Discussion on the use of stainless steel in constructions in view of sustainability

Abstract

Recent years have seen an increase in the use of stainless steel in buildings, mainly owing to its corrosion properties and therefore long service life. Among stainless steels, ferritic and lean duplex grades are characterized by low nickel content resulting in a more cost-stable and economic material compared to austenitic stainless steels. These grades have comparable (or even higher) strength than carbon steel and good corrosion resistance at lower cost. That is why, lately, they have been more often used in structural components. In this paper, attention is firstly paid to the advantages associated with the use of stainless steel in recent construction STAINLESS STEEL IN CONSTRUCTION APPLICATIONS General introductionStainless steel is a steel alloy that contains more than 10.5% of chromium. The chromium content in mass ranges from 10.5% to 30% [1]. Depending on the microstructure, four families of stainless steel exist: martensitic, ferritic, austenitic and austeno-ferritic (duplex) stainless steels. Their physical, chemical and mechanical properties vary with the chemical composition (and consequently the family) but each of them is characterized by the ability of forming a selfrepairing protective oxide layer providing corrosion resistance, a higher chromium content enhancing the corrosion and oxidation resistance. In addition to this, nickel -which is present in the chemical composition of austenitic and duplex grades -extends the scope of aggressive environments that stainless steels can support. Figure 1 shows the range of chromium and nickel content of the four families of stainless steels.The most popular grade is the austenitic grade 1.4301 (AISI 304) containing 18% chromium and 8% nickel. This grade has excellent corrosion resistance and is highly ductile. In the construction domain, this grade is available in the following forms: sheet, plate, welded mesh, bar and sections. More specific alloy additions enhance the corrosion resistance. The 1.4401 (AISI 316) grade containing an addition of molybdenum has improved corrosion resistance and is usually regarded as the outdoor grade (sometimes even labelled as the marine grade).While in atmospheres containing chlorides (e.g. indoor swimming pools), especially if the surface cannot be cleaned regularly, specific grades, such as super austenitic grades 1.4529 and 1.4565 for example, offer good alternatives.Ferritic grades do not contain nickel. At ambient temperature, the stress-strain behaviour of these grades is similar to the one of traditional carbon steel while austenitic grades present a large strain-hardening domain up to 50% of elongation at fracture (see Figure 2). Ferritic grades differ principally from austenitic grades in that they have higher mechanical strengths (approx. 250-330 N/mm 2 0.2% proof strength) and lower thermal expansion (10 to 12 10 -6 K -1 ).Duplex types, presenting a microstructure made of austenite and ferrite, share some of the properties of both families, and are mechanically stronger than either ferritic or austenitic ty...

12.14: Ultimate response and design of stainless steel continuous beams

“…Stainless steel is a novel construction material that can be utilised in a range of structural applications due to its favourable structural properties. In addition to its high stiffness, strength and ductility, it possesses high durability, which makes it an ideal solution for exposed structural elements, since it eliminates the need for a protective coating [1,2], thus reducing the maintenance cost over the life-cycle of a structure [3,4]. Despite the absence of a well-defined yield stress, current European design standards for stainless steel [5] adopt an equivalent yield stress and assume an elastic-perfectly plastic behaviour for stainless steel as for carbon steel in an attempt to maintain consistency with traditional carbon steel design guidance [6].…”

Effect of Uncertainty in Localized Imperfection on the Ultimate Compressive Strength of Cold-Formed Stainless Steel Hollow Sections

“…These sections undergo local buckling reduction in advance of failure and their ultimate capacity may be influenced by the uncertainty in localized imperfection. Nevertheless, research related to the effect of uncertainty in localized imperfection on the ultimate compressive strength of cold-formed stainless steel RHS and SHS has not been explicitly reported, even though they have been studied for structural applications at the material, member, and system levels [1,17,[19][20][21][22][23].…”

“…The basic alloying elements of stainless steel grades are chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni). According to Cr-Ni content by mass, stainless steels can be classified into five basic groups [1,2], as shown in Figure 1. The five types are austenitic, ferritic, austenitic-ferritic (duplex), martensitic, and precipitation hardening stainless steels.…”

Computational Design of a Novel Medium-Carbon, Low-Alloy Steel Microalloyed with Niobium

“…Steel has played and will continue to play a major role in the development of modern societies [1][2][3]. Materials scientists continue to devote themselves to the development of new steels in order to meet the ever-increasing demands for better performing steels [4][5][6][7].…”