Stainless Steel and Low Temperature Applications

Stainless steels is commonly used to service temperatures anywhere as low as, -269 degC. This is due to the lack of defined transition from ductile to brittle fractures in impact toughness testing.The cold working of austenitic stainless steels can also affect their cryogenic toughness. Austenitic stainless steels such as 304 and 316 are tough at cryogenic temperatures and can be classified as 'cryogenic steels'.They can be considered suitable for sub-zero temperatures sometimes mentioned in service specifications, sub-arctic, and arctic applications down to -40°C.This is the result of face centered cube (fcc), the atomic structure of the austenite, which is the result of the nickel addition to these steels. Austenitic do not display an impact, of ductile / brittle transition, but progressive reduction of impact values as the temperature is lowered. Welded areas may be at risk of brittle failure at extremely low temperatures, as ferrite levels in the welds are higher than the surrounding wrought steel as to avoid cracking on solidification. One reason making LiZheng a suitable candidate for stainless inquires for your helical coil applications.