Ferritic stainless steels in structural applications

Abstract

Ferritic stainless steels are low cost, price-stable, corrosion-resistant materials. Although widely used in the automotive and domestic appliance sectors, structural applications are scarce owing to a dearth of performance data and design guidance. The characteristics of ferritics make them appropriate for structures requiring strong and moderately durable structural elements with attractive metallic surface finishes. The present paper provides an overview of the structural behaviour of ferritic stainless steels, including a summary of the findings of a recent European project (SAFSS) on ferritics. Laboratory experiments have been completed including material tests as well as structural member tests, both at ambient and elevated temperature. The experimental data is supplemented by numerical analysis in order to study a wide range of parameters. The findings of this work have enabled design guidance to be proposed, as discussed herein.

Experimental Study on Ferritic Stainless Steel RHS and SHS Cross-sectional Resistance Under Combined Loading

“…Stainless steel producers have been working hard on the development of new grades with lower associated material costs maintaining the rest of desirable properties. Ferritic stainless steels, with lower nickel content are, therefore, cheaper and relatively more pricestable than the most usual austenitic grades but still maintaining a significant part of their corrosion resistance, good ductility, formability and impact resistance as established in Baddoo and Cashell [1].…”

Effective width equations accounting for element interaction for cold-formed stainless steel square and rectangular hollow sections

“…In order to ensure continuity with this reduction factor , Zhou et al [20] also derived a Class 3 slenderness limit function of the aspect ratio as given by Eq. (11). The coefficients of Eqs (9-11) were determined through regression analyses of numerical data on high strength stainless steel compressed SHS and RHS and the method applies when 1 6, 448 0.2 707 MPa and 27.3 c/t 91 (or 0.48 1.6).…”

“…A definitive version was subsequently published in STRUCTURES, [VOL 2, (JUNE 2015)] DOI 10.1016/j.istruc.2015.02.003 grades, however, particularly affects their costs which lead to the investigation of more pricestable alternatives such as lean duplex grades [9] and ferritic grades [10]. The structural applications of this latter type of stainless steel have been recently investigated within a European Project framework and comprehensive design guidance for construction applications has been developed [11]. For the local buckling proposed design provisions, which were firstly based on numerical analyses [12,13], experimental research [14] was undertaken to provide further verification and is presented hereafter.…”

Experimental study on ferritic stainless steel simply supported and continuous beams

“…Ferritics are therefore important in the spread of stainless steels, as they have a lower associated material cost due to their lower nickel content but yet maintain the rest of desirable stainless steel properties. Therefore, they are cheaper and more price-stable than typical austenitic stainless steel grades, but still present significant corrosion resistance, good ductility, formability and impact resistance as reported by Baddoo and Cashell [1].…”