BRITISH STAINLESS STEEL ASSOCIATIONMaking the Most of Stainless Steel

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Galling and Galling Resistance of Stainless Steels

Galling (cold welding) is a form of severe adhesive wear. The mechanism is briefly described. Soft very ductile austenitic stainless steel types tend to gall or seize where high stresses and poor lubrication are present. The factors affecting galling are covered, particularly design tolerances, surface finish, hardness and microstructure. Selection of grades to avoid galling covers Nitronic 32 and Nitronic 60 types. Fasteners to BSENISO 3506 with property classes 70 and 80 are also mentioned. The galling characteristics of duplex stainless steels is claimed by one US manufacturer to be similar to austenitic stainless steels. Methods for reducing galling tendency are discussed and include lubrication, nitriding and hard chromium plating.

SSAS5.60-Galling and Galling Resistance of Stainless Steels.pdf [117.0kb]