Austenite is a non-magnetic steel made of carbon, iron, nickel, and chromium. It is easily handled in extreme temperatures, resists corrosion, and is used for food service equipment, architectural applications, and medical instruments. Austenitic stainless steel is one of the five classes of metallurgical structures, and is hardened by cold working. Molybdenum is added to aid in corrosion resistance to chlorides. Austenite is named after Sir William Chandler Roberts-Austen, an English metallurgist. Stainless steels are recyclable and used in a variety of applications, including kitchen appliances and power plants.
Austenite is a solid metallic and non-magnetic steel made up of carbon, iron, nickel and chromium. When steel is heated above 1350 degrees Fahrenheit (732 degrees Celsius), the atoms change to form austenite. This solid solution is easily handled in extreme temperatures and resists corrosion. These properties make it suitable for the production of food service equipment, architectural applications and medical instruments.
Austenistic stainless steel is one of the five classes of metallurgical structures. Austenitic stainless steels use chromium and nickel. Sometimes manganese and nitrogen are added. If the mixture consists of 18% chromium and 8% nickel, it is called 18-8. A combination of iron, chromium, and nickel is included in the 300 series. Surgical steel, type 304 in the series, contains 18 to 10% nickel and 18 to 20% chromium.
Temperatures above 1350° Fahrenheit (732° Celsius) cause iron to change into a face-centered cubic (FCC) crystalline configuration. When forging this steel, the austenite is flexible enough to shape and hammer out imperfections. Annealing is the process of constant heating of metal and then a gradual cooling process. Usually, stainless steel is sold annealed or in the soft state. Austenistic steel grades are hardened by cold working as opposed to heat treatment used for carbon steels.
Cold working is the forming of metal at a lower temperature than the molten state of that metal. Room temperature is fine for cold austenite. Cold work tool steels are used in dies, cutting shapes of steel, which form the metal at lower temperatures. An air hardened tool steel is often used to shape the molds.
Molybdenum is added to the nickel-chromium mixture to aid in corrosion resistance to chlorides. Corrosive chlorides include seawater or de-icing solutions used during snowy and icy weather. Residents in coastal areas and cold climates benefit from these rust resistant components of stainless steels.
Austenite is named after Sir William Chandler Roberts-Austen, an English metallurgist. Roberts-Austen, who died in London in 1902 at the age of 59, studied impurities in pure metals. His research and procedural improvements have been used in a variety of applications and have greatly influenced the industrialized world.
Stainless steels are recyclable, making all grades and blends a natural and eco-friendly choice. During recycling, steel is remelted and then made into new stainless steel. Type 304 austenitic stainless steel is used for today’s popular stainless steel kitchen appliances and range hoods. Austenistic stainless steels have also been used in superheaters and heating components of nuclear and conventional power plants.
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