Stainless Steel Grade 304

Aditya Technocast Pvt Ltd produce castings of Stainless Steel grade 304 or CF8, composition of which is mentioned in Table 1 and Table 2.

Grade 304 is the standard “18/8” stainless; it is the most versatile and most widely used stainless steel, available in a wider range of products, forms and finishes than any other. It has excellent forming and welding characteristics. The balanced austenitic structure of Grade 304 enables it to be severely deep drawn without intermediate annealing, which has made this grade dominant in the manufacture of drawn stainless parts such as sinks, hollow-ware and saucepans. For these applications it is common to use special “304DDQ” (Deep Drawing Quality) variants. Grade 304 is readily brake or roll formed into a variety of components for applications in the industrial, architectural, and transportation fields. Grade 304 also has outstanding welding characteristics. Post-weld annealing is not required when welding thin sections. Grade 304L, the low carbon version of 304, does not require post-weld annealing and so is extensively used in heavy gauge components (over about 6mm). Grade 304H with its higher carbon content finds application at elevated temperatures. The austenitic structure also gives these grades excellent toughness, even down to cryogenic temperatures

Table 1: Chemical and Strength Requirements

As per ASTM A240/ A 240M standard, the steel called as SS304, 304L, 304H or 304N grade if it shall conform to the requirements as to chemical composition prescribed in Table 1

Chemical Composition Requirements
Stainless Steel Grade 304 304L 304H 304N
UNS Designation S30400 S30403 S30409 S30451
ElementSymbol MinMax MinMax MinMax MinMax
CarbonC0.070.030.04.100.08
ManganeseMn02.002.002.002.0
SiliconSi0.750.750.750.75
SulfurS0.0300.0300.0300.030
PhosphorusP0.0450.0450.0450.045
ChromiumCr17.519.517.519.518.020.018.020.0
NickelNi8.010.58.012.08.010.58.010.5
MolybdenumMo0NANANANANANANA
Strength Requirements
Tensile Strength (MPa)515485515550
Yield Strength (MPa)205170205240
Elongation (%)40404030
Hardness Brinell (max)201201201217
Rockwell B (max)92929295

Table 2: Chemical and Tensile Requirements

As per ASTM A351/ A 351M standard, the steel called as CF8 (J92600) grade if it shall conform to the requirements as to chemical composition prescribed in Table 2

Chemical Composition Requirements
Element Symbol Mini (%) Max (%)
CarbonC00.08
ManganeseMn01.5
SiliconSi02.0
SulfurS00.04
PhosphorusP00.04
ChromiumCr18.021.0
NickelNi8.011.0
MolybdenumMo00.5
Strength Requirements
Tensile Strength (MPa) (min)485
Yield Strength (MPa) (min)205
Elongation (%) (min)35