Development of New Stainless Steel

A new family of innovative martensitic stainless steels, 521-A, 521-B, and 521-C has been developed by Advanced Steel Technology, LLC (Trafford, PA) as high strength fastener (bolt) materials for use at moderate temperatures in turbine engines, including steam turbines, gas turbines, and aircraft engines. The primary objective of the development program was to create a martensitic stainless steel with high strength at moderate temperatures, and which could replace the expensive nickel-based superalloy IN 718 in some fasteners applications. A secondary objective was to replace conventional 12Cr steels such as AISI 422 used as blades, buckets and shafts that operate at intermediate temperatures in turbine engines with stronger steel. The composition of the new alloys was specifically designed to produce excellent mechanical properties while integrating heat treatment steps into production to reduce energy consumption during manufacturing. As a result, production costs and energy consumption during production of rolled bar products is significantly lower than conventional materials. Successful commercialization of the new alloys would permit the installed cost of certain turbine engines to be reduced without sacrificing high availability or operational flexibility, thereby enhancing the global competitiveness of U.S. turbine engine manufacturers. Moreover, the domestic specialty steel industry would also benefit through increased productivity and reduced operating costs, while increasing their share of the international market for turbine engine fasteners, blades, buckets and shafts