestrians on St Kilda Road in Melbourne.

Perched in front of Central Equity's three new apartment buildings are 12 three metre tall stainless steel trees which, although not specifically designed as Christmas trees, have stylised conical shapes that have a distinctly Christmas 'feel' about them.

Central Equity commissioned Phillip Naughton of Design Inferno to design the trees to complement the prestigious $123

The common austenitic grades of stainless steel, 304 and 316, are also available with controlled low or high carbon contents, know as "L" and "H" variants, with particular applications.

Low carbon or "L" grades are used to prevent or delay sensitisation  of stainless steel at elevated temperatures and the resulting lower corrosion resistance. The problematic temperature zone is 450-850 °C, encountered during welding or specific application environments. "L" grades are often available in thicker selection sizes, greater than about 5mm in flat products.

High carbon or "H" grades are used for higher strength.

Substitution between standard, "L" and "H" grades

New (and extended) life has been injected into a Brisbane landmark courtesy of a stainless make over worth about $1.2 million. 

In an application believed to be the first of its kind in Queensland, engineers have used grade 316 stainless steel to replace the bearings on Brisbane's Victoria Bridge.

The transition from original carbon steel to stainless has increased the service life of the bearings to at least 50 years from 30 years, giving the Brisbane City Council at least 20 years before the enormous labour and logistical costs of servicing bearings is required.

he bridge, opened in 1969, spans

A Melbourne artist and designer is using stainless steel to blur the lines between form and functionality. 

Colin Kirkpatrick from Modifie Designs adapts geometric shapes inspired by sculpture to create works that can transform from conversation pieces to coffee tables in seconds.

Cubes and three dimensional rectangular shapes are fabricated from grade 304 stainless steel sheeting welded to a timber subframe, then attached to castors for mobility and versatility.

The custom-sized shapes can be used as either furniture or sculpture and as a single unit or separated into individual pieces.

The Modifie range also includes coffee tables with stainless steel

When millions around the world watch the Sydney Olympic Games this September, they will also be experiencing the best of Australian architecture, with particular emphasis on stainless steel.

Stadium Australia, located at Homebush Bay in Sydney's inner city in the centrepiece of the Olympic site. Here, events such as the opening and closing ceremonies and the track and field program will be played out. Closer examination of the sit reveals the use of stainless steel in a myriad of applications, both aesthetic and functional. Perhaps more importantly, the use of stainless steel helps meet the organiser's "green" commitment: to use

Sports fans trekking to Melbourne's Colonial Stadium will enter the ground via a 200 metre long, 20 metre wide bridge shrouded in stainless. 

The Bourke Street Pedestrian Bridge, which connects Spencer Street Station to the eastern entrance of the $460 million sporting arena, opened in March 2000, makes extensive use of stainless steel to stunning effect.

A 200 metre long canopy comprising 14 rolled cascading stainless steel sheets divided in sections by red coated curved steel antlers protects pedestrians queuing on the south side of the bridge. The antlers, made from carbon steel, provide lighting and primary support to the

1,200 tonnes of stainless steel plate and coil and over 47,000 metres of stainless steel pipe and tube has been used in the construction of a new $400 million unbleached pulp and paper mill in Tumut, New South Wales. 

The Visy Pulp and Paper Mill will produce 240,000 tonnes of unbleached kraft pulp and packaging paper annually, to be supplied to domestic and overseas markets.

Raw materials for the plant will come from local plantation timber sawmill residues and pulp materials from softwood plantations, and supplemented by domestic and commercially derived waste paper. The plant is being built using the

Reasons for using stainless steel threaded fasteners are the same as those for selecting other stainless steel components - generally resistance to corrosive or high temperature environments. In addition to the obvious benefits in improved aesthetics and longevity however, there can be significant cost savings if the joint will require disassembly and reassembly.

GRADES AND STANDARDS
Corrosion resistant fasteners are available 'off the shelf' in a variety of materials but by far the most comprehensive range is in stainless steel with more than 6 000 items available in Australia and many thousands more able to be sourced at short notice.

Sixty tonnes of stainless steel has been exported to Hong Kong as part of an innovative Australian-designed and manufactured kit form, large span skylight project worth three quarters of a million dollars. 

The 42 gable trussed skylights and sub-frames in varying sizes up to four metres wide and eight metres long were installed in a $90 million dollar treatment plant commissioned by the Hong Kong Government.

Grade 316 stainless steel was used for the skylight's precision pre-cut sub-frame members, welded maintenance ladders, lntalok mechanism assemblies, special profiles, on sight assembly jigs, pivots and fixings.

The project specified that the skylights

A special grade of stainless steel is being used in an Australian-developed environmentally friendly energy production method. 

Solid oxide fuel cells extract the energy from fuels such as natural gas by electrochemical rather than traditional combustion means. producing cheaper, cleaner and more convenient eledricity.

lnterconned material made from half to one millimetre thick SAS 'Self Aluminising Steel' sheet conneds individual fuel cells together, conduding eledricity and heat within the fuel cell stack. The fuel cells are the brainchild of Melbourne-based company Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited and have been in development for eight years.

Managing Diredor, Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited, Dr

A tranquil oasis has been created amid the bustle of Brisbane's Central Business District, with the help of stainless. 

'a tree a rock a cloud', by Brisbane-based artist Barbara Heath, blends symbols of the innovation and achievement of business with images from the area's original landscape.

The five metre long, three and a half metre wide and tall sculpture, located outside Central Plaza Two, features 21 stainless steel 'fins' and a gold titanium-clad stainless steel cloud, all mounted on a stainless steel base plate. The base plate is hidden from view by stones in a pool of water.

The resulting

The Workhorse of Hydrometallurgy

Posted 17 May 200

Stainless steel has earned a reputation as the material of choice for the mining and hydrometallurgical industries. This article discusses suitable grades and applications and the emerging opportunities for stainless steel in these industries.

Hydrometallurgy involves the extraction and refining of metals in aqueous solutions. It encompasses a range of processes such as leaching, solvent extraction, ion exchange, electrorefining, electrowinning, precipitation and solid/liquid separation for numerous metals including copper, zinc, nickel, cobalt, uranium, gold, silver, aluminium and rare earths. As stainless steel is the 'workhorse' material for many of these processes, especially

ASSDA's Stainless Steel Specialist Course has been incorporated into apprenticeship education by Australia's largest private provider of engineering training.

ASSDA member First Choice Training Group is delivering the Stainless Steel Specialist Course as part of the Standard Apprenticeship Certificate Three in Engineering Fabrication (Trade).

Principal Training Consultant, Carl Spruce said the Stainless Steel Specialist Course provided theory lacking in the stainless steel industry.

"There has been a perception that there needs to be better training in the industry and that the existing training was not appropriate," Mr Spruce said.

"Customisation for the stainless steel industry required specialised information and ASSDA

Stainless steels are widely used in the food industries, including wine production, because of their corrosion resistance and ease of cleaning which result in negligible product contamination.

Long life can be expected from stainless steel equipment provided care is taken with:

> Vessel design
> Grade selection
> Fabrication procedures
> Maintenance practices.

The precautions to be taken are not complicated but are most important - neglecting to follow them can lead to rapid failure.

VESSEL DESIGN
Much can be done in the detailed design to improve corrosion resistance. The two cardinal rules are:

1. Design for complete and free