Common stainless steel in life, what is the difference between 304, 304L, 316, 316L stainless steel?

304, 304L, 316, 316L, these are called "brands" of stainless steel. Different grades of stainless steel have different proportions of substances contained in them-the metal properties are also different.

stainless steel pipe

I would like to answer the question in this topic in two parts: the difference between "L" and "L" in the grade; the difference between 304 stainless steel and 316 stainless steel.

"L" in the grade

First of all, we have to understand a term called "intergranular corrosion". Refers to the precipitation of carbides during the welding of metals at high temperatures.

After the precipitation of carbides, it will affect the stability of the welding-more terrible is that the intergranular corrosion can not be distinguished from the appearance.

In other words, after welding of ordinary metals, the welding may be weak due to the existence of intergranular corrosion. And this kind of infirmity can only be seen after the external force causes the welding to break-it is only found after breaking, it is a bit too late!

In order to prevent the occurrence of intergranular corrosion, we must reprocess ordinary metals-that is, reduce the content of carbides in the metal. If the content is less, it is naturally not easy to precipitate due to heat.

This kind of metal with reduced carbide content will be added with an "L" after the brand name-304 stainless steel, which is the product of 304 stainless steel after carbide reduction, in addition to preventing intergranular corrosion, the performance is the same as 304 stainless steel Same; 316L stainless steel is the same.

Metals with reduced carbides are more resistant to high temperatures, not only for metals used in some ultra-high temperature environments when welding but also need to use "L". 

The difference between 304 and 316

The full name of "stainless steel" in our colloquial is called "stainless acid-resistant steel"-it is not only rust-proof but also resistant to acid and alkali corrosion. All stainless steels are not rusty, but their ability to resist corrosion and mechanical strength is different-according to this ability, they are divided into different brands, 304 stainless steel and 316 stainless steel are two of them.

The corrosion resistance of 304 stainless steel is already very strong. Almost everything you see in daily life is hard to get it. Because of this, 304 stainless steel has been designated as "food-grade stainless steel" by the national standard.

The corrosion resistance of 316 stainless steel is even stronger. In addition to oil, salt, sauce and vinegar tea, it can resist all kinds of strong acids and alkalis. Not only that, but 316 stainless steel also has lower environmental requirements-too high or too low temperature will not affect the corrosion resistance of 316 stainless steel.

Steel Pipe, Tinplate Manufacturer, Structural Steel Factory, Supplier and Exporter

Overview
Model No.: plc-43 Brand: PLC
Place of Origin: China Manufacturer
Packing: Standard Export P...
Payment: T/T, L/C, Weste...

Steel, Tinplate Factory, Structural Steel Manufacturer, Supplier

Specifications

OD:219mm-3620mm(8"-144")

Thickness: 4.5-28mm

Length:5-12m or as required

Standard: API 5L , ASTM A252/A134 , GB/T9711 , SY/T5037 , SY/T5040 , EN10217 , EN10219 , etc.

Steel Grade:

ASTM A53 Gr.A/B/C/D,

API 5L A,B,X42,X46,X52,X56,X60,X65,X70,

GB/T9711 L175,L210,L245,L290,L320,L360,L390,L415,L450,L485,L555,

ASTM A252 Gr.1 , Gr.2 , Gr.3

EN 10219 S235JR , S275JR , S355JR , S355JOH , S355J2 , S420...

Application: Used for low-pressure liquid delivery, such as water, gas, and oil.

Supply Ability: 400000 Ton/Tons per Year

www.Hifactory.com  ，Please click on the website to see

Dear friends, Hifactory is China's best quality B2B platform. Buyers directly correspond to Chinese suppliers. The platform does not charge any fees.

Quality Inspection Equipment
In order to make sure the quality of our product and ensure deliver the acceptable product to our customer, our company make the heavy investment to buy a series of test equipment, such as X-ray industrial TV, offline ultrasonic flaw detector, hydrostatic testing machine, Metallographic testing machine, tensile testing machine, drop-testing machine, and welding automatic tracking system. Our company set up a test center and physical and chemical test center etc. 

Our Company
Steel supplier Established in 2006, Hebei Pulanke Group has two production bases in Shijiazhuang and Cangzhou, has five subsidiaries covering steel pipe production, anti-corrosion engineering and international trade with total registered capital of RMB105 million. There are three steel pipe production plants and an anti-corrosion steel pipe plant. Mainly engaged in SSAW, ERW, SMLS steel pipe, Square & Rectangular hollow sections and FBE coating steel pipe, PE 3LPE, 3PP, Hot dip galvanized anti-corrosion steel pipe.

Hebei Pulanke Group is a professional manufacturer of steel pipe according to ASTM, ANSI, JIS, API 5L, API5CT, EN, BS, DIN internationally advanced standards, and also approved by the third party. Also passed ISO, CCS, CE, FPC, ABS, API, GL, etc. Anti-corrosion steel pipe has passed the certification of GB / T19001-2008, GB / T24001-2004, and GB / T28001-2011, and has obtained the national special equipment manufacturing license (pressure pipe) and wading products hygienic license，have obtained six patents.