What Gives Stainless Steel the Ability to Resist Rust?
Stainless steel is one of the materials that are able to resist rust for some time. In different kinds of environments, this material is able to prevent itself from rusting. The formation of an oxide layer on the surface of stainless steel is one of the things that gives it the ability to resist rust. Neeraj Kochhar Viraj Steel, shares that the oxide layer works as a passive layer by making the surface of stainless steel electrochemically passive when it is placed in an environment that is corrosive.
Understanding What Enables Stainless Steel to Prevent Rust
Mr. Kochhar suggests that along with the oxide layer being formed on stainless steel’s surface, chromium enables it to prevent rust for some time. For getting this ability, it is essential for stainless steel to contain a minimum of 10.5 percent of chromium. This is essential as the presence of chromium will help in the oxide layer being formed. It should also be learnt that when the presence of chromium is higher, the ability to prevent rust will be greater. Additionally, this will also result in higher resistance to corrosion.
It has been found from Neeraj Kochhar’s biography that the presence of elements like molybdenum, nickel, and manganese also play a role in improving various abilities of stainless steel. Among these, the ability to resist rust is also present.
Stainless steel is also required to be exposed to oxygen. Resistance increases when the material is exposed to it. Also, the process in which the passive layer gets formed over the surface of stainless steel gets a boost, as is explained by Neeraj Kochhar Viraj Profiles. On the off chance, not exposing this material to stainless steel may hamper its ability to resist rust to some extent.
After All is Said and Done
The formation of the passive or oxide layer is one of the main things that enables stainless steel to resist rust for long. Along with that, exposure to oxygen and an increased percentage of chromium is also necessary to be present in stainless steel.
