When mentioning stainless steel, most people think of the durability, rust resistance and high aesthetics of this material. However, in terms of electrical conductivity, not everyone understands whether stainless steel conducts electricity or not. Today’s article will help readers have a clearer view of this aspect!
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Basic properties of stainless steel
Before finding out whether stainless steel conducts electricity, let’s look at the special basic characteristics of common types of stainless steel. With the following advantages, stainless steel has helped us understand why this material is becoming more and more popular:
- Stainless steel exhibits great ductility
- Compared to other metals, stainless steel has much more outstanding hardness and durability.
- The forging speed of stainless steel is very high
- Thanks to its high temperature resistance, stainless steel has significant corrosion resistance.
- Stainless steel has good toughness even at low temperatures
- Stainless steel exhibits strong resistance and good elasticity, even in low temperature conditions.
- Has less reactive behavior than other metals.
Basic properties of stainless steel
What are conductive properties?
Conductivity is a property closely related to the ability of a material to transmit energy. The ability of a substance to conduct electricity can be high or low depending on the number of electrons freely moving in the medium of that substance. When a medium allows charges to move through it and is acted upon by some force, the moving charges form an electric current, called conduction.
Electrical conductivity depends on the structure of the material (pure or mixed) and whether the environment has more or less charge. The higher the resistivity of a material, the poorer its electrical conductivity. Therefore, metals usually have good electrical conductivity, while non-metallic substances do the opposite.
The degree of conductivity can be calculated through Ohm’s law, expressed by the formula:
R = (r.L)/S
In there:
– R is resistivity,
– r is the specific resistance,
– L is the length of the conductor,
– S is electrical conductivity.
What are conductive properties?
Does stainless steel conduct electricity? Factors affecting the electrical conductivity of stainless steel
There are many factors that affect a metal’s ability to conduct electricity, determining whether it has high or low electrical conductivity. Understanding these factors helps users take full advantage of the ability to conduct electricity and limit the risk of harm.
Temperature
Temperature changes the ability of metals to conduct electricity. As temperature increases, resistivity also increases, reducing electrical conductivity.
Impurities
The greater the amount of impurities, the more it hinders the flow of electricity. Metal mixed with other components will have lower electrical conductivity than pure metal. For example, pure copper conducts electricity better than brass (a combination of copper and zinc). Oxidized silver is less conductive than pure silver.
Electromagnetic fields
Conductors create an electromagnetic field when current flows through it, in a direction perpendicular to the electric field. The external electromagnetic field, created by the resistor, slows down the current.
Factors affecting the electrical conductivity of stainless steel
Does stainless steel conduct electricity?
Based on the structure mentioned earlier, the answer to the question of whether stainless steel conducts electricity is YES.
In fact, stainless steel has the same electrical conductivity as other metals such as copper or aluminum. However, it is not a perfect conductor like copper.
Although the electrical conductivity of stainless steel is not equal to that of other metals, it still has the ability to conduct electricity and can create a direct impact in the unfortunate event of contact with a short-circuited product or electric leakage during the process. use. Therefore, users need to be careful and not ignore this issue.
The conductive properties of stainless steel often depend on the type of alloy and specific composition. For example:
– Austenitic stainless steel (for example: stainless steel 304, 304L, stainless steel 321, stainless steel 316, stainless steel 316L, stainless steel 301): has good electrical conductivity.
– Ferritic stainless steel (such as stainless steel 409, stainless steel 430, 430LI, stainless steel 434, stainless steel 439, stainless steel 442, stainless steel 444, stainless steel 446): the ability to conduct electricity is worse than Austenitic stainless steel.
– Duplex stainless steel (for example: LDX 201, SAF 253, stainless steel 205, 204): relatively good electrical conductivity, but poor compared to Austenitic stainless steel.
– Martensite stainless steel (for example: SUS 410, stainless steel 420, 430F, 440C, 431, 630): can conduct electricity but not as high as Austenitic and Ferritic stainless steel.
In short, does stainless steel conduct electricity? Stainless steel is completely conductive, but is not a highly conductive material. The decision to use stainless steel is often based on durability, rust resistance and aesthetics, not just on electrical conductivity.
Does stainless steel conduct electricity?
Ranking of metals with the best electrical conductivity
Unlike stainless steel, most other metals have moderate to good electrical conductivity. Among them, silver is the metal with the best electrical conductivity, with more free electrons than other metals.
After silver, we can mention copper and gold. Although they are not as conductive as silver, copper and gold are widely used in life for the following reasons:
+ Economically, copper is considered the second best conductive metal after silver, but its price is lower than silver.
+ Gold is less conductive than silver, but in the field of jewelry and decoration, it stands out for its value and aesthetics. Furthermore, gold is more resistant to oxidation than silver. Under certain environmental conditions, silver often oxidizes to black, losing its original shine.
In addition, some other metals and alloys also have good electrical conductivity, including aluminum, zinc, nickel, iron, platinum, brass… Below is a ranking of metals, alloys and Best conductive pure elements (in order from top to bottom):
- Silver
- Copper
- Yellow
- Aluminum
- Sodium
- Wolfram
- Brass (CuZn37)
- Iron
- Chromium
- Lead
- Titan
- Stainless Steel
- Mercury
- Gadolini
- Lead
This article shares information and answers the question: Does stainless steel conduct electricity? We hope that the knowledge that Inox Hoa Giang shares will bring value and support to you. If you are interested in purchasing stainless steel materials, or need stainless steel processing services, please contact Hoa Giang Inox to receive a free consultation.
Contact Hwayang Metal Industrial Corp
Hotline: 028.38485518
Email: support@inoxhoagiang.com
