Valbruna Grade Steel type

AISTH Austenitic Stainless Steel

Description of material
AISTH is a Titanium stabilized austenitic stainless steel with good general corrosion resistance, as well as very good
intergranular corrosion resistance after welding processes or when subjected to a slow cooling rate in service. In addition, it
has good corrosion resistance at both low and high temperatures and has a high temperature strength above 500°C.

Applications
AISTH is suitable for the fabrication of many products such as flanges, fittings, valves, bolting, pump shafts, parts working in
mild to medium corrosive environments or in contact with many organic chemicals. In addition, this grade is widely used in
heat exchangers and pressure vessels, chemical and petrochemical/petroleum refining plant, furnace equipment and energy
industries plants.

Melting practices
Argon Oxygen Decarburization

Corrosion resistance
AISTH is resistant to fresh water, many organic chemicals and inorganic compounds, atmospheric corrosion, rural
applications and sterilizing solutions where the chloride is low. Pitting and crevice corrosion may occur in chloride
environments if concentration, pH and temperature are at determinate levels. As with other standard austenitic grades, AISTH
suffers from stress corrosion cracking about fifty degrees (C°) above room temperature and above certain levels of stress and
halogen concentration. Very strain hardened structures increase the risk of stress corrosion cracking. In reducing
atmospheres, AISTH doesn’t offer a suitable high temperature corrosion resistance but has a good resistance in oxidizing
environments thanks to a formation of a protective oxide layer. In the case of high temperature service, a stabilizing heat
treatment should be carried out. It should be noted that this grade, as for every kind of stainless steel, surfaces should be free of
contaminant and scale, heat tint, and passivated for optimum resistance to corrosion.

Cold working
AISTH is readily fabricated by cold working operations such as cold drawing and bending, but should only be used for a
moderate amount of cold heading due to a high CWHF (Cold Working Hardening Factor). This could result in a rapid die wear.

Machinability
Machinability
Austenitic grades are different from Ferritic and Alloy steels and require more rigid and powerful machines in addition to the
correct choice of tools, coatings and cutting fluids. The Austenite structure is prone to transform in to α’Martensite caused by
strain hardening of the tool on the surface of the machined piece. The knowledge of this behavior must be correctly considered
when a piece requires two or several cutting steps to be finished. The layer of α’Martensite is very hard and, if the subsequent
turning or milling processes work on this hardened layer, a rapid tool wear could happen. The tool must work under this layer.
The structure of AISTH is not micro - resulphured like grades such as AISH and AISH2 and this strongly reduces its chip
breaking ability.

Weldability
Titanium carbides do not precipitate on the grain boundaries after slow cooling following welding. No preheating or post
welding are normally necessary. However, an annealing after welding should be done if the weld works in very aggressive
environments and a post welding stabilization should be done in the case of high temperature service. AISTH has a special
chemical composition which helps to avoid solidification cracks in the fused-zone of high energy autogenous welds. In the case
of filler metal welding, a filler with a matching composition of AISTH is recommended to maintain weld steel properties.

Hot working
AISTH offers a very good hot workability and is usually supplied as billets, blooms, or ingots. No preheating is required. In
Primary hot transformation processes, a high temperature homogenization of large ingots and dynamic recrystallization
parameters should be rightly evaluated. In the case of open die forging of large ingots and shapes, AISTH offers a good hot
plasticity if a suitable soaking and a right temperature are applied. In Secondary hot transformation processes, such as
extrusion, rolling or close die forging, temperatures, strain and strain rate should be well considered because they influence the
properties of the austenitic structure. Suitable strain in terms of section reduction ( for instance: 15-30%) at a lower range of hot
working temperature is recommended in order to obtain a fine grain austenitic structure which is very important for
mechanical, fatigue and corrosion resistance properties and makes it easier for ultrasonic testing to detect small indications as
required by several International Norms. Small forgings can be cooled rapidly in air or water.

Designations Specifications
AISI 321H EN 10095

W.N. 1.4878 / 1.4544 ASTM A182 / A479

UNS S32109 ASME SA182 / SA479

EN X8CrNiTi18-10

Chemical composition
Chemical composition
Chemical element C Mn Si S P Ni Cr N Ti

Minimum value % 0.04% - - - - 9% 17% - 5*(C+N)

Maximum value % 0.08% 2% 1% 0.015% 0.045% 12% 19% 0.1% 0.7%

Heat treatment
Condition Minimum temperature °C Maximum temperature °C Cooling

A 1050 1120 Water

Physical properties
Physical property SI/metric units US/BS Imperial units

Density 7.9 kg/dm³ 0.285 lb/in³

Specific Thermal Capacity 20° C 500 J/(kg·K) 0.119 Btu/lb°F

Thermal conductivity 20° C 15 W/(m·K) 104.002 Btu in/ ft² h °F

Thermal expansion 20° - 100° C 17 (10⁻⁶/K) 9.444 (10⁻⁶/°F)

Electrical Resistivity 20° C 0.73 Ω·mm²/m 28.74 μΩin

Modulus of Elasticity 20° C 200 GPa 29007.548 ksi

Mechanical properties
Condition Subtype Rm [N/mm²] Rm [Ksi] Rp0.2% [N/mm²] Rp0.2% [Ksi] A5D [%] HBW

Solution Annealed - 500 - 720 73 - 104 190 min. 28 min. 40 min. 215 max.

Hot working
Condition Minimum temperature °C Maximum temperature °C Cooling

Forging / Hot Rolling 900 1200 Air