Article
Article
Stainless steel
Article By:
Grubb, John F. ATI Allegheny Ludlum, Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.650600
The name used for the group of iron-base alloys that have more than 10% by weight of chromium and that exhibit phenomenal resistance to rusting and corrosion. The metallic element chromium (Cr) has been used in small amounts to strengthen steel since the second half of the nineteenth century; but only in the early twentieth century was it discovered that contents with chromium exceeding 10%, with carbon (C) held suitably low, make iron effectively rustproof. Onset of the property is striking (Fig. 1), and the chromium can then be increased to over 30% with even further chemical advantages before the metal becomes structurally useless. See also: Alloy; Steel
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
