What is the strongest stainless steel alloy?

What is the strongest stainless steel alloy?

Stainless steel grade series
Each grade is divided into one of five stainless steel series. These families are named for their metallurgical microstructure. The five groups are austenite, ferrite, duplex, martensite and precipitation hardening.

ferritic stainless steel
The lack of other alloying elements means that ferritic stainless steels are known as regular chromium steels. Their chromium content ranges from 12% to 18%. Ferritic stainless steel has very low carbon content.

Ferritic stainless steel:

Has moderate corrosion resistance
Not susceptible to stress corrosion
Magnetic
Cannot be hardened by heat treatment
Always use in annealed condition
Most grades have poor weldability
Common ferritic grades include proprietary grade 430 stainless steel and grade 409, the cheapest stainless steel. 409 stainless steel has become the material of choice for automobile exhaust pipes because of its low price, corrosion resistance and excellent formability.

Austenitic stainless steel
Adding sufficient amounts of nickel to stainless steel changes the microstructure to "austenite".

70% of commercially produced stainless steel is austenitic. The most common austenitic stainless steel grade is 304 (1.4301). Globally, 304 accounts for more than 50% of stainless steel consumption. The common name for 304 stainless steel is 18/8. The name refers to the average composition: 18% chromium and 8% nickel. Sometimes it is commonly used for austenitic stainless steels other than 304, even though the actual composition is quite different.

Some properties of austenitic stainless steel include:

Excellent corrosion resistance
Non-magnetic after annealing
Rapid work hardening by cold working
Cannot be hardened by heat treatment
Malleable and easy to form
Excellent weldability
Hygienic and excellent cleanability
Good performance at high temperatures
Excellent low temperature performance
In addition to 304 stainless steel, other common austenitic grades include the popular marine grade 316 stainless steel and the machined rod grade 303 stainless steel.