Stainless Steel Comparisons

So how do the various steels stack up against each other in quantitative terms? Lets take a look:

Economy

Depending on the state of the market, LDX is comparible to or cheaper than grade 304 stainless steel in price from the mills. But when we consider it's high strength, meaning less material is required, the cost of goods in LDX 2101 is closer to the cost of galvanised products than it is to 304 products.

Thermal Advantages
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A little known advantage of stainless steels is that they generally have poorer conductivity than mild steel. Because lintels often create an area of poor insulation in a building envelope (potential cold bridge) using stainless steel is advantageous in these situations. LDX 2101 has around 4x lower thermal conductivity than galvanised mild steel.

Strength

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LDX 2101 is exceptionally strong compared to other steels commonly used in construction. This means products designed in LDX 2101 can be lighter, reducing costs.

Price Stability
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Because it's properties rely on high chromium content, grain structure and alloying elements other than Nickel, LDX 2101 does not experience such large price fluctuations associated predominently with volitile nickel prices.
This means that you can specify LDX 2101 today, kowing that the price will not have doubled in a year's time when construction commences.

Elevated Temperature Performance:

Ferritic & Duplex Stainless steels have improved performance at elevated strength compared with Austenitic Stainless Steels or structural steels. This can be a significant factor in choosing SS370 or LDX over other steels