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Duplex stainless steels have become important competitors to austenitic stainless steels in many applications and a great deal of attention has focused on the welding aspects. The introduction of modern grades with improved properties and a competitive price level have increased their use in the offshore, petrochemical and shipbuilding industries, for example. In particular the newer grades, with their higher nitrogen content and improved weldability, have moved duplex stainless steels from a position as “interesting” materials to one of “useful in practice”. However, duplex stainless steels differ from austenitic grades in some respects, and know‐how combined with the use of appropriate welding procedures and consumables is therefore the key to successful welding.

Friction welding is a solid state bonding process, where the joint between two metals has been established without melting the metal. The relative motion between the faying surfaces (surfaces to be joined) under the application of pressure promotes surface interaction, friction and heat generation which subsequently results in joint formation. Stainless steel is an iron based alloy, contains various combinations of other elements to give desired characteristics, and found a wider range of applications in the areas such as petro‐chemical, fertilizer, automotive, food processing, cryogenic, nuclear and beverage sectors. In order to exploit the complete advantages of stainless steels, suitable joining techniques are highly demanded. The Friction welding is an easily integrated welding method of stainless steel, which considered as non‐weldable through fusion welding. Grain coarsening, creep failure and failure at heat‐affected zone are the major limitations of fusion welding of similar stainless steels. Friction welding eliminates such pitfalls. In the present work an attempt is made to investigate experimentally, the mechanical and metallurgical properties of friction welded joints, namely, austenitic stainless steel (AISI 304) and ferritic stainless steel (AISI 430). Evaluation of the characteristics of welded similar stainless steel joints are carried out through tensile test, hardness measurement and metallurgical investigations.

The construction of the early platforms in the North Sea often stretched materials technology to its limits and sometimes beyond them. There are many instances where major pumps or piping systems have had to be replaced either because the original materials were not sufficient for the duty or because the process fluids have become more corrosive during the life of the oilfield. The paper reviews the considerable work that has been carried out in recent years specially directed at developing stainless steels capable of withstanding a number of the harsh corrosion environments met on off‐shore platforms. The latest stainless steels are able to withstand all the standard seawater duties without suffering from localised pitting or crevice corrosion. Their resistance to hydrogen sulphide stress corrosion means they can cope with the most sour process fluids at present met in the North Sea.

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a study on friction characteristics of plasma, salt‐bath and gas nitrided layers produced in AISI 304 type austenitic and AISI 420 type martensitic stainless steels.

Plasma nitriding processes were carried out with DC‐pulsed plasma in 80% N₂+20% H₂ atmosphere at 450°C and 520°C for 8 h at a pressure of 2 mbar. Salt‐bath nitriding was performed in a cyanide‐cyanate salt‐bath at 570°C for 1.5 h. Gas nitriding was also conducted in NH₃ and CO₂ atmosphere at 570°C for 13 h. Characterization of all nitrided samples has been carried out by means of microstructure, microhardness, surface roughness measurement and friction coefficient. The morphologies of the worn surfaces of the nitrided samples were also observed using a scanning electron microscope. Friction characteristics of the nitrided samples have been investigated using a ball‐on‐disc friction and wear tester with a WC‐Co ball as the counterface under dry sliding conditions.

The plasma nitrided and salt‐bath nitrided layers on the 420 steel surfaces were much thicker than on the 304 steel surfaces. However, there was no obvious and homogeneous nitrided layer on the gas nitrided samples' surface. The plasma and salt‐bath nitriding techniques significantly increased the surface hardness of the 304 and 420 samples. The highest surface hardness of the 304 nitrided samples was obtained by the plasma nitrided technique at 520°C. On the other hand, the highest surface hardness of the 420 nitrided layers was observed in the 450°C plasma nitrided layer. Experimental friction test results showed that the salt‐bath and 450°C plasma nitrided layers were more effective in reducing the friction coefficient of the 304 and 420 stainless steels, respectively.

The relatively poor hardness and hence wear resistance of austenitic and martensitic stainless steels needs to be improved. Friction characteristic is a key property of performance for various applications of austenitic and martensitic stainless steels. This work has reported a comparison of friction characteristics of austenitic 304 and martensitic 420 stainless steels, modified using plasma, salt‐bath and gas nitriding processes. The paper is of significances for improving friction characteristics, indirectly wear performances, of austenitic and martensitic stainless steels.

Stainless steel is rapidly achieving pre‐eminence as a favoured material of construction due, no doubt, to the fact that for many applications in chemical plant it is the only material that can fulfil the stringent requirements as well as ensuring minimum maintenance costs. This article describes the constitution of stainless steels and their physical, mechanical and corrosion properties. Finally, their importance to the chemical plant designer is surveyed.

Generally, of all the properties, corrosion resistance can be a prime consideration in determining whether a given alloy or metal is adequate for a proposed use. With the increasing ability to fabricate many alloys and metals into fibre material of extremely small diameter, a better knowledge of their chemical properties as related to their unique size becomes more essential since many of the potential applications involve exposure to corrosive environments. This article reviews the corrosion resistance of Brunsmet MF‐A1 stainless steel fibres produced by the Brunswick Corp., Chicago, Illinois.

With the popularization of electronic products, the electromagnetic radiation pollution has been the fourth largest pollution after water, air and noise pollution. Therefore, electromagnetic shielding property of textiles is attracting more attention. In this paper, the properties of electromagnetic shielding yarns and fabrics were studied.

Ten kinds of yarn, stainless steel short fiber and polyester blend yarn with three different blending ratios T/S 90/10, T/S 80/20 and T/S 70/30, stainless steel short fiber, polyester and cotton blend yarn with blending ratio C/T/S 35/35/30, core-spun yarn with one 30 um stainless steel filament C/T28tex/S(30 um), core-spun yarn with two 15 um stainless steel filaments (C/T28tex/S(15 um)/S(15 um)), twin-core-spun yarn with one 30 um stainless steel filament and one 50D spandex filament C/T28tex/S(30 um)/SP(50D), sirofil wrapped yarn with one 30 um stainless steel filament feeding from left S(30 um)+C/T28tex, sirofil wrapped yarn with one 30 um stainless steel filament feeding from right C/T28tex+S(30 um), sirofil wrapped yarn with two 15 um stainless steel filaments feeding from two sides S(15 um)+C/T28tex+ S(15 um), were spun. The qualities of spun yarns were measured. Then, for analyzing the electromagnetic shielding properties of fabrics made of different spun yarns, 20 kinds of fabrics were woven.

The tested results show that comparing to the T/S 80/20 blend yarn, the resistivity of composite yarns with the same ratio of the stainless steel filament is smaller. The possible reason is that comparing to the stainless steel short fiber, the conductivity of stainless steel filament is better because of the continuous distribution of stainless steel in the filament. Comparing with the core-spun yarn, the conductivity of the sirofil wrapped yarn is a little better. Comparing to the fabric woven by the blend yarn, the electromagnetic shielding of the fabric woven by the composite yarn is better, and comparing to the fabric woven by the core-spun yarn, the electromagnetic shielding of the fabric woven by the sirofil yarn is a little better. The possible reason is that the conduction network can be produced by the stainless steel filament wrapped on the staple fiber yarn surface in the fabric, and the electromagnetic wave can be transmitted in the network.

In this paper, the properties of electromagnetic shielding yarns and fabrics were studied. Ten kinds of yarn, including three stainless steel short fiber and polyester blend yarns, one stainless steel short fiber, polyester and cotton blend yarn, two core-spun yarns, one twin-core-spun yarn, three sirofil wrapped yarn, were spun. Then, for analyzing the electromagnetic shielding properties of fabrics made of different spun yarns, 20 kinds of fabrics were woven. The effects of fabric warp and weft densities, fabric structures, yarn kinds, yarn distributions in the fabric on electromagnetic shielding were analyzed.

Compares the corrosion behaviour of Ti6Al4V titanium alloy, a conventional duplex stainless steel (UNS 31803) and AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel in synthetic biofluids using electrochemical techniques and comments on the suitability of DSS for use in biomedical applications. Finds that the general corrosion resistance of duplex stainless steels is slightly inferior to that of austenitic stainless steel and titanium alloy; duplex stainless steel does not show any sign of pitting when exposed to synthetic biofluids and exhibits excellent resistance to localised corrosion on par with that of titanium alloy. Concludes that duplex stainless steels are one of the best alternates to titanium alloys.

Concrete in-filled stainless steel square tubular column combines both the benefits of concrete and steel material, providing enhanced ductility and high compressive strength to the vertical structural members. Other advantages include high stiffness, better resistance to corrosion, increased pace of construction, enhanced bearing capacity, etc. The purpose of this paper is to understand the various behavioural aspects of concrete in-filled cold-formed duplex stainless steel (CI-CFDSS) square tubular column under axial compressive loads and to assess its structural performance.

In the current paper, the performance of CI-CFDSS square tubular column is numerically investigated under uniform static loading using finite element technique. The numerical study was based on an experimental investigation, which was carried out earlier, in order to study the effects of concrete strength and shape of stainless steel tube on the strength and behaviour of CI-CFDSS square tubular column. The experimental CI-CFDSS square tubular column has a length equal to 450 mm, breadth of 150 mm, width of 150 mm, thickness of 6 mm and a constant ratio of length to overall depth equal to 3. Numerical modelling of the experimental specimen was carried out using ABAQUS software by providing appropriate material properties. Non-linear finite element analysis was performed and the load vs axial deflection curve of the numerical CI-CFDSS square tubular column obtained was validated with the results of the experiment. In order to understand the behaviour of CI-CFDSS square tubular column under axial compressive loads, a parametric study was performed by varying the grade of concrete, type of stainless steel, thickness of stainless steel tube and shape of cross section. From the results, the performance of CI-CFDSS square tubular column was comparatively studied.

When the grade of concrete was increased the deformation capacity of the CI-CFDSS square tubular column reduced but showed better load carrying capacity. The steel tube made of duplex stainless steel exhibited enhanced performance in terms of load carrying capacity and axial deformation than the other forms, i.e. austenitic and ferritic stainless steel. The most suitable cross section for the CI-CFDSS square tubular column with respect to its performance is rectangular cross section and variation of the steel tube thickness led to the change of overall dimensions of the N-CI-CFDSS-SHS1C40 square tubular column showing marginal difference in performance.

The research work presented in this manuscript is authentic and could contribute to the understanding of the behavioural aspects of CI-CFDSS square tubular column under axial compressive loads.

Stainless-clad bimetallic steels (SCBS) are widely investigated in some extremely environmental applications areas, such as polar sailing area and tropical oil and gas platforms areas, because of their excellent anticorrosion performance and relatively lower production costs. However, the properties of SCBS, including the mechanical strength, weldability and the anticorrosion behavior, have a direct relation with the manufacturing process and can affect their practical applications. This paper aims to review the application and the properties requirements of SCBS in marine environments to promote the application of this new material in more fields.

In this paper, the manufacturing process, welding and corrosion-resistant properties of SCBS were introduced systematically by reviewing the related literatures, and some results of the authors’ research group were also introduced briefly.

Different preparation methods, such as rolling composite, casting rolling composite, explosive composite, laser cladding and plasma arc cladding, as well as the process parameters, including the vacuum degree, rolling temperature, rolling reduction ratio, volume ratios of liquid to solid, explosive ratio and the heat treatment, influenced a lot on the properties of the SCBS through changing the interface microstructures. Otherwise, the variations in rolling temperature, pass, reduction and the grain size of clad steel also brought the dissimilarities of the mechanical properties, microhardness, bonding strength and toughness. Another two new processes, clad teeming method and interlayer explosive welding, deserve more attention because of their excellent microstructure control ability. The superior corrosion resistance of SCBS can alleviate the corrosion problem in the marine environment and prolong the service life of the equipment, but the phenomenon of galvanic corrosion should be noted as much as possible. The high dilution rate, welding process specifications and heat treatment can weaken the intergranular corrosion resistance in the weld area.

This paper summarizes the application of SCBS in marine environments and provides an overview and reference for the research of stainless-clad bimetallic steel.