Stainless steel
Stainless steels have a long history of application in contact with water due to their excellent corrosion resistance. Applications include a range of conditions from plumbing, potable and waste water treatment to desalination. Types 304 and 316 stainless steels are standard materials of construction in contact with water. However, with increasing chloride contents higher alloyed stainless steels such as Type 2205 and super austenitic and super duplex stainless steels are utilized.
Stainless steel
Galling, sometimes called cold welding, is a form of severe adhesive wear which can occur when two metal surfaces are in relative motion to each other and under heavy pressure. Austenitic stainless steel fasteners are particularly susceptible to thread galling, although it also occurs in other alloys that self-generate a protective oxide surface film, such as aluminum and titanium. Under high contact-force sliding this oxide can be deformed, broken and removed from parts of the component, exposing bare reactive metal. When the two surfaces are the same material, these exposed surfaces can easily fuse together. Separation of the two surfaces can result in surface tearing and even complete seizure of metal components or fasteners.