One of the fastest rising stainless steel alloys of choice in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industries is duplex stainless steel. Designers are specifying duplex stainless steel when high strength and good corrosion resistance are required. Stainless Structurals America has recognized the need for duplex and has offered our full range of structural shapes in these alloys for years. Now we are taking our duplex product offerings one-step further and offering duplex stainless steel true flat bars.
The Advantages of Duplex Stainless Steel
There are three distinct advantages when using duplex stainless steel in your project designs. The choice of which grade of duplex to use is dependent upon several factors but all duplex options will provide advantages in corrosion resistance, mechanical strength and cost savings.
Corrosion Resistance
Like all stainless steel alloys, duplex stainless provides superior corrosion resistance compared to other metals such as carbon steel, aluminum and galvanized steel. Duplex’s resistance to localized corrosion, such as pitting and crevice attack is exceptional. Duplex’s corrosion properties are very similar to that of 316/316/L stainless steel and duplex is used to prevent corrosion in moderate to highly aggressive environments. Typical industry end uses and applications for duplex include oil & gas, chemical processing, desalination and water treatment, pulp & pare, architecture, building construction and more.
Mechanical Properties
Duplex stainless steels feature significantly better mechanical properties than the common austenitic grades of stainless steel. In some cases, it offers almost double the yield strength. Wear resistance and fatigue strength, which become important material properties in structures where dynamic loads are present, are all closely related to yield strength. The higher yield strength properties of duplex makes it a great alloy choice for structural applications like this New York City subway terminal.
Cost Savings
The third distinct advantage of duplex stainless is that it offers cost savings potential. This is primarily for applications for structural sections such as beams, channels, angles or tees. Because of the higher yield strengths, engineers can design using a lighter section without decreasing the structural performance. Because it is less weight, the material costs will be lower. Our Duplex Stainless Brochure does a great breakdown of the potential savings by using lighter sections.
2205 and 2507 Duplex Flat Bar Offerings
With the increased demand for duplex amongst several different industries, Stainless Structurals is excited to now offer true flat bar in both 2205 and 2507 duplex stainless steels. Both standard and custom sizes are available in either grade. We also realize that time is of the essence so our standard lead times for these flat bars will be 1-2 weeks.
Our duplex flat bars are available in 1/4”, 3/8”, and 1/2” thicknesses and we can produce up to 24” wide. Standard lengths for these flat bars will be 19-20 foot random lengths and all four sides will have our blasted and pickled finish. The minimum order quantity is only one length. Our flat bars will meet the dimensional tolerances per ASTM A484 and mechanical and chemical properties per ASTM A276.
Stainless Structurals can meet your Duplex Stainless Steel Requirements
The applications and industries where strength and corrosion resistance are required are constantly growing. Stainless Structurals recognizes this and is here to meet your needs for duplex stainless steel flat bars and laser welded structural sections. Please contact us today to learn more about our duplex offerings and our standard stainless steel structural sections.
