What is the Life Expectancy of Stainless Steel Pipes?

At present, stainless steel pipes have gradually become the new favorite in the field of industrial pipelines because of their high hardness, corrosion resistance, low maintenance cost, long service life, high temperature resistance and other characteristics. More and more companies are beginning to consider using stainless steel pipes. Now let's discuss why stainless steel has become an industrial star.

1. Strong mechanical properties of stainless steel pipes

Adding elements such as chromium (Cr), nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) to stainless steel pipes increases the strength of stainless steel. The yield strength of 316L stainless steel with added TiC particles can reach an astonishing 832Mpa
The tensile strength of martensitic stainless steel (1.4021) can exceed 632Mpa after quenching and tempering, but the high carbon content will increase the overlooking performance. However, stainless steel also has amazing corrosion resistance. How did they do it?

2. Corrosion resistance of stainless steel pipes

The key factor for the strong corrosion resistance of stainless steel lies in chromium. When the chromium content When the content of chromium is ≥10.5%, a dense Cr₂O₃ passivation film (about nanometer thick) will be formed on the surface of stainless steel, isolating the corrosive medium from the base metal and preventing oxidation reaction. When the passivation film is damaged, the chromium element will quickly react with the oxygen in the environment to form a new film, and can also achieve dynamic repair. Molybdenum (Mo) ‌‌ nickel (Ni) and nitrogen (N) play an auxiliary role to improve the resistance to chloride ion pitting corrosion, enhance the stability of acidic environment, and improve the integrity of the passivation film in reducing medium

3. High temperature resistance of stainless steel pipe

The high temperature resistance of stainless steel still depends on the metal element chromium (Cr). When the chromium content is ≥24% (such as 310S/2520 stainless steel), a dense and self-repairing ‌Cr₂O₃ oxide film‌ can be formed on the surface of the steel pipe, isolating oxygen erosion, and raising the anti-oxidation temperature to 1150–1200℃, while nickel (19–22%) is stable. ‌Austenite face-centered cubic structure‌, avoid high-temperature phase transformation, maintain material strength and creep resistance. At 600℃, nickel can control the loss of grain boundary strength to 15%, compared with 90% loss of different carbon steels, which is amazing. Finally, there is the synergistic effect of silicon (Si) and nitrogen (N). Silicon (≤3%) promotes the combination of oxide film and matrix to prevent high-temperature peeling, and nitrogen (N) element solid solution strengthening improves high-temperature strength and intergranular corrosion resistance.

4. What is the life expectancy of stainless steel pipes?

From previous performance estimates, the life of stainless steel pipes is at least 50 years or even a hundred years, so now stainless steel pipes are gradually becoming more economical and cost-effective materials for more companies due to their characteristics. In addition, stainless steel pipes can also be recycled, which is an environmentally friendly choice for companies that want to reduce their carbon footprint.