Stainless Steel

Key Properties:
The main property required of a biomaterial is that it does not
illicit an adverse reaction when placed into service.
• The range of applications for biomaterials is large. The
number of different biomaterials is also significant.
However, in general:

1. Metallic biomaterials are used for load bearing

applications and must have sufficient fatigue strength to
endure the rigors of daily activity like walking, chewing,
etc.
2. Ceramic biomaterials are generally used for their
hardness and wear resistance for applications such as
articulating surfaces in joints and in teeth as well as bone
bonding surfaces in implants.
3. Polymeric materials are usually used for their flexibility
and stability, but have also been used for low friction
articulating surfaces.
 Area of Uses of Metals
Because of the its excellent mechanical
properties and corrosion resistance

• Vascular stents;
• Catheter guide wires

Steel was first used successfully as an

important material in the Surgical field
• Stainless steel is an alloy of Iron with a minimum of 10.5%
Chromium. Chromium produces a thin layer of oxide on the
surface of the steel known as the 'passive layer'. This
prevents any further corrosion of the surface. Increasing the
amount of Chromium gives an increased resistance to
corrosion.
• Stainless steel also contains varying amounts of Carbon,
Silicon and Manganese. Other elements such as Nickel and
Molybdenum may be added to impart other useful
properties such as enhanced formability and increased
corrosion resistance.
• Although stainless steel is much more resistant to corrosion
than ordinary carbon or alloy steels, in some circumstances
it can corrode. It is 'stain-less' not 'stain-impossible'. In
normal atmospheric or water based environments, stainless
steel will not corrode as demonstrated by domestic sink
units, cutlery, saucepans and work-surfaces.
Stainless steel
Stainless steel is one of the important materials
which is used in the biomaterials application.
stainless steel, it has a basically high strength
and it is very economic as it has a easy
processing, but the problem mainly with that
stainless steel, it has very poor corrosion
resistance.
Stainless steel basically consist of the following
elements
Fe
Cr(17-20%)
Ni(10-17%)
Mo(2-4%)
C(0.03%)
Mn, P, S, Si(<2.8%)
P,S (0.03 max)
• So, overall corrosion protection in the stainless
steel is given by chromium, because chromium
forms a chromium oxide, which is highly
impervious in nature.
• So, chromium oxide protects the stainless steel,
but the problem with chromium is that it is ferritic
stabilizer ie bcc structure.
• To counter effect we add some nickel to it, nickel
is Fcc stabilizer and it is very ductile in nature.
• Nickel added of the order of 12 to 20 percent to
counter and then, make it back to the austenite
state.
• Nickel basically increases the strength of the
stainless steel and it is much better than
chromium alone.
• Mo, C, Mn, P, S, Si these element enhance the
hardness of stainless steel
There is one more critical problem with the carbon;
carbon has to be very low, carbon it is a very
limited around 0.03 percent in stainless steel.
In the stainless steel corrosion protection element is
chromium and chromium has very strong tendency
to form carbide, so it basically from C r23C6.
To avoid the formation of C r23C6 carbide low C
content is desirable and this carbide basically
forms on the grain boundaries and it sensitizes the
material;
Sensitization:
• In the stainless we add Cr to improve the
corrosion resistance but because of the presence
of C ,it will form C r23C6. this C r23C6 is
precipitate in the grain boundary but the grains
interior is devoid of chromium.
• Now, the interior of the particular grain is much
more prone to corrosion.
• Now in grain boundary is rich in chromium but
the grains interior is devoid of chromium which
is called sensitization.
• Here one will act as a cathode and other act
as a anode, so that interior of the material can
follow the local galvanic cell in the core of the
grain.
• That’s why corrosion occurs in case of
stainless steel. So, that is the reason we want
to keep a minimum content of carbon in
stainless steel.
 Types of Stainless Steel
Ferritic :
 These steels are based on Chromium with small amounts of
Carbon usually less than 0.10%.
 These steels have a similar microstructure to carbon and low
alloy steels.
 They are usually limited in use to relatively thin sections due
to lack of toughness in welds. However, where welding is not
required they offer a wide range of applications.
 They cannot be hardened by heat treatment.
 High Chromium steels with additions of Molybdenum can be
used in quite aggressive conditions such as sea water.
 Ferritic steels are also chosen for their resistance to stress
corrosion cracking.
 They are not as formable as austenitic stainless steels.
 They are magnetic.
Austenitic Stainless steel: -
 These steels are the most common. Their microstructure is
derived from the addition of Nickel, Manganese and
Nitrogen.
 It is the same structure as occurs in ordinary steels at much
higher temperatures.
 This structure gives these steels their characteristic
combination of weldability and formability.
 Corrosion resistance can be enhanced by adding
Chromium, Molybdenum and Nitrogen.
 Standard austenitic steels are vulnerable to stress
corrosion cracking. Higher nickel austenitic steels have
increased resistance to stress corrosion cracking.
 They are nominally non-magnetic.
Martensitic :-
 These steels are similar to ferritic steels in being
based on Chromium but have higher Carbon levels
up as high as 1%.
 This allows them to be hardened and tempered much
like carbon and low-alloy steels.
 They are used where high strength and moderate
corrosion resistance is required.
 They are more common in long products than in
sheet and plate form. They have generally low
weldability and formability.
 They are magnetic.
Duplex :-
 These steels have a microstructure which is
approximately 50% ferritic and 50% austenitic.
 This gives them a higher strength than either ferritic
or austenitic steels.
 They are resistant to stress corrosion cracking.
Precipitation hardening (PH) :-
 These steels can develop very high strength by adding
elements such as Copper, Niobium and Aluminium to
the steel.
 With a suitable “aging” heat treatment, very fine
particles form in the matrix of the steel which imparts
strength.
Classification Based on Crystalline Structure

Austenitic or 200 and 300 series, stainless

steels have an austenitic crystalline structure,
which is a face-centered cubic crystal
structure. Austenite steels make up over 70%
of total stainless steel production. They contain
a maximum of 0.15% carbon, a minimum of
16% chromium and sufficient nickel and/or
manganese to retain an austenitic structure at
all temperatures from the cryogenic region to
the melting point of the alloy.
 – 200 Series—austenitic chromium-nickel-manganese alloys. Type 201 is
hardenable through cold working; Type 202 is a general purpose stainless
steel. Decreasing nickel content and increasing manganese results in weak
corrosion resistance.
– 300 Series—The most widely used austenite steel is the 304, also known as
18/8 for its composition of 18% chromium and 8% nickel. 304 may be
referred to as A2 stainless (not to be confused with A2 grade steel, also
named Tool steel, a steel). The second most common austenite steel is the
316 grade, also called marine grade stainless, used primarily for its
increased resistance to corrosion. A typical composition of 18% chromium
and 10% nickel, commonly known as 18/10 stainless, is often used in
cutlery and high-quality cookware. 18/0 is also available.
Low-carbon versions, for example 316L or 304L, are used to avoid corrosion
problems caused by welding. Grade 316LVM is preferred where
biocompatibility is required (such as body implants and piercings). The "L"
means that the carbon content of the alloy is below 0.03%, which reduces the
sensitization effect (precipitation of chromium carbides at grain boundaries)
caused by the high temperatures involved in welding.
 Surgical stainless steel
Surgical stainless steel is an informal term
which refers to certain grades of stainless steel
that are used in biomedical applications. The
most common "surgical steels" are austenitic
316 stainless and martensitic 440 and 420
stainless steels. There is no formal definition on
what constitutes a "surgical stainless steel", so
product manufacturers and distributors may
apply the term to refer to any grade of corrosion
resistant steel.
Microstructure
`
ASTM specifications
 Stainless Steel have a desirable single austenite
phase. To achieve a single austenite phase in
Stainless Steel Nickel must be added.
 no ferrite (bcc)or carbide phase
it means carbon content should be less than 0.03
weight percent, so that there is no formation of
carbide and chromium is available for imparting
the corrosion resistance by a formation of
chromium oxide layer.
So the structure contains chromium which is bcc
phase and to counteract this nickel is added to
Stainless Steel .
 Steel has to be free from sulphide stringers or any
oxide inclusions. for clean steel making we use
low vacuum technique where the formation of
any oxides is avoided.
For that sulphur and phosphorous content less
than 0.03% ,so that the sulphide stringers can be
avoided into the particular steel.
• clean steel, the properties will automatically
enhanced because, there are no lamellas of
sulphide stringer grain boundaries
• If there is sulphide stringer at the grain
boundaries then those boundaries are generally
weak and they lead to failure or they may be
enhanced rate of corrosion.
• Clean stainless steel should have more uniform
phase which will basically reduce the pitting
corrosion and also it will avoid any interaction
of metal and inclusion.
• To improve the quality of stainless steel low
vacuum melt can be used and again this
particular product has to be cast into some
useful shapes for its application.
Grain Size:
grain size finer less than 100 micro
micrometers is recommended for the 316 type
low carbon stainless steel
• finer grains will enhance the mechanical
properties.
Grain refinement:
 solidification
 cold working
 rapid annealing
 Recrystallization

recrystallizatin is achieve by 30 percent cold

working which is done to enhance the yield
strength, ultimate tensile strength and fatigue
strength
cold working( which will break the grain size and
refining the grains.)
 Mechanical Properties Of Stainless Steel
Materials specifications Heat E YS TS Fathigue
treatment (GPa) (Mpa) (Mpa) strength
(Mpa)
stainless High S=0.03 annealed 190 221 483 221-280
steel P=0.045
C=0.06
stainless Low S=0.01- annealed 190 331 586 241-276
steel 0.03
P=0.03
C=0.03

stainless Low S=0.01- 30% cold 190 792 930 310-448

steel 0.03 forged
P=0.03
C=0.03

stainless Low S=0.01- cold 190 1213 1351 820

steel 0.03 forged
P=0.03
C=0.03