What Is Stainless Steel?
Stainless steel 316 SS Mechanical Tubing is the name of a high alloy steel used mainly for its anti-corrosion properties. The main characteristic of the stainless steel family is that they all contain a minimum of 10.5 percent of chromium. This enables the steel to withstand corrosive atmospheres or erosive chemical environments. There are over 60 different grades of stainless steel that is divided into 5 different categories. Stainless steel is more expensive than carbon and alloy steel and only accounts for a small number of steel used in the global market, but it is non the less a very valuable international market.
What Is Corrossion?
Stainless steel is susceptible to certain types of corrosion despite the fact that one of the main reasons for using stainless steel is its resistance to corrosion. The different kinds of corrosion affecting stainless steel are: General Corrosion, pitting corrosion, crevice corrosion, stress corrosion cracking, sulphide stress corrosion cracking, intergranular corrosion, galvanic corrosion and contact corrosion.
Corrosion in stainless steel occurs when the protective layer of chromium-oxide (Cr2O3) is broken down. This can spread as microscopic or visibly spots over the surface of the steel.
| 316 SS Mechanical Tubing may be specified to only two of the three following dimensions-outside diameter, inside diameter, or wall. |
| OD Size, in.(mm) | OD, ± | ID, ± | ||
| in. | mm | in. | mm | |
| Up to 3/32 (2.4), excl | 0.001 | 0.03 | 0.001 | 0.03 |
| 3/32 to 3/16(2.4 to 4.8), excl | 0.0015 | 0.038 | 0.0015 | 0.038 |
| 3/16 to 1/2 (4.8 to 12.7), excl | 0.003 | 0.08 | 0.005 | 0.13 |
| 1/2 to 1 (12.7 to 25.4), excl | 0.004 | 0.1 | 0.006 | 0.15 |
| 1 to 1 1/2 (25.4 to 38.1), excl | 0.005 | 0.13 | 0.007 | 0.18 |
| 1 1/2 to 2 (38.1 to 50.8), excl | 0.006 | 0.15 | 0.008 | 0.2 |
| 2 to 2 1/2 (50.8 to 63.5), excl | 0.007 | 0.18 | 0.01 | 0.25 |
| 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 (63.5 to 88.9), excl | 0.01 | 0.25 | 0.014 | 0.36 |
| 3 1/2 to 5 (88.9 to 127.0), incl | 0.015 | 0.38 | 0.02 | 0.51 |
| Over 5 to 6 (127.0 to 406.4), incl | 0.00125 in./in. or | 0.0013 in./in. or | ||
| mm/mm of circumference | mm/mm of circumference | |||
