I have an application for grade 304 stainless steel in the cold-worked concition - e.g. "half-hard" - and I would like to know a safe operating temperature that will not risk softening by recovery/annealling. The application is for a product that must last at least 15 years, and could be exposed to moderately elevated temperature (less than 200 deg. C).
Dear Dr. Roger Trefzger,
I think you can find useful information regarding the application of 304 stainless steel, by consulting the following free notes:
- https://www.nickelinstitute.org/media/1667/designguidelinesfortheselectionanduseofstainlesssteels_9014_.pdf
- https://www.nickelinstitute.org/media/1699/high_temperaturecharacteristicsofstainlesssteel_9004_.pdf
- https://www.bssa.org.uk/cms/File/StainlessSteels_at_HighTemperatures_EN.pdf
Best regards, Pierluigi Traverso
A skewed way of making sure of safe operating temperature without softening is from the failure data. Cold worked 304 SS fail by SCC in nuclear light water reactors whose operating temperature is either 288 C (for boiling water reactors) or ~ 320 C (pressurized water reactor). Therefore, we can say that no softening would occur below 320 C. Diffusion rate of interstitial elements increases above 400 C for the martensitic stainless steels. Diffusivity of interstitials will be slower in the fcc structure than in the bcc. Therefore, 400 C may be safe for short term applications, but
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