STAINLESS
STEELS

RANGE OF MATERIALS

Stainless steels, or stainless steels, are iron-based alloys that combine the typical mechanical properties of steels with peculiar characteristics of resistance to corrosion. They were discovered by Harry Brearly of Sheffield, England: in 1913, while experimenting with steels for gun barrels, he discovered that one of his steel samples with 13-14% chromium and a relatively high carbon content (0.25%) did not rust when exposed to the atmosphere.

Later this property was explained by the passivation of chromium, which forms an extremely thin, continuous and stable oxide film on the surface. Subsequent advances in metallurgy between the 1940s and 1960s extended their development and applications.

• Stainless steel
• Martensitic stainless steel
• Ferritic stainless steel
• Austenitic stainless steel