stainless integral to design

A dam upgrade project in South Australia has achieved a world-first zero carbon footprint for water infrastructure and has used stainless steel as part of the unique design. The Little Para Dam upgrade incorporates a Hydroplus Fusegate System, with stainless steel fabrication carried out by ASSDA Accredited Fabricator LWA Engineering.

The Fusegates are similar to those built at Jindabyne for the Snowy Hydro in 2007, featuring a cast in-situ concrete design with stainless steel inlet wells and seal fixings in order to provide a 100 year design life and virtually no maintenance.

Australian innovation

Marine applications of stainless steel have traditionally relied on the material’s corrosion resistance and strength. But when it comes to marine rescue vessels, safety is also a top priority.

Southport’s Volunteer Marine Rescue (VMR) is currently trialling an Australian innovation designed to enhance safety.

The Klein Architectural Grip (KAG) Rail, developed by ASSDA Accredited Fabricator Klein Architectural (Slacks Creek, Queensland), has permanent swages and ridges that fit the shape of a closed hand.

The ‘non-slip’ rail was originally designed for the industrial marine sector, where rails and workers’ hands are often wet and

Strength and corrosion resistance vital

As wild fish stocks decline globally, the spotlight is increasingly being shone on humane stun and slaughter methods in the rapidly growing aquaculture industry. Stainless steel components fabricated by Pryde Fabrication (ASSDA Accredited) are an integral part of a Brisbane innovation that is leading the way internationally in a shift towards faster and more humane automated percussive stun methods.

Seafood Innovations International Group Pty Ltd has spent around 10 years developing fish harvest technology which enables fish to swim naturally until the second they are stunned, reducing stress on the fish and improving flesh quality.

purge welding to minimise heat tint

Stainless steel is frequently specified for food production, pharmaceutical, chemical and industrial applications due to its corrosion resistance and cleanability. It is vital in these sorts of applications to avoid or remove the oxide heat tint or scale that forms when weld metal is melted, because this heat tint is non-protective and provides a place for bugs to settle or for corrosion to start in certain conditions. Purge welding is particularly useful in these circumstances if no post weld cleaning is possible, e.g. inside tubes.

What is heat tint?

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Guidelines to Ensure Long Service Life

Design engineers frequently specify stainless steel in industrial piping systems and tanks for its excellent corrosion resistance. While stainless steel’s unique characteristics make it a standout leader in the durability stakes of alloys, it is not completely immune to corrosion.

Premature failures of the stainless steel can occur due to Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC). This corrosion phenomenon usually occurs when raw water used for hydrostatic pressure tests is not fully removed from the pipework and there is an extended period before commissioning of the equipment. The result is localised pitting corrosion attack from microbacterial

Stainless Technology Essential

Guaranteeing water supply in Australia is thirsty work. Western Australia’s new Southern Seawater Desalination Plant, currently under construction north of Bunbury, will help quench Perth residents and businesses with up to 100 billion litres of water a year. In such a highly-corrosive salt water environment stainless steel is a natural fit.

Sea water is pumped from the ocean and its high salinity is extremely corrosive. The desalination plant uses reverse osmosis to purify the sea water, essentially pushing it through a fine membrane at high pressure.

The first pass (first membrane) is the most corrosive environment which

Maximum impact two years on

Coloured stainless steel has helped revitalise what has become one of Victoria’s largest and most recognisable shopping precincts – Westfield Doncaster.

In late 2008 Westfield completed a major redevelopment and refurbishment of the Doncaster shopping centre (located 20 minutes east of Melbourne’s CBD), doubling the complex’s size.

Central to the centre’s new look and feel is the building’s ultra contemporary and striking cladded facade that features coloured and patterned stainless steel supplied by Steel Color Australia Pty Ltd.

Steel Color Australia owner Vince Araullo said more than 600 square metres of grade 304 stainless steel