304 stainless steel manufacturers

What exactly is "steel" and what are its characteristics? How did the 304, 304L, 316, and 316L we usually call come from, and what are the differences between them?

Steel: A material with iron as the main element, carbon content generally below 2%, and other elements. ——GB/T 13304-91 "Steel Classification"

Stainless steel: resistant to weak corrosive media such as air, steam, and water, or stainless steel. The commonly used steel grades are 304, 304L, 316, 316L, which are 300 series steels of austenitic stainless steel.

Performance introduction

304 stainless steel is the most common type of steel. As a widely used steel, it has good corrosion resistance, heat resistance, low temperature strength and mechanical properties; good hot workability such as stamping and bending, and no heat treatment hardening phenomenon (non-magnetic). , then use the temperature -196 ℃ ~ 800 ℃).

Generally speaking, 304 stainless steel and 316 stainless steel have little difference in chemical corrosion resistance, but they are different in some specific media.

The stainless steel originally developed is 304 stainless steel, which is sensitive to pitting corrosion under certain circumstances. Adding an additional 2-3% molybdenum reduced this sensitivity, thus giving birth to 316. In addition, these additional molybdenum can also reduce the corrosion of some hot organic acids.

In most cases, the corrosion resistance of 304 stainless steel and 316 stainless steel is not much different, but in some cases it may be very different and needs to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. Generally speaking, valve users should be aware of it, because they will choose the material of the container and pipeline according to the medium, and we do not recommend recommending materials to users.