Introduction
Stainless steel is a marvel of modern metallurgy,renowned for its durability,corrosion resistance and sleek appearance. From kitchen utensils to skyscrapers, people is wielding stainless steel across industries. But what makes it so unique? Let’s delve into history to explore how it is born and why it continues to dominate as a leading choice of people.
What is Stainless Steel?
Carbon steel vs stainless steel
According to Wikipedia and the History of Stainless steel,Stainless steel(also known as inox,corrosion-resistance steel or rustless steel)is an iron-based alloy containing a minimum of 10.5% chromium. The main function of the chromium is to form a passive oxide layer,main substance is Cr2O3(an oxide of chromium) on the surface of iron.This oxide layer prevents the original iron from contacting with acids and bases,making the iron less likey to corrode so that it offers the iron corrosion-resistance.
Besides,the chromium can also transfer the electrode of pure iron from negative to positive(carbon from positive to negative).Because the carbon steel contains carbon, limited to the technology,when the steel is exposed to the water, the combination of iron and carbon helps uplift the corrosion speed of iron,called electrodechemical errosion(using the principal of the galvanic cell) .But with the chromium,the new combinatuion is less likely to happen electrodechemical erossion,increasing the corrosion resistance further.The name of stainless steel originates from the character of errosion-resistance,but it is far more poweful than the name.
A multi-dimensionally strong iron
Apart from the property of corrosion resistance,some elements like molybedum and nickel are also added to the the comination of iron and chromium,in order to make the substance more ductile,stronger and more heat resistant.About the molybedum,because of its high melting point,it is added to the iron to increase its heat resistant.Speaking of nickel,the combination of nickel and iron can form a special structure,called austenite.This kind of structure can strengthen the ductility of metal,making it stronger.
What’more,because nowadays people have the ability to forge steel in a large scale,the price of steel drops significantly.Compared with the steel, the stainless steel is just an original one mixed with other metals,so it is one of the cheapest alloy in the world.All in all,such alloy has become one of the strongest and high quality-price ratio alloys in the human history and it starts to be used in all aspects of lives.
Why does Stainless Steel reign the 21 century?
The increasing demand for construction material
In the 21st century, the rapid development of populous nations like China and India has necessitated large-scale infrastructure projects—from railways to airports—to accommodate urbanization and economic growth. Simultaneously, aging infrastructure in developed countries, much of which was built in the 20th century, requires urgent modernization and expansion. These incresing global demands have intensified the demand for durable, cost-effective construction materials.
Stainless steel has emerged as a standout solution. Beyond its inherent advantages, such as corrosion resistance and excellent strength, its recyclability and longevity align with growing environmental priorities, offering a sustainable alternative to single-use or non-recyclable materials.Nowadays,when we we pass a construction site,we can see thousand of brackets made by this material.
However,although such alloy is considered to be prone to be recycled compared with plastic, substance that is widely used in people’s lives,we still couldn’t neglect the negative effect it will have on the environment.According to Zhang&Hong(2011)‘s research,the wastes of the stainless steel are mainly two types,stainless slags and stainless dusts.Both of them are harmful to the environment,so we should put more emphasis on the reuse of stainless steel in order to alleviate the price of using it.
The sufficient supply for material
Furthermore, as China and India increasingly prioritize industrial development, their expanded production capacities have significantly boosted the global supply of stainless steel. According to Harald&Anna(2019)’s research, the production of the stainless steel keeps increasing dramatically.
Besides,after 2000, the globalization have gone mainstream.Every country can acts as a unique protagonist in the gloabl trade and share the benefits of it by becoming part of the global chain.
As a result, this surge in availability and the smooth running of the global trade have positioned the stainless steel as both an economical and an efficient choice for manufacturers across sectors—from construction to automotive engineering.Although the unit production of the metal has decreased to a relative small level thanks to the development of technology.
But what we should care about is that the amount production of the alloy is hugely increasing because of the soaring demand,so the total enery cost doesn’t keep constant or descending,but ascending at a steep slope. Consequently,although it seems that we still have nearly innumerable iron and other metal resource beneath the ground, we should develop new material to supplant this kind of traditional material for the sake of our descendants.
The versatility of stainless steel
Under most people’s cognition,stainless steel is recognized as cumbersome,dull and maybe paucity of aesthetics,so it is widely used in heavy industries,like car manufacturers,construction sites and military ones which don’t care about the agility and esthetics overarchingly.Truly,the material is widely used in these fields.Stainless steel sheet metal and stainless steel sheets are two ways the material are used in the industry.
However,stainless steel is far more versatile competently than most people’s thought, it can also be used in the aerospace field,which pays attention to the weight first,not the price.For example,Aerospace giants like SpaceX use 3D-printed stainless steel to create light weight,complex rocket components.The cornerstone rocket,namely Starship, of Mask’s established plan of immigrating people to the Mars is built in this new kind of material.
What’s more,the stainless steel can also be applied to the art or architecture field.For example, the Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate sculpture(“The Bean”)uses this material to give birth to mirror-like finish. Some architectures also tap this material to help them depict a brand-new visual aesthetics.(You can see the polished stainless steel shining in the picture)Besides,in the manufacturing of some products,like the production of electrical machinery, this material is insupplanted due to its special charcter.
To conclude,the stainless steel is far more versatile than you might think of originally.In the future, this material may show itself in more fields,keep making contributions to people’s lives.
What can our firm offer you？
We,Shanghai kaitao, are a company devoted to processing stainless steel for more than 25 years.We have cooperated with one of the best stainless steel makers in the world,so that the quality of the raw material of our products is guaranteed.Besides,we possess advanced cnc machines,sheet metal machines,die-casting machines and stainless steel polish machines to better process stainless steel.We have a series of quality control process to ensure the appearance quality of our products.We also own quality control machines to recheck the quality of products,including surface roughness tester, salt spray tester and tension tester.As a result, worry about the quality of our products is superfluous.
We have cooperated with wide range of industries in the world,including automotive industry and scientific instruments industry.So we have developed stainless steel brake lines .Our products include most of products in stainless steel,including brake,chasis,scale base,hard drive bay and more.We will serve each customer with our best quality.Hope we can cooperate with you,offering you the most excellent experience.