Stainless Steel World America, a biannual Conference and Expo, is one of the leading meetings of stainless steel professionals in the world. Suppliers, professionals from end users, academics and students gather together to learn from experts in seminars, at exhibits and over networking.  

The fifth edition of this event will be held at the U.S. center for stainless fabrication of Houston, TX. It lays out a challenging agenda tackling the hottest topics in the world of stainless today: tightened metal supplies, erratic prices, sourcing from new suppliers in emerging regions, and project cost cutting. The Conference topics cover all the main stainless steel user segments and all stainless steel product groups (as well as other corrosion resistant alloys). The exhibitors comprise leading U.S. and international stainless producers and fabricators.  

Outokumpu, a leading stainless steel supplier, has maintained an active and strong presence in Stainless Steel World America throughout the history of the meetings, underscoring the Group’s role both globally and in the North American markets. At this year’s Conference, Outokumpu will be presenting five papers, all of them dealing with duplex stainless steel. Outokumpu is the world’s foremost supplier of duplex products and continues to be highly active in developing new applications, bringing end users many benefits including considerable materials savings, highly competitive alternatives to standard grades over the life cycle, and price stability at times of erratic prices.  

Outokumpu experts will be on hand at Booth 411 in the Expo, to share information and ideas about innovative uses of the Group products (please see names of these experts in the summary of Conference papers below).  

Stainless Steel World America 2008 is organized by Stainless Steel World and will be held at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. For more information, go to http://www.stainless-steel-world.net/pdf/ssw2008_cfp.pdf

A summary of the Outokumpu Conference papers and their authors (all representatives of Outokumpu):  

The use of duplex stainless steel for cost efficient design
(Elisabeth Torsner, Jim Fritz, Fredrik Sjoholm)

Modern duplex stainless steel grades are successfully replacing standard austenitic grades, relying on lower-cost alloying elements to allow stable price levels. Even if the nickel price situation should change, duplex stainless steels have other performance advantages: (1) their stress corrosion cracking resistance is superior to that of standard austenitic grades, and (2) their mechanical strength is twice that of corresponding austenitic grades. Lean duplex stainless steels have similar mechanical strength to high-strength carbon steel and two design advantages over carbon steels: (1) lack of corrosion allowance, and (2) no need to paint.  

The use of duplex stainless steel grades in tubular products
(Mikael Paijkull, Hans Storbacka, Asko Kähönen, Sören Nytomt, Rich Bahus)

Thanks to the excellent combination of good corrosion resistance and high strength, duplex stainless steel grades provide a highly viable alternative to conventional stainless and structural steels in tubular applications. The paper compares the duplex family to traditional austenitic grades. The main focus is to show weight saving possibilities in high pressure tubing systems, but also in building and construction applications where tubular products are used. The paper also covers some new experiences gained with lean duplex LDX 2101®.  

LDX 2101® − properties and applications in relation to other low-nickel steels and standard austenitic grades
(Martin Schwind)

The paper discusses differences between the behavior of modern lean duplex stainless steels like LDX 2101® in relation to standard austenitic grades, low-cost chromium manganese and ferritic grades, and higher alloyed duplex grades, to provide understanding of lean duplex grades and their behavior. Corrosion resistance, mechanical properties and applications are discussed.  

Corrosion resistance of welded lean duplex stainless steel
(Elin M. Westin)

The paper discusses the welding behavior of lean duplex LDX 2101® and how the material can be successfully welded without compromising corrosion resistance. The paper summarizes corrosion test results of LDX 2101® welded with various methods.  

Stainless steel for hydrometallurgical applications
(Elisabeth Torsner, Sophia Ekman)

Hydrometallurgical processes present highly corrosive environments for stainless steel. A number of stainless steel grades successfully fight corrosion in these environments and could be used as materials of construction. The duplex grades offer possibilities for gauge reduction in pressure vessels and atmospheric tanks and vessels and thereby reductions in weight. They also feature a high resistance to mechanical wear, i.e. abrasion and erosion corrosion. The paper discusses the selection and use of stainless steels within the hydrometallurgical industry.  

In addition, Devin Wachowiak will discuss “LDX 2101® in ethanol applications” and Lars-Erik Stridh “Welding of LDX 2101® in pressure vessel applications down to -40 Celsius using a positional Flux cored wire.”  

Contact:
Elisabeth Torsner
Outokumpu Stainless Inc., USA
Tel. +1 765 529 0120
Email: elisabeth.torsner(at)outokumpu.com