4 ms·
How expensive (or otherwise impractical) is stainless steel, compared to regular steel?
by iwwr 16y ago
How expensive (or otherwise impractical) is stainless steel, compared to regular steel?
- CapitalistCartr 16y agoI work (partly) with the marine industry, where stainless is a common metal. The main problem is that there are many alloys of iron, of which that is only one, and each has its various benefits. Most bolts are rated grade 1-8. If a grade specific bolt is specified, then stainless is a problem. Or if vanadium (spring) steel is needed. Etc., etc.
- jws 16y agoStainless steel can have surprising failure modes. For instance, crevice corrosion[1]. The shiny stainless steel fittings holding up your sailboat mast can corrode straight through without more than some tiny telltale signs. You can see an example here: http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=107622 http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=107622 The manufacturing likely provided a tiny crack, splash a little salt water and next thing you know your sailboat's mast is in the water next to it trying to bash a hole in the hull. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crevice_corrosion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crevice_corrosion
- dtegart 16y agoStainless steel is also quite hard which means it can be a bit more brittle than milder steels, and probably not appropriate for some applications. Springs come to mind and any time the steel will have to dissipate heat quickly.