Mindanao University of Science and Technology

College of Engineering and Architecture

Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro City

ME12: Workshop Theory & Practice 2-A

Martensitic Stainless Steel

Submitted by:

KENT EDUARD T. NABOR

BS Mechanical Engineering 04

Submitted to:

ENGR. VENERANDO C. COMALING

Instructor, ME12: Workshop Theory & Practice 2-A

October 2015

Martensitic Stainless Steel

Stainless Steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox
steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is a steel alloy with a minimum of
10.5% chromium content by mass.
Stainless steel does not readily corrode, rust or stain with water as ordinary steel does.
However, it is not fully stain-proof in low-oxygen, high-salinity, or poor air-circulation
environments. There are different grades and surface finishes of stainless steel to suit
the environment the alloy must endure. Stainless steel is used where both the
properties of steel and corrosion resistance are required.
Stainless steel differs from carbon steel by the amount of chromium present.
Unprotected carbon steel rusts readily when exposed to air and moisture. This iron
oxide film (the rust) is active and accelerates corrosion by forming more iron oxide; and,
because of the greater volume of the iron oxide, this tends to flake and fall away.
Stainless steels contain sufficient chromium to form a passive film of chromium oxide,
which prevents further surface corrosion by blocking oxygen diffusion to the steel
surface and blocks corrosion from spreading into the metal's internal structure. Due to
the similar size of the steel and oxide ions, they bond very strongly and remain attached
to the surface

Martensitic stainless steel is a specific type of stainless steel alloy.

Stainless steels may be classified by their crystalline structure into three main
types: Austenitic, Ferritic and Martensitic. Martensitic stainless steels can be high or are
low carbon steels built around the Type 410 composition of iron, 12% chromium, and
0.12% carbon. They are usually tempered and hardened. Tempered martensite gives
steel good hardness and high toughness; used largely for medical tools (scalpels,
razors and internal clamps). Untempered martensite is low in toughness and therefore
brittle.
The characteristic body centered tetragonal martensite microstructure was first
observed by German microscopist Adolf Martens around 1890. In 1912, Elwood
Haynes applied for a U.S. patent on a martensitic stainless steel alloy. This patent was
not granted until 1919.
Martensitic stainless steel can be tested by nondestructive testing using the magnetic
particle inspection method, unlike austenitic stainless steel.

Also in 1912, Harry Brearley of the Brown-Firth research laboratory in Sheffield,

England, while seeking a corrosion-resistant alloy for gun barrels, discovered and
subsequently industrialized a martensitic stainless steel alloy. The discovery was
announced two years later in a January 1915 newspaper article in The New York
Times. Brearly applied for a U.S. patent during 1915. "Staybrite" brand by Firth
Vickers in England and was used for the new entrance canopy for the Savoy Hotel in
1929 in London.

Martensite is formed in carbon steels by the rapid cooling (quenching) of austenite at

such a high rate that carbon atoms do not have time to diffuse out of the crystal
structure in large enough quantities to form cementite (Fe3C). As a result, the facecentered cubic austenite transforms to a highly strained body-centered tetragonal form
of ferrite that is supersaturated with carbon. The shear deformations that result produce
large numbers of dislocations, which is a primary strengthening mechanism of steels.
Martensite is not shown in the equilibrium phase diagram of the iron-carbon system
because it is not an equilibrium phase. Equilibrium phases form by slow cooling rates
that allow sufficient time for diffusion, whereas martensite is usually formed by very high
cooling rates. Since chemical processes (the attainment of equilibrium) accelerate at
higher temperature, martensite is easily destroyed by the application of heat. This
process is called tempering.