316LN ESR
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Overview :
316LN ESR (Electro Slag Remelted) is a premium stainless steel grade designed for ultra-high vacuum (UHV) and critical engineering applications. It offers superior cleanliness, homogeneity, and mechanical stability compared to conventional 316L. The ESR process ensures extremely low inclusions, refined microstructure, and consistent quality — making it suitable for advanced industries such as nuclear, aerospace, cryogenics, and scientific instrumentation.
Key Features:
- Ultra-clean steel: ESR process eliminates impurities and non-metallic inclusions.
- Superior toughness & ductility even at cryogenic temperatures.
- Excellent resistance to pitting, crevice, and intergranular corrosion due to controlled chemistry with nitrogen.
- Low magnetic permeability (µr ≤ 1.005) after solution annealing – ideal for magnetic-field sensitive applications.
- High reliability in UHV environments – stable under vacuum firing at 950 °C.
Chemical Composition (wt%)
| Element | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Ni | 12.0 – 14.0 |
| Mo | 2.0 – 3.0 |
| N | 0.14 – 0.20 |
| C | ≤ 0.030 |
| Mn | ≤ 2.0 |
| Si | ≤ 1.0 |
| P | ≤ 0.030 |
| S | ≤ 0.010 |
| Co | ≤ 0.10 |
| Fe | Balance |
Mechanical Properties (Solution Annealed, Room Temperature)
- Tensile Strength (Rm): ≥ 600 MPa
- Yield Strength (Rp0.2%): ≥ 300 MPa
- Elongation (A5): ≥ 35%
- Hardness: 150–190 HBW
Microstructure & Quality
- Fully austenitic and homogeneous structure.
- Free from sigma, chi, or laves phases.
- Grain size ASTM E112: ≥ 3, uniform within ±0.5.
- Inclusion rating (ASTM E45): severity ≤ 2.
- Macro-inclusions: strictly not allowed.
Surface & Testing
- Supplied in pre-machined, clean condition with Ra ≤ 6.3 µm.
- 100% Non-Destructive Testing (NDT):
- Penetrant Testing (PT) – EN 10228-2, Quality Class 4.
- Ultrasonic Testing (UT) – EN 10228-4, stringent criteria based on section thickness.
Applications
- Ultra-High Vacuum (UHV) chambers & components
- Nuclear & cryogenic engineering
- Aerospace and defence systems
- High-purity chemical & pharmaceutical processing equipment
- Magnetic-field sensitive instrumentation