corrosion of stainless steel - Damstahl

Introduction
Stainless and
corrosionresistant
Before we continue our discussion of stainless steel, we should first say a
few words about terms and numbers. Interests of avoiding terminological
confusion we have decided to stick with "stainless steel".
For most smiths and engineers, stainless steel is more or less synonymous
with 'type 304' or 'acid-resistant type 316' steel. Both names derive from
the dated, but unusually long-lived AISI system, which, at best, may be
considered to be a bit out of step with reality. It is a bit like referring to a
moped as a 'motorised bicycle', as AISI has not classified a new steel type
since the 1960s The fact that many people continue to use AISI terminology
is, at best, a bit old-fashioned and, at worst, misleading.
Instead of the AISI numbers, the editorial staff has thus opted for the
European EN numbers which, in turn, are based on the old German
Werkstoff Numbers (W.-Nr.). A stainless steel type classified by the EN
system may, for example, be called 'EN 1.4301'; however, for the sake of
simplicity, in most cases we have dropped the 'EN 1.' and instead refer to
the steel type as simply '4301'. Readers in need of a 'translation' between the
modern EN system and the classic AISI numbers can refer to Table 8.3 page 151.
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