Ferritic Stainless Steel

The engineering properties of ferriticstainless steels are generally have better than austenitic steels grades but they are less resistant to corrosion. They are also highly restant to stress corrosion cracking.

They can be cold worked and softened by annealing  but they cannot be hardened or strengthened by heat treatment. They are also magnetic.

While they can contain up to 27% Chromium they genearlly contain far less. Most compositions include molybdenum; some, aluminium or titanium. The chemical composition of the main grades is shown below.

Due to the absence of nickel these stainless steels are generally less expensive and this is likely to become more important as nickel prices seem set to rise for the forseeable future. 

They are used for decorative trim, sinks, and automotive applications, particularly exhaust systems.