MATERIALS SELECTION 61 Metals and Alloys ‘The most common method of preventing corrosion is the selection of the proper metal or alloy for a particular corrosive service. Since this is the most important method of preventing or reducing corrosion damage, Chaps. 5, 7,8, and 11 are also devoted to this topic, and only brief mention of some general rules will be presented here. One of the most popular misconceptions to those not familiar with metallurgy or corrosion engineering concerns the uses and characteristics of stainless steel. Stainless steel is not stainless, itis not the most corrosion-resistant material, and it is not a specific alloy Stainless ste! is the generic name for a series of more than 30 different alloys containing from 11.5 to 30% chromium and 0 to 22% nickel, together with other alloy additions. Stainless steels have widespread application in resisting corrosion, but it should be remembered that they do not resist all corrosives. Jn fact, under certain conditions, such as chloride-containing mediums and stressed structures, stainless steels are less resistant than ordinary structural steel. Stainless alloys are more susceptible to localized corrosion such as intergranular corrosion, stress-corrosion cracking, and pitting attack than ordinary structural steels. Frequently, the quality of stainless steels is checked with a magnet. This is based on the belief that nonmagnetic stainless steels represent “good” alloys, and stainless steels that are magnetic are inferior. This test has no basis and, infact, is misleading. Many stainless steel alloys are magnetic, and many of the cast austenitic stainless steels show some ferromagnetic properties. There is no correlation between magnetic sus- magnetic stainless steels are superior to the nonmagnetic varieties. In summary, a large number of corrosion failures can be directly attributed to the indiscriminate selection of stainless steels for construction on the basis that they are the “best.” Stainless steels represent a class of highly corrosion- resistant materials of relatively low cost that should be carefully used. In alloy selection, there are several “natura! metal-corrosive ‘combinations. These combinations of metal and corrosive usually represent the maximum amount of corrosion resistance for the least amount of money, ‘Some of these natural combinations are as follows: 1. Stainless steels-nitrie acid 2. Nickel and nickel alloys-caustic 3. Monel-hydrofluoric acid 4. Hastelloys (Chlorimets)-hot hydrochloric acid 5. Lead-dilute sulfuric acid 6. Aluminum-nonstaining atmospheric exposure 7. Tin-distilled water 8. Titanium-hot strong oxidizing solutions 9. Tantalum-—ultimate resistance 10. Steel-concentrated sulfuric acid