Stainless steel has been around for a long time. Numerous industries have used stainless steel to construct skyscrapers, memorials, and even kitchen utensils since the 1990s.

You’re probably surrounded by stainless steel objects, such as saucepans, handrails, pen springs, or watches. And you probably use stainless steel every day at work if you use shipping containers, exhaust systems, cable trays, or process piping.

But have you ever stopped to think about what makes stainless steel so unique? It may surprise you just how versatile stainless steel can be.

Some Stainless Steel Can Be Magnetic.

Stainless steel is a non-magnetic material, in most cases. However, this is not true for all types of stainless steel. Stainless steel’s magnetic properties depend on its microstructure.

Stainless steel can be divided into five groups:

1. Austenitic

   
   

2. Martensitic

   
   

3. Ferritic

   
   

4. Duplex

   
   

5. Precipitation Hardening

Each type features a different combination of metal alloys. For example, austenitic stainless steel has a combination of 18% chromium and 10% nickel. This combination makes austenitic stainless steel non-magnetic.

Martensitic stainless steels contain 12-15% chromium, as well as 0.2-1% molybdenum. Martensitic stainless steel also contains no nickel, and 0.1-1% carbon. This particular combination is ferromagnetic. Its magnetic properties depend on the strength of the applied magnetizing field. Martensitic stainless steel will exhibit permanent magnetic properties if it becomes magnetized during its hardening process.

Ferritic stainless steels contain between 10.5% and 27% chromium and little to no nickel. Like martensitic stainless steel, ferritic stainless steel is ferromagnetic. However, ferritic stainless steel’s magnetic behavior isn’t as strong as martensitic stainless steel’s.