Stainless steel have good strength and good resistance to corrosion and oxidation at elevated temperatures. Stainless steel are used at temperatures up to 1700° F for stainless steel 304 and stainless steel 316 and up to 2000 F for the high temperature stainless steel grade 309(S) and up to 2100° F for 310(S). Stainless steel is used extensively in heat exchanger, super-heaters, boiler, feed water heaters, valves and main steam lines as well as aircraft and aerospace applications.
Figure 1 gives a broad concept of the hot strength advantages of stainless steel in comparison to low carbon unalloyed steel. Table 1 shows the short term tensile strength and yield strength vs temperature. Table 2 shows the generally accepted temperatures for both intermittent and continuous service.
