Stainless steel is a versatile item that has found its way in several industrial applications. Though there are several attributes possessed by it, one of its features that makes it a preferred choice is its capability of being able to be processed into varied forms such as plates, strips, wire, bars and seamless tubing.
There are several large as well as smaller sized plants producing stainless steel plates. They come in differing parameters and grades depending upon their combination with other alloys. The content of the alloy determines its corrosion resistance, strength and thickness. Stainless steel plates suppliers stock many varieties of this form as per their client requirements and so do the other ones like stainless steel seamless pipes suppliers.
Some of the varied industrial applications of Stainless steel plates are listed below.
Construction
The forms of stainless steel required by the construction industry are many and stainless steel plates account for a major part in addition to carbon steel forged flanges. Structural steel plates are important components that go towards the making of airports, sports stadiums, warehouses, automobiles, railways, pre-fabricated buildings and many more.
Pressure Vessel Plate
One of the important forms, the Pressure vessel plate is suitable for making storage containers. These containers are huge such as gas tanks, boilers or any other that stores industrial fluids or compressed gas. The containers can store the content at normal external temperatures or can be constructed to hold them at extreme temperatures. The steel plates can be either fine grained or roughly-grained based on the client requirement. Fuel and chemical tankers are a few examples in this context.
Marine
The shipbuilding industry finds great use for the stainless steel plates. They go into the construction of barges, ships, oil rigs or any additional offshore equipment. They are used as structural parts in the construction or they can be used in the repair and maintenance work. Highly resilient and very tough steel plates are vital in the building of big offshore facilities.
Military
Superior grade steel plates are needed by the Defense Department in the construction of their barracks and military vehicles. The relevant manufacturers fulfill the steel requirements of the military sector depending upon the standards specified by them. All the three defense sectors of Navy, Army and Air Force also require these robust steel plates. The steel plates made as per the specifications are used in Army trucks, jeeps, tanks or other ground vehicles as well as aircraft such as jets and helicopters. The Naval sector requires this product for building ships and naval repair.
Food Processing & Pharmaceutical
Clean and hygienic environments are required in food processing and pharmaceutical industries. This fact coupled with the anti- corrosive property of stainless steel makes it popular for this industrial application.
On a Concluding Note
Stainless steel is popularly known as ‘anti-corrosive steel’ and it sticks to its reputation to a large extent because of the chromium content present in it. It does not get corroded as easily as regular carbon steel but it cannot be called as corrosion-resistant. However, the fact of it being anti-oxidative and totally recyclable makes it a preferred alternative for wide ranging industrial applications.