The wonderful combination of metal components creates an alloy that is as strong and can resist rust as stainless steel? So what’s the secret behind that combination?
The article will provide readers with useful information about how humans have skillfully combined metals to create stainless steel products, serving daily in dining, display or equipment. next.
Stainless steel is used quite a lot in all aspects of life, such as watch straps.
Stainless steels are so named for a very simple reason, they cannot rust like normal steels or mild steel (low carbon steel). In other words, they are resistant to rust before the impact of the environment.
However the question is how do these steels not rust? First you need to understand the concept of rust.
Rust is the phenomenon of iron corroding due to the impact of weather conditions or objective causes. Rust will often create a red, rough layer on the outside of the iron core. Rust is simply understood as the oxidation of metal. When iron is exposed to O2 in the air, layers of metal oxides and hydroxides begin to form. Especially in humid environments, metals, specifically iron, are easily corroded. The result after iron is oxidized will become iron oxide and rust layer.
Iron combined with oxygen will create layers of rust.
Iron corrosion is an electrochemical reaction, so the first layers of rust are usually just thin atomic layers. But if this process is prolonged, they will create thick and noticeable layers of rust.
Rust causes iron to lose its inherent hardness and strength. Therefore, rusted objects often lose quite a bit of weight and are easily damaged when dropped. The annual loss due to rust can be in the billions of dollars so if this is not prevented, people can waste a large amount of resources and waste time and effort.
Two or more metals and non-metals may be mixed or combined to form a composite of sufficient strength or greater strength. The process of blending to enhance the properties of metals creates something called an alloy .
And steel is one such alloy. That’s why you’ll be hard-pressed to find steel in the periodic table of the chemical elements.
Iron is one of the most abundant metals on Earth, but it is usually pure and has a very weak structure. The iron atoms are arranged in layers and they can easily slip into other layers even with very small impact. This makes iron extremely soft and dangerous if used for construction.
Therefore, humans have devised a way to combine iron with carbon to create steel alloys. The alloy has a tight bond structure between carbon atoms, so it is very strong. Since then, steel has become a globally popular construction material.
Steel is mainly used in construction, but if not well maintained, it will easily rust due to the environment.
Carbon can make steel harder and stronger than aluminum, making it less likely to crack. However, they still have an indisputable disadvantage, which is poor corrosion resistance. In other words, steel can corrode quickly if exposed to high humidity. At this point, we will need to combine steel and an element that is able to prevent oxidation reactions. And chromium is a great choice to prevent corrosion because it acts like an “armor” that prevents oxygen from coming into contact with the iron inside.
Stainless steel, also known as stainless steel , is not just an alloy of iron, carbon and chromium. It also contains other metals such as manganese (Mn), some nickel (Ni) and molybdenum (Mo) which are resistant to rust. Although they are metals, even when corroded before the innermost iron layer, these metals are less harmful to humans.
Popular stainless steel products of housewives are stainless steel cookware.
When surrounded by aluminum, the aluminum oxide layers will have the effect of protecting the innermost iron layer, avoiding contact with oxygen, causing oxidation. The same is true for the protective outer layer of chromium. As a result, stainless steel is less prone to discoloration and corrosion.
In metallurgy, stainless steel is understood as a form of iron alloy containing at least 10.5% chromium. They will react with oxygen and form a thin but rather hard layer (chromium oxide), which protects the inner steel layer. This protective layer is so thin that it cannot be seen with the naked eye. Therefore, the stainless steel surface is still shiny even though it is daily affected by oxygen molecules in the air.
Although stainless steel does not have the same hardness as construction steels, it has important features that many other steels do not have.
Stainless steel is mostly used to make items and tools that come in contact with water, for example razors, watch bands, etc. In addition, the characteristic of chromium is its ability to be polished and easy to clean. This will contribute to the aesthetic appeal of the object.