Stainless Steel
Stainless Steel
Stainless Steel
*Silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, manganese, tantalum, and niobium may also be present
in small amounts. The balance is iron.
CHROMIUM
Improves corrosion resistance by the passivating effect in
which the chromium exposed at the surface of the alloy
is readily oxidized to form a tenacious surface film of
chromic oxide.
NICKEL
Contributes towards corrosion resistance and helps to
strengthen the alloy.
MANGANESE
Acts as scavenger and increases hardness
SILICON
Acts as deoxidizer and scavenger
TITANIUM
Inhibits the precipitation of chromium carbide
NIOBIUM
Niobium helps prevent the formation of chrome carbides, that can
rob the microstructure of the required amount of chromium for
passivation
SULFUR
It is used to improve machinability
PHOSPHORUS
Prevents the sticking of light-gage sheets
Strengthens low carbon steel
Increases resistance to corrosion
Improves machinability in free-cutting steels
TANTALUM
Tantalum’s low mechanical strength and high biocompatibility
allow it to coat stronger substrates, like stainless steel, for medical
applications.
The austenite allotrope is named after Sir William
Chandler Robert - Austen
AISI series 302, 304, 316L
Most corrosion resistant alloys
Used for orthodontic wires, endodontic instruments and
crowns in pediatrics dentistry
Type 302 SS: 17% - 19% chromium, 8% - 10% nickel, and a
maximum carbon content of 0.15% carbon
Type 304 SS: 18% - 20% chromium, 8% - 12% nickel, and a
maximum carbon content of 0.08%
Both 302 and 304 stainless steel are often designated as 18-8
stainless steel
Type 316L (low carbon) contains 10% - 14% nickel, 2% -
3% molybdenum, 16% - 18% chromium, and 0.03%
maximum carbon
stainless steel ordinarily employed for implants
Above 723 ̊C an interstitial solid solution of carbon in a
face-centered cubic iron matrix is formed. This solid
solution, termed austenite, is unstable below 723ºC
(the critical temperature)
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The face centered cubic structure has atoms located at each of the corners
and the centers of all the cubic faces
It is not possible to harden these stainless steels by
heat treatment because the solid–solid transitions
occur below the temperature at which atomic
diffusions are possible.
Used for noncutting instruments, wires and
occasionally as denture bases.
These applications involve a degree of cold working
since the alloy is shaped by either bending, drawing or
swaging, all of which result in the formation of a
wrought structure.
Alloys having wrought structures tend to have much
higher values of proportional limit than equivalent
alloys which have not been cold worked.
It is this property coupled with a relatively high
modulus of elasticity which makes wrought stainless
steel wires suitable for orthodontics and wrought
stainless steel sheets suitable for denture bases.
Austenitic stainless steel is preferable to the ferritic alloy
because of : •
Greater ductility & ability to undergo more cold work
without fracturing
Substantial strengthening during cold working.
Greater ease of welding.
Ability to overcome sensitization.
Less critical grain growth.
Comparative ease in formation
An outline of some steel transformation
Macabe John F, Walls Angus W . Applied Dental Materials, 9th Edition; wiley blackwell, March 2008
The iron–carbon phase diagram (up to 2% carbon), slightly simplified for clarity.
Designated as AISI series 400
provide good corrosion resistance at a low cost when
high strength is not required.
They cannot be hardened by heat treatment or readily
work-hardened.
Consequently they have little application in dentistry.
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This structure can be seen as a gathering of cubes with atoms at the edges and an
atom in the center of every cube.
Below 723 °C, the remaining austenite is no longer
stable and decomposes into the eutectoid mixture of
ferrite + cementite
Austenite = ferrite + cementite
This mixture is called pearlite because of the fine-
grained banded or lamellar structure which gives a
pearly lustre in polished sections
Fe forms a carbide, Fe3C, called cementite, which
corresponds to 6-7% C.
However, cementite is in fact only metastable, the
true equilibrium is between iron and graphite.
Eutectic refers to the behavior of an alloy of two
mutually insoluble metals during crystallization.
An alloy containing 0.8% carbon is known as the
eutectoid alloy.
Alloys with greater concentrations of carbon are called
hypereutectoid alloys and those with smaller carbon
contents, hypoeutectoid alloys.
Both hypereutectoid and hypoeutectoid alloys consist
of a mixture of ferrite and cementite at room
temperature.
The hypereutectoid alloys contain relatively greater
amounts of cementite whilst the hypoeutectoid alloys
contain greater amounts of ferrite.
It is named after the German metallurgist Adolf
Martens
Designated as AISI series 400
If, instead of slow cooling, the austenite is quenched
(cooled very rapidly) say by dropping into water), the
transformation from f.c.c. to b.c.c. still occurs, but the
decomposition into ferrite + cementite cannot happen
It results, therefore, in a supersaturated solution of C
in b.c.c. iron; this is called martensite (actually it is
distorted enough that it is better called bodycentred
tetragonal when there is carbon present in the cell)
Darvell B W. Materials Science for Dentistry - CRC Press; 9 edition (June 5, 2009)
These alloys can be heat-treated in the same manner
as plain carbon steels, with similar results.
Because of their high yield strength and hardness,
martensitic stainless steels are used for surgical and
cutting instruments
Its brittleness can be reduced by using a low
temperature heat treatment, called tempering.
The alloy is heated to a temperature in the range 200–
400ºC, at which martensite partially converts to ferrite
and cementite.
The behavior of stainless steel 304 orthodontic wires
during intraoral exposure was investigated by using torque
testing and magnetic measurements.
The results showed that
(1) the stainless steel wire resistance to torque increases with
the time of intraoral exposure
(2) the ferromagnetic resonance line intensity increases with
the time of exposure in the mouth
(3) both results suggest that resistance to twist increases
because the volume fraction of martensite increases with
the time of exposure in the mouth
AUSTENITIC STAINLESS STEEL
The surface of stainless steel is highly prone to
oxidation, but its passive surface oxide film blocks
significant oxygen diffusion to the underlying alloy,
thus limiting further oxidation.
Severe strain hardening produces highly stressed
regions that are anodic to less stressed regions in the
presence of saliva
Organic or inorganic deposits and any site of surface
roughness on a metal may result in localized
concentrations of cell corrosion
A common cause of stainless steel corrosion is the
incorporation of bits of carbon steel or a similar metal
in its surface.
Such a situation results in an electrochemical cell that
may cause considerable corrosion
When austenitic stainless steel is heated to between
approximately 400 °C and 900 °C
Bumb SS, Bhaskar DJ, Punia H. Nanorobots and challenges faced by nanodentistry. Guident. 2013 Sep 1;6(10):67-
9.
When nanosheets of WS2 are at the interface under high
loads, the sliding occurs at the interface between these thin
sheets of exfoliated nanoparticles, thereby reducing the
coefficient of friction.
Furthermore, the IF-WS2 nanoparticles act as a protection
against oxidation of the metal surface
These coatings may be applied to other orthodontic
appliances and materials like brackets and self-ligating
systems and to initial treatment flexible wires such as the
various Ni–Ti arches. We assume that coating both wire
and bracket, both made of SS for example, should show
even lower friction levels due to the elimination of the
corrosion factors.
NICKEL FREE STAINLESS STEEL
nitrogen is the most promising substitute for nickel
It is a gas at room temperature, stabilizes austenitic
phase, increases the corrosion resistance, and prevents
the formation of the sigma phase.
Nitrogen dissolves interstitially in austenite structure
in relatively large quantities, causing a large number of
solution hardening.
The resulting 18−8 steels with a nitrogen content of
0.3%, while retaining the 6% nickel, retained austenite
structure and were characterized by both increased
strength and yield point
The development of technology has enabled the
introduction of more than 1% of nitrogen to the steel,
which resulted in increase in strength by 134%, with
decrease of elongation by only 8%.
A characteristic feature of nitrogen-containing nickel-
free austenitic stainless steels is the lack of
ferromagnetism.
This is due to the strong effect of stabilizing austenite
by nitrogen, which prevents the formation of
martensite, even in the most extreme conditions of
cold-working or cryogenic cooling.
These steels, even after a strong deformation, remain
paramagnetic.
In a simulated biological environment, 316L steel
shows pitting corrosion. Nickel-free austenitic
stainless steel showed no corrosion of this type in all
the electrolytes.
Moreover, by preventing precipitation of M23C6
carbides, nitrogen reduces the risk of intergranular
corrosion
Nickel-free austenitic stainless steels containing
nitrogen are very promising metallic biomaterials.
They can be implemented as implants in the form of:
stabilizing bone plates, screws or wires
Young’s modulus of obtained steels is about 210 GPa,
which is slightly higher than in conventional stainless
steel 316L (~170 GPa)
Austenitization by adsorbed nitrogen contribute to
higher corrosion resistance, which may be a key factor
in providing higher cytocompatibility of produced
materials.
Multistranded wires are made of stainless steel and
are composed of specified numbers of thin wire
sections coiled around each other to provide a round
or rectangular cross-section
the stiffness of a triple-stranded 0.0175-inch (3 X
0.008-inch) stainless steel arch wire was similar to that
of 0.010 inch single-stranded stainless steel wire
The multistranded wire was also 25% stronger than the
O.OlO-inch stainless steel wire.
The 0.0175 inch triple stranded wire and 0.016inch
nitinol wire demonstrated similar stiffnesses
Ingram, Gipe, and Smith noted that titanium alloy
wires and multistranded stainless steel wires have low
stiffness when compared with solid stainless steel
wires.
The investigators also found that most multistranded
wires had a springback similar to that of nitinol, but a
larger springback when compared with solid stainless
steel or beta-titanium wires.
Unlike stainless steel wires, in which springback
decreases with increasing thickness, the titanium and
multistranded wires have springback properties that
are relatively independent of wire size.
In contrast, Schaus and Nikolai, 13 using a simulated
arch form, noted that multistranded wires were less
flexible than suggested by theory or previous tests.
They indicated that factors such as interbracket
distances, wire curvature, direction of activation
relative to the curved arch form, bracket width,
dimensions of bracket slot relative to wire size, and
friction between bracket and wire substantially affect
the flexural stiffness of the arch wire.
Can be twisted, co axial or straight woven
AJ Wilcock Sr, in collaboration with PR Begg,
developed heat treated steel wires that had the
advantage of being more resilient and having higher
tensile strength.
These wires were developed mainly for use with Begg’s
light wire technique.
These wires (AJW) are graded according to increasing
order of tensile strength.
Since these wires were developed in Australia to be
used with Begg’s technique, hence are popularly called
Australian wire
AJW wires are available according to the straightening
processes:
Spinner straightening:
It is a mechanical process of straightening resistant
materials usually in the cold drawn condition.
The wire is pulled through rotating bronze rollers
which twist the wire into straight condition.
The disadvantage of this process is that it results in
permanent deformation and decreases yield strength
value as the wires are strain softened
Pulse straightening:
It is a recent and more accepted method of wire
straightening.
Here the wire is pulled in a special machine, which
permits lower diameters of high tensile wires to be
straightened.
The surface has a smoother finish and therefore lower
friction.
Pulse straightened wires are better in terms of ultimate
tensile strength, high load deflection rate, significantly
higher working range, and lower frictional resistance
All wire specimens were found to possess rough and
irregular surfaces, along with excessive porosity. Surface
inspection of the images showed that irregularity and
porosity increased with higher grades of the Australian
wire.
the carbon content is well above the values reported for
typical 18/8 stainless steel wire. Although EDS cannot be
used to quantify light elements such as carbon, and thus
the results should not be used on an absolute basis, data
from this analysis reveal carbon content that is almost 10
times higher than the standard value.
different tempers did not show variation in the
composition of alloys.
The alloy’s microstructure is composed of a mixture of
austenitic and delta-ferritic phases
Chromium content is high (18% to 26%) and nickel
content is low (4% to 7%)
Most grades contain 2%to 3% molybdenum.
The most common grade is AISI 2205
Duplex stainless steels have
high weldability
higher tensile and yield strengths than austenitic or
ferritic stainless steels
higher toughness than austenitic types
more ductile than ferritic ones
due to the presence of the austenitic phase, it
corrosion resistance is good
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Bumb SS, Bhaskar DJ, Punia H. Nanorobots and challenges faced by nanodentistry.
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Macabe John F, Walls Angus W . Applied Dental Materials, 9th
Edition; wiley blackwell, March 2008
Jurczyk Mieczyslaw. Bionanomaterials for Dental Applications - Pan
Stanford Publishing; 1 edition (October 26, 2012)
Darvell B W. Materials Science for Dentistry - CRC Press; 9 edition
(June 5, 2009)