Complaint
304 stainless steel is the most common stainless steel. The steel contains both chromium (between 18% and 20%) and nickel (between 8% and 10.5%) metals as the main non-iron constituents. It is an austenitic stainless steel. It is less electrically and thermally conductive than carbon steel. It is magnetic, but less magnetic than steel. It has a higher corrosion resistance than regular steel and is widely used because of the ease in which it is formed into various shapes.
| 304 Stainless Steel Chemical Composition, % | ||||||||
| Standard | AISI (UNS) | C≤ | Si≤ | Mn≤ | P≤ | S≤ | Cr | Ni |
| ASTM A276/A276M | 304 (S30400) | 0.08 | 1.00 | 2.00 | 0.045 | 0.030 | 18.0-20.0 | 8.0-11.0 |
304 stainless steel has excellent resistance to a wide range of atmospheric environments and many corrosive media. It is subject to pitting and crevice corrosion in warm chloride environments and to stress corrosion cracking above about 60°C. It is considered resistant to pitting corrosion in water with up to about 400 mg/L chlorides at ambient temperatures, reducing to about 150 mg/L at 60°C.
304 stainless steel is also very sensitive at room temperature to the thiosulfate anions released by the oxidation of pyrite (as encountered in acid mine drainage) and can undergo severe pitting corrosion problems when in close contact with pyrite- or sulfide-rich clay materials exposed to oxidation.
304 stainless steel is used for a variety of household and industrial applications such as food handling and processing equipment, screws, machinery parts, utensils, and exhaust manifolds. 304 stainless steel is also used in the architectural field for exterior accents such as water and fire features. It is also a common coil material for vaporizers.
