316/316L Stainless Steel

UNS S31600/S31603

Grade 316/316L, is an austenitic stainless steel whose major alloying elements include chromium, nickel and molybdenum. The addition of molybdenum (not found in Stainless Steel 304) is the component which gives Stainless Steel 316 increased resistance in highly corrosive surroundings such as salt water or chloride environments. 316 Stainless offers better creep resistance at higher temperatures and greater strength than 304 Stainless. In the annealed condition, 316 is non-magnetic but can become slightly magnetic if extensively cold worked, further annealing would be necessary to correct this. 316 cannot be hardened using thermal treatment. However, by cold working, hardness and strength can be significantly increased.