Duplex Stainless Steel is a special type of steel that is used in corrosion resistant applications. In this article I am going to detail its disadvantages and advantages compared to other materials that are used in situations where corrosion prone environments are at hand.
It was in the early 90’s when Duplex Stainless Steel was introduced to the welding sectors. You will obviously of heard of stainless steel, well the added word ‘duplex’ is based on the concept of ferrite and austenite used in the same material. Some users may wish to see the chemical composition of it before use but often engineers are not interested in how it is formed but simply by how it is when being used, they want to know how difficult it is to use (its advantages and disadvantages).
One of the advantages Duplex Steel carries is its price… Cost reduction in any material brings great interest and this is especially true when its quality remains ass good. Duplex is very cost effective when compared to other corrosion resistant materials and compared with 300 series steel, duplex is twice as strong, meaning thinner sheets can be used reducing cost furthermore.
It is a fairly easy material to weld but one of its disadvantages is the temperature in which it must be welded, the interpass and heat temperatures must remain controlled at all times to maintain the balance between the austenite and ferrite. If the heat is not controlled all of its advantages will be Victims.