What is the best steel for high temperatures?
High temperature stainless steel grades
Outokumpu high temperature stainless steels are designed for temperatures up to 1150°C. This durability is achieved by adding several important alloying elements to the steel - ensuring excellent performance in a wide range of high temperature applications.
High temperature austenitic grades
High temperature austenitic steels are typically used in a wide range of applications with temperatures exceeding 550°C.
Typical applications for high temperature austenitic grades:
Equipment and components in the steel and other metallurgical industries
Engineering industries
Energy conversion plants
Cement industry
An important factor at high temperatures is that creep strength is often the dominant dimensional factor. By choosing the right material, you can not only extend the service life of your application, but also define thinner material to save overall costs. This consideration applies in particular to our high temperature austenitic grades Outokumpu 153 MA and Outokumpu 253 MA.
High temperature ferritic grades
The main alloying element in ferritic grades is chromium. Silicon and aluminum enhance their positive effect against scaling.
Ferritic grades 4713 and 4724 are best suited for temperatures between 550°C and 850°C. The more highly alloyed grades 4736, 4742, 4762 can be used up to 1150°C and offer excellent resistance to reducing sulphur attack and to molten metal.
Due to their ferritic structure, ferritic steels have lower strength at temperatures above 600°C, but are more resistant to thermal shock than high-temperature austenitic stainless steels. Due to higher thermal conductivity and lower thermal expansion than the corresponding values for austenitic steels, the same thermal shock will result in lower thermal stresses in ferritic materials. From these aspects, ferritics allow for greater design and operating tolerances. High-temperature ferritic grades are primarily used for high-temperature applications in sulphur-containing atmospheres and/or low tensile loads.
Typical applications for ferritic high-temperature grades:
Facilities in the chemical, power and metalworking industries
Furnace technology
