Development of high nitrogen, low nickel, 18%Cr austenitic stainless steels

Two high nitrogen stainless steels are studied through metallographic, mechanical and corrosionistic tests and the results are compared with those shown by a standard AISI 304. These high nitrogen steels show a significantly higher mechanical strength than usual AISI 304 while their corrosion resistance lie among that of standard austenitic and that of standard ferritic stainless steels. (C) 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers.