This article presents an overview of the developments in stainless steels made since the 1990s. Some of the new applications that involve the use of stainless steel are also introduced. A brief introduction to the various classes of stainless steels, their precipitate phases and the status quo of their production around the globe is given first. The advances in a variety of subject areas that have been made recently will then be presented. These recent advances include (1) new findings on the various precipitate phases (the new J phase, new orientation relationships, new phase diagram for the Fe–Cr system, etc.); (2) new suggestions for the prevention/mitigation of the different problems and new methods for their detection/measurement and (3) new techniques for surface/bulk property enhancement (such as laser shot peening, grain boundary engineering and grain refinement). Recent developments in topics like phase prediction, stacking fault energy, superplasticity, metadynamic recrystallisation and the calculation of mechanical properties are introduced, too. In the end of this article, several new applications that involve the use of stainless steels are presented. Some of these are the use of austenitic stainless steels for signature authentication (magnetic recording), the utilisation of the cryogenic magnetic transition of the sigma phase for hot spot detection (the Sigmaplugs), the new Pt-enhanced radiopaque stainless steel (PERSS) coronary stents and stainless steel stents that may be used for magnetic drug targeting. Besides recent developments in conventional stainless steels, those in the high-nitrogen, low-Ni (or Ni-free) varieties are also introduced. These recent developments include new methods for attaining very high nitrogen contents, new guidelines for alloy design, the merits/demerits associated with high nitrogen contents, etc.

Recent developments in stainless steels

Effect of heat input on the microstructure and mechanical properties of gas tungsten arc welded AISI 304 stainless steel joints

Influence of o-phase on mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of duplex stainless steels

On the pitting corrosion resistance of nitrogen alloyed cold worked austenitic stainless steels

On the development of the electrochemical potentiokinetic method

A systematic analytical electron microscopy (AEM) study was conducted on a series of AISI 304 stainless steels (SSs) to determine the mechanisms by which N affects Cr carbide precipitation and the associated Cr depletion at grain boundaries. Electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation (EPR) tests conducted on the steels indicate that N additions up to 0.16 wt% retard sensitization, but above 0.16 wt%, they promote it. The microstructural investigation revealed that an increasing N content consistently caused the bulk diffusion coefficient of Cr in austenite to decrease and the grain boundary Cr concentration to increase. The increase in the degree of sensitization (EPR tests) for Cr contents above 0.16 wt% was found to result from Cr carbides precipitating discontinuously, which resulted in grain boundary migration and, hence, wider Cr-depleted zones.

Electrochemical and Microstructural Investigation of Grain Boundary Precipitation in AISI 304 Stainless Steels Containing Nitrogen

Thermodynamic modeling of sensitization of AISI 304 stainless steels containing nitrogen

The effect of nitrogen and carbon on the stress corrosion cracking performance of sensitized AISI 304 stainless steel in chloride and sulfate solutions at 250°C

As a part of a study to develop a stainless steel (SS) with superior resistance to intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC), intergranular corrosion (IGC), and pitting corrosion, an...

Influence of Silicon on the Intergranular Corrosion Behavior of 18Cr-8Ni Stainless Steels

This paper describes the effect of silicon additions to an 18Cr-8Ni stainless steel (SS) on the resistance to pit initiation in halide media. Electrochemical polarization measurements cond...

B. E. Wilde

Papers

Electrochemical and Microstructural Investigation of Grain Boundary Precipitation in AISI 304 Stainless Steels Containing Nitrogen

Thermodynamic modeling of sensitization of AISI 304 stainless steels containing nitrogen

The effect of nitrogen and carbon on the stress corrosion cracking performance of sensitized AISI 304 stainless steel in chloride and sulfate solutions at 250°C

Influence of Silicon on the Intergranular Corrosion Behavior of 18Cr-8Ni Stainless Steels

The Influence of Silicon on the Pitting Corrosion Resistance of an 18Cr-8Ni Stainless Steel